Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 4 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway. It is under the jurisdiction of Ruapehu District, Manawatu-Wanganui Region.It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of Turangi.