Whanganui

Whanganui is a puzzle to pronounce: usual Māori rules would pronounce ‘wh’ as 'f', but here it's pronounced ‘w’. Apparently it’s the way local Maori always pronounced it, but in that case why not spell it Wanganui? Well, the local council decided some years ago to standardise on the ‘wh’ and leave us puzled for ever more. Ho hum.

I'm told alternately that Whanganui is a pleasant city with a gentle climate, and that there's nothing to it other a tiny trendy historic centre, but it does have a Winter Gardens - a park with a greenhouse - which justifies a stop on the long drive back from Taranaki…