Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 0800 843 625, 06-304 8188;
www.oakestate.co.nz
;
cnr Main St & Hospital Rd; r $125-190; )
A stand of
gracious roadside oaks and pretty gardens shield a smart complex of self-contained units:
studios, one- and two-bedroom options.
BAKERY
$
French Baker
(81 Main St; light meals $7-13; 8am-3pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat & Sun)
Buttery croissants, tempting tarts
and authentic breads - this artisan baking is le real McCoy. Grab and go from the cabinet,
or tuck into a breakfast of muesli, toast or a bacon buttie washed down with espresso.
Saluté
(
www.salute.net.nz
;
83 Main St; tapas $8-17, pizzas $20; noon-late Wed-Sat, 10.30-3.30pm Sun; )
Moroccan-flavoured Saluté will suit you down to the ground if you like saucy, succulent,
crisp, charred and fried, along with lashings of olive oil and wedges of lemon. Food so
colourful you'll forget you're in grey-town.
TAPAS
$$
TOP OF CHAPTER
Masterton & Around
Masterton (population 20,100) is the Wairarapa's utilitarian hub, an unselfconscious town
getting on with its business. Its main claim to immortality is the 50-year-old sheep-shear-
first week of March.
Masterton spins the wool out a bit longer at the
Wool Shed
(
www.thewoolshednz.com
; Dixon St;
adult/child/family $8/2/15; 10am-4pm)
, a baaaa-loody marvellous little museum dedicated to
NZ's sheep-shearing and wool-production industries. It's also a good place to get yourself
a home-knit hat.
Next door is the region's foremost cultural institution, the small but rather splendid
Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art & History
(
www.aratoi.co.nz
; cnr Bruce & Dixon Sts; admission by donation;
10am-4.30pm)
, which hosts an impressive program of exhibitions and events (and has a very
nice shop!).
Opposite the Wool Shed and Aratoi is
Queen Elizabeth Park
(Dixon St)
, perfect for stretching
your legs. Feed the ducks, dump someone on the see-saw, have a round of minigolf or
practise your high catches on the cricket oval. Refuel with a magnificent meat pie, pur-
