Source: Radio New Zealand
The Whanganui River road features an interesting array of letterboxes. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Tracy Marshall makes the same 150-kilometre round trip up the Whanganui River and back five times a week.
“I’ve got one of the longest mail runs in our region in terms of distances, but I’ve probably got less letter boxes,” she told Country Life.
One might imagine she’d be sick of travelling the same road day after day, but she loves it and jumped at the chance to take over the rural delivery, or RD6, route five years ago.
As one of the more scenic routes travelling up towards National Park, it’s one she also often shares with travellers who join her as part of the Original Mail Tour.
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Her day starts at 6:30am when she picks up the mail from the depot. There are 65 letter boxes on her route, each unique.
“They’re a creative bunch.”
Her favourite is an old microwave, also the “driest” letterbox on the route.
There are others too – one in the shape of a wharenui, another that looks like a hanging lantern and one an old fuel tank.
There’s also a lawn-mower catcher and a canoe said to have once been used to help rescue someone from the river.
Tracy’s favourite mailbox – made out of an old microwave. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Marshall delivers a mix of mail and parcels. She also collects letters and parcels to take back to the depot from the mailboxes – the signal for her to do so is the flag being raised.
“I don’t do a lot of parcels up here – although today looks like I do but I’m doing some Chrisco’s because you know it’s Christmas time.
“They tend not to buy a lot of junk up here. I think the biggest thing I do is dog biscuits.”
For the past few years Tracy Marshall, who grew up on the Whanganui River, has been sharing her postal route with tourists as part of the Original Mail Tour. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
She said the weeks before Christmas are usually some of the busiest, although this year has been quieter than expected.
The view of the Whanganui River from the top of the Whanganui River Road. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
More recently she has noticed an increase in mail, which seems to be coming back into fashion after a period of decline.
Koriniti Marae, along the Whanganui River. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Koriniti Marae includes its own Anglican church. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
The route is also popular with walkers and cyclists making their way along Te Araroa Trail.
Born and bred in Koroniti – a marae settlement with its own Anglican church – Marshall ( Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Pamoana) knew the riverside road well before taking on the mail run.
She understands how much has changed, and yet how many things stay the same.
“[The river] was used for their main form of transport, their wellbeing. They used to travel up and down.
“I don’t know anyone that has paddled up the awa in my lifetime. I think everything changed once the road was put in – which was a good thing, you know, access.”
A home on the other side of the river which residents access via flying fox. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
An old kayak now serves as a mailbox. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
A mailbox made from an old fuel pump. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Before Marshall and her van, the mail used to be delivered by canoe – a trip taking about two weeks.
The development of the road and new transport made it easier for people to travel down the river to Whanganui with increased job opportunities there luring many from the rural community.
Along the tour she points out where the river trade markets were once held and historic sites like the Kāwana flour mill and the convent in Jerusalem – Hiruharama.
“The riverboats changed all of that for them.”
Her favourite part of the tour is near the heart of the National Park where kiwi can be heard at night in the surrounding bush.
A letterbox shaped like a whare. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
One of the cheekier postboxes on the run. The flag up means there’s mail for Tracy to pick up and take back to base. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
The small Whanganui settlement of Jerusalem, where the St Joseph’s Convent still operates, appears above the river near the end of the tour. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Learn more:
You can learn more about the tour, here.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
