Luxury Accommodation New Zealand

... Wairarapa

The Wairarapa area is a rich sheep-farming district (opens the Wairarapa tourism site in a new window).

And the region, especially Martinborough, is fast gaining a reputation for premium wines, including the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc varieties. Wine tasting is encouraged...

Greytown, one of the smaller Wairarapa towns, has a main street comprising mostly wooden Victorian-style buildings, many of which are now cafés and specialty shops selling antiques and gifts.

And about 20km north of the main centre of Masterton is Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre, where rare and endangered birds and other species are studied and bred.

In the ranges to the West are the Rimutaka and Tararua forest parks, which contain a network of huts and trails that begin at many road-end picnic spots. Adventure activities include four-wheel driving, rafting, jetboating, abseiling, tandem skydiving, horse trekking, canoeing, hot air ballooning and gliding.

Luxury in the Wairarapa would be incomplete without mentioning one of the finest examples of the North Island's luxury accommodation, the award-winning Wharekauhau Lodge: