Wairarapa & Martinborough

North Island · Wine lovers · Couples · Nature lovers

The Wairarapa is Wellington's backyard, an hour over the Remutaka Hill, and feels like another world. The Tararua and Remutaka ranges hold the wind and rain on the western side, leaving the Wairarapa in a sunnier, drier pocket that has proved perfect for pinot noir. Martinborough is the epicentre: a small town founded in 1879 and laid out in the shape of a Union Jack, now ringed by some of New Zealand's finest wine estates, Ata Rangi, Palliser, Craggy Range Martinborough, and a dozen others within walking distance of the town square.

But the Wairarapa's character extends well beyond its cellars. Wharekauhau Country Estate, perched above Palliser Bay on a 3,000-acre working sheep station, is one of New Zealand's most complete lodge experiences, farm heritage, coastal drama, and exceptional hospitality in a property that has been welcoming guests for generations. Cape Palliser, at the region's southern tip, has the North Island's largest fur seal colony and a lighthouse reachable by 258 steps, with the Kaikōura Ranges across the strait on clear days.