Manawatū Gorge

The Manawatū Gorge (Māori: Te Āpiti) is a steep-sided gorge formed by the Manawatū River in the North Island of New Zealand. At 6 km (3.7 mi) long, the Manawatū Gorge divides the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges, linking the Manawatū and Tararua Districts. It lies to the northeast of Palmerston North. Its western end is near the small town of Ashhurst and its eastern end is close to the town of Woodville.

As one of the few links between the eastern and western North Island, the gorge is an important transport link, with the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line passing through the gorge, as well as State Highway 3 until 2017. Recreationally, the gorge is part of the Manawatū Gorge Scenic Reserve, with various walking tracks through the surrounding native bush.

Whātonga, a Māori explorer from the Kurahaupō canoe, is said to have found the gorge in about the 12th century. Europeans began to use the Manawatū Gorge around the 1840s; in 1842 Bishop George Augustus Selwyn and Chief Justice William Martin passed through the gorge to reach the Wairarapa.