Leaving Ohakune, we headed to Raetihi, from which the backroad known as the Whanganui River Road begins. The Whanganui itself is the longest navigable river in the country and a place of great history. The road runs alongside it, about half of it now sealed and a lot of work underway to seal the next section.
The first town after Pipriki (where the road proper begins) is Hiruharama, the Maori version of Jerusalem (originally a larger village known as Patiarero). In the later 1800's missionaries, particularly Roman Catholics, were very active in this area, and here the Frenchwoman Mother Aubert founded a school, orphanage and farm. This church was built in the 1890s, and is noted for its altar.
Jerusalem has another claim to fame. NZ's arguably greatest Pakeha poet is James K Baxter. He founded a commune here in the 1970's, and about 200 people congregated here. The poet was a fervent Roman Catholic, but also a great believer in free love and is believed to have fathered quite a few. He died in 1972 and the commune disbanded; his grave is in the village.