Whanganui backroads feature - Shot for Shepherdess magazine 2022 Winter Edition.

I loved my 2 day shoot from the backroads of the Whanganui river and exploring this little gem of a vibrant city.

Architecturally Whanganui surprised me, from the modernist War memorial centre and the hills clad with villas and bungalows.

There were also cool pockets of urban design, a bustling cafe scene and mural clad walls.

This contrasted with the serene Whanganui river where I got to sit beside the local postie on her 6 hour mail ran up to the settlement of Jerusalem and back.

There is a palpable presence, with the mist sitting on the river and slowly rising, like the curtains on a stage going up to reveal a land steeped in industrial and spiritual history.

On the road I saw glimpses of 'real New Zealand', pigs by the side of the road, huge native trees, people taking the time to stop on the road and chat with their community with smiles and welcoming faces.

I had previously canoed the Whanganui river, which runs alongside the river road and loved it. So this shoot gave me the excuse to explore the road as a different, but equally fascinating journey.