The Whanganui, on New Zealand’s North Island, is the country’s third-longest river. It rises in the snowfields of Tongariro National Park, its streams gushing down the sides of the great volcanoes of Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. It cuts through deep gorges in Whanganui National Park, before flowing across the plains and farmland and through bush-covered hills to meet the sea at the town of Whanganui. Brook Sabin Whanganui is a mix between Amsterdam and Napier, yet it's surprisingly off the radar for many holidaymakers. The Whanganui has been crucial as a path across the landscape since it was first explored by Tamatea, the captain of the Tākitimu canoe, which brought some of the first Polynesian migrants to the island around 1350. The Whanganui iwi (the Māori people of the river) have lived by, travelled on and drawn sustenance from the river ever since. They caught eels in latticework weirs. They descended vine ladders from their villages high above to reach its waters. They had a name for each of its 239 rapids.