Wairarapa Must Do's

There are some things you just have to do when you visit Wairarapa! Here are our top picks:

Food & Wine

• Martinborough has more than 20 cellar doors, most within easy walking or cycling distance of the village square with food on offer as well. You can also hire a bike or take a tour and cycle the vines!
• Try Wairarapa breweries like Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka for a locally brewed and tasty pint.
• How about gin? Try Reid+Reid Native, foraged from aromatic native plants or Lighthouse Gin inspired by spectacular Cape Palliser.
• Take your pick of cafes, restaurants and bakeries, with something to suit everyone from fish and chips at Lake Ferry Hotel to Wharekauhau Country Estate for a special occasion. See more here.
• Be sure to call into artisan deli C'est Cheese, specialising in NZ cheeses and everything else you could want for an antipasto platter.
• Don't go past our local Farmer's Markets for fresh, seasonal produce and much more – with one in each town from Featherston to Masterton.
• Discover Wairarapa's best wine and food on the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail.

Nature

• Check out tuatara and long-fin eels at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre or explore their walk-through aviary, take a guided or cultural tour, and see carvers in action at the whare whakairo (carving workshop)
• Visit Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island, to see fur seals, Lake Ferry, Ngawi fishing village and the lighthouse. Or take a walk into the spectacular Pinnacles.
• Surf, swim, fish, play golf at Riversdale and Castlepoint - or walk up to the Lighthouse at Castlepoint for lots of family fun!
• Check out Wairarapa's amazing Dark Sky with an Under the Stars astronomy tour or visit Stonehenge Aotearoa for a full-scale working adaptation of Stonehenge or take a Star Safari with Milky-Way.Kiwi and discover the night sky with their powerful telescopes.
• Cycle the stunning Remutaka Cycle Trail that connects Wellington to Wairarapa, with ride lengths to suit everyone or walk the Remutaka Rail Trail – a great family activity!

Family Fun

• Take the kids to Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton and ride the miniature train, pedal boats, play mini golf or let off steam in the amazing playground.
• Explore Aratoi Museum of Art and History, ConArt, and The Woolshed across the road.
• Visit Cobblestones, a charming historic village in Greytown with an old-fashioned schoolhouse, hospital, original colonial cottage, church, printing press and wool shed too.
• Check out the world's last remaining locomotive of its type, H199, on display at the Fell Locomotive Museum in Featherston.
• See all our family friendly walking trails here, including Mt Holdsworth in the Tararua Range, Rewanui Forest Park just out of Masterton or the Waiohine Gorge in Carterton.

Girls Trip

• Shop till you drop at Greytown Country Village for fashion, homeware, quirky antiques, art, bric-a-brac and more at small stores with loads of personality.
• Have a Girls' Escape and stay the night at The White Swan in individually themed rooms or garden rooms with their own courtyard. Check out more accommodation options.
• There's plenty of great restaurants and cafes to choose from and loads of artisan food and treats to try like chocolate, cheese and award-winning olive oil.
• Then check out nearby Martinborough famous for its 20-odd vineyards, most within walking or cycling distance of the village square.

Sound good? Here's how to get here and where you can stay.