Whanganui River Road adventures in a mail van

Rural postie Tracey Marshall offers local knowledge and great yarns on a Whanganui River Road trip. Photo / Bevan Conley

If you’ve never travelled the Whanganui River Rd and don’t fancy driving yourself, you could hitch a ride with Tracey Marshall in her rural mail delivery van. Liz Wylie did and discovered the joys of being in the passenger seat with a guide who is part of the landscape.

It’s still dark at 7am when we set off from Whanganui on a Wednesday morning.

Tracey Marshall has been working since 5am.

She’s ensured her partner Linda Andracic is ready for a busy day at Gonville Post + More, a business they own and run alongside Whanganui Tours and Mail Run which they took over in 2020.

We meet at the NZ Post depot in Church Place where Tracey has loaded the mail, copies of the Whanganui Chronicle and Whanganui Midweek and a few essentials for our journey.

Tracey drives from Whanganui to Pipiriki (and sometimes further) five days a week and says she never finds it tiresome or dull.

I’m her only passenger today but on other days there are up to four visitors, often with cycles on board, heading to various destinations along the river.

“I love the road, it’s my home, the place I come from, and every day is different.

“I grew up here, Koriniti is my marae and I went to Parikino School on the bus every day.”

After spending 28 years living in Sydney, Australia, Tracey says she is glad to be home with her people and the place she loves most.

She tells me the paddocks along the Whanganui end of the road were mostly planted with crops during her childhood.

“There was corn, kumara and watermelon growing along here,” she says.

“People are still really good at growing food for themselves and for whānau so they don’t need to come into town too often.”

Orchards are thriving with crops of avocados, macadamia, lime and nashi pears. Tracey sometimes takes a few back with her to be sold at Whanganui outlets.

Tracey’s uncle, Adam Marshall, developed a thriving honey business after integrating mānuka into his traditional sheep and beef farm several years ago.

Sealing of the Whanganui River Rd began in the 1950s and the last section from Hiruhārama – Jerusalem to Pipiriki was finally completed in 2014.

As we stop at one letterbox, Tracey spots a sheep that’s managed to get itself wedged between a fence post and a water trough in a paddock opposite.

Chronicle photographer Bevan Conley, following behind us, has noticed it too and jumps the ditch to set it free. It skips off to join its flock without a backward glance.

Tracey Marshall delivers mail to the newest quirky letterbox on the Whanganui River Rd. Photo / Bevan Conley

The letterboxes of the Whanganui River Rd are testimony to the creative repurposing abilities of the residents.

They include some cut-down 40-gallon drums, a sawn-off canoe, a painted miniature whare, refrigerators, a lawn mower catcher, and creatively carved fence posts.

“There’s a new one at my uncle’s house,” Tracey says.

“Uncle Dino and Aunty Patty’s microwave oven stopped working so he’s turned it into a new letterbox.”

As we near one letterbox, a couple of young pigs race towards the fence as they see the van approaching.

“I bring our scrap bucket from home for them,” says Tracey as the grateful poaka gobble up her kind donation.

The mail van, I discover, is a bit like a magic Mary Poppins bag with treats lurking behind the stacks of letters and parcels.

We make a stop at the Rivertime Lodge at Ātene (Athens) where Tracey delivers maps of Whanganui city to some Australian cyclists she had dropped off the day before.

“They are planning to stop in Whanganui for a couple of days so I want to make sure they know where the cycle routes are.”

Whanganui River Rd from Gentle Annie or Aramoana viewpoint to Pipiriki. Photo / Bevan Conley

Tracey’s old school at Parikino, along with those at Rānana and Pipiriki, closed in 2005 when the decision was made to merge the three schools due to falling roll numbers.

Te Kura o Te Wainui-ā-Rua was established at the Rānana site and Tracey’s sister Karleen Marshall was the principal there until she moved to Tawhero School in Whanganui in 2019.

“Marie Haira is the principal now and it’s a great school,” Tracey says.

Buildings at the former school sites have been repurposed and there is kaumātua housing at Parikino. The former Pipiriki School site is home to Whanganui River Adventures & Camping Grounds.

We stop at Koriniti marae where the urupā is beautifully situated on a hill surrounded by trees. Also known as Otukopiri, the marae is home to Ngāti Pāmoana hapū of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi iwi.

Jula “Sugar” Teki greets us and gives us keys to explore the three wharenui named Hikurangi Wharerata, Poutama and Te Waiherehere and the beautiful, historic weatherboard church.

Koriniti Marae wharenui Hikurangi Wharerata, Poutama and Te Waiherehere. Photo / Bevan Conley

It’s tempting to linger in the peaceful surroundings but the mail must get through so we push on and make our next stop at Matahiwi Gallery and Cafe where we are noisily greeted by a piglet named Winston.

The premises are the former site of another school that has been lovingly repurposed as a cafe, art gallery, and camping grounds with renovated Army huts as accommodation. It’s the only place on the road that offers barista coffee but manager and barista Shantel Ranginui has been called to an urgent errand in town.

She greets us fleetingly as she drives off but a helpful neighbour has agreed to make us a picnic lunch. Mine is a tasty brie and salad sandwich, a slice of brownie and a nashi pear. Thanks, kind neighbour who wishes to remain anonymous. I return to the van without Winston stealing my lunch and ignore his noisy demands. I’m told he’s very well-fed.

Matahiwi is home to the riverboat prop used in Vincent Ward’s movie River Queen, filmed on the Whanganui River and completed in 2005.

Winston the greedy piglet of Matahiwi trying to steal a reporter's lunch. Photo / Bevan Conley

The last time I travelled the River Road I was in the driver’s seat and didn’t get to enjoy the full majesty of Whanganui National Park. With Tracey driving and sharing her kōrero, I can take in the unique beauty of one of the largest remaining lowland forest areas in the North Island.

The magnificent northern rātā have finished their summer flowering but they are still a sight to behold and I can see why so many people enjoy cycling and walking through this beautiful part of the country.

Hiruhārama-Jerusalem offers self-catered accommodation for travellers on the Whanganui River Road. Photo / Bevan Conley

At Hiruhārama – Jerusalem, Tracey surprises Bevan and me with some nice, hot plunger coffee and scones baked by her partner Linda. There is also homemade lemon honey and cherry jam with fresh, whipped cream.

The Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, also known as Sisters of Compassion, have left the convent, established at Hiruhārama by French nun Suzanne Aubert in 1885, and moved to the order’s headquarters in Wellington.

“The sisters still come home at weekends quite often,” Tracey says.

“My mother lived here when she was a child and loved it. She brought my brother and me here a lot when we were children and we loved the sisters - they were so kind.”

Self-catering accommodation is available for travellers at Jerusalem and can be booked via the Sisters of Compassion website.

Bevan and I are expected in Ohakune and Tracey has more mail to deliver so we push on to Pipiriki where she bids us farewell.

Whanganui Tours and Mail Run also offers a round-trip service and packages tailored to travellers’ needs. Visit whanganuitours.co.nz to find out more.

* The Whanganui Chronicle thanks Visit Ruapehu for its sponsorship.

Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.