Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE WAIRARAPA
The Wairarapa is the large tract of land east and northeast of Wellington, beyond the
Tararua and Rimutaka Ranges. It is named after Wairarapa Moana - otherwise known as
Lake Wairarapa and translating as 'sea of glistening waters'. This shallow 80-sq-km lake
and the surrounding wetland is the focus of much-needed ecological restoration, redressing
generations of sheep farming in its ambit. Fields of fluffy sheep still abound, as do vine-
yards and the associated hospitality which have turned the region into a decadent weekend
retreat.
See
www.wairarapanz.com
for regional info, but also check out the
Classic New Zealand Wine
Trail
(
www.classicwinetrail.co.nz
)
- a useful tool for joining the dots throughout the Wairarapa and
its neighbouring wine regions of Hawke's Bay and Marlborough.
Note that the telephone area code over here is
06, not
04 like most of the rest of
the Wellington region.
Getting There & Around
Masterton ($17.50, five or six times daily on weekdays, two daily on weekends), calling at
seven Wairarapa stations including Featherston and Carterton. For towns off the railway
line, catch a Tranzit Coachlines bus (details available from
Metlink
( 0800 801 700;
www.metlink.org.nz
)
Its services run to all major Wairarapa towns as well as north to Palmer-
ston North.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Martinborough
POP 1470
The sweetest visitor spot in the Wairarapa, Martinborough is a pretty town with a leafy
town square and some charming old buildings, surrounded by a patchwork of pasture and a
pinstripe of grapevines. It is famed for its wineries, which draw in visitors to nose the pinot
and polish it off with good food, and snooze it off at boutique accommodation. Beyond the
wineries, you'll need your own vehicle, with most of this area's notable sights out on the
