Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Tranquil Upokongaro garden cafe

Whanganui Chronicle
1 May, 2018 06:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

4Forty4 cafe owner Cheryl Phasey ready to serve up some goodies in Upokongaro.

4Forty4 cafe owner Cheryl Phasey ready to serve up some goodies in Upokongaro.

It's a rural cafe in tiny Upokongaro about 12km from Whanganui.

And it's up there and beyond most of the city cafes.

Owner Cheryl Phasey is quietly proud of her lovingly restored old cafe 4Forty4 with its fine wooden floors, several appealing dining spaces, even including a tucked-away library section with shelves of books and an old oak table.

Outside the grounds have been landscaped with gardens, decks and nooks, each corner a treasure of outdoor dining.

Cheryl is at the helm with a chef and staff working out of a bright and airy kitchen.
After seven years of building up the business she admits that word of mouth has meant several community groups getting together is a weekly event.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

An exciting find in the garden a few years ago delighted Cheryl and partner Warren.
They discovered a rare bird perching in a tree.

"We found out by experts that we had a nankeen living in one of our trees."
The nankeen (night heron) also commonly referred to as the rufous night heron, is a medium-sized heron. It is found in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia, and throughout much of Australia except the arid inland, and a small colony has now established near Wanganui.

"It stays around for a while then heads back up the river to Jerusalem. We were amazed and thrilled. It's got a really strange call - bit like a croak."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And the small riverboat MV Wairua which boasts the youngest skipper in the country - 23-year-old Sam Mordey - calls in regularly.

Sam had said earlier that though that's young to own a riverboat it was "kind of a strange thing to own at any age".

The MV Wairua is booked with short trips such as its dinner and lunch cruises to Upokongaro and Cafe 4forty4.

Cheryl said with tourists coming in regularly either by boat or bus she always ensures the food is top notch.

Discover more

Cycleway bridge at Upokongaro to be ready in April 2019

05 Aug 05:00 PM

The menu caters for all tastes and the coffee machine is always steaming, she said.
The yesteryear atmosphere is lit by art deco original lights brought from the old Wellington Museum.

"Old furniture and fittings have always fascinated me."

Even the ladies' in the garden is the old donko (morning tea room) from the former nurses' home at Wellington Hospital. Any weekend groups need book these days, she said.

"We've become a popular venue and being rural helps."

Brisk business has meant the cafe can now close for July so Cheryl can take a break.
"And warm weather here we come. A holiday will be fantastic."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found

Whanganui Chronicle

End of the line for former St George's School buildings

Whanganui Chronicle

Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found
Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found

Kahu Gill's body was recovered near the Cobham Bridge on July 14.

16 Jul 08:34 PM
End of the line for former St George's School buildings
Whanganui Chronicle

End of the line for former St George's School buildings

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash
Whanganui Chronicle

Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash

16 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP