Wairarapa and Kapiti Coast

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Does nearly 30 vineyards within walking distance sound like you?  Welcome to Martinborough in the rolling Wairarapa on the East Coast.  Apple orchards, olive groves and lavender fields also abound among this regions historic towns.  Largely rural, gumboots trade places for the well heeled during popular weekend getaways.  Nature lovers should bee-line for the Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre and its many rare native birds in their leafy realm.  Mountainous ranges form one Wairarapa border and a spectacular and rugged coast forms the other.  Meanwhile, the Kapiti Coast to the west is famous among other delights for its cheeses and the southern hemisphere’s largest collection of antique and unusual cars at Southwards Car Museum.  Kapiti Island Nature Reserve, sitting just off shore, makes for a dramatic drive into New Zealands capital city down this coastline. 

Highlights:

·       Castle Point and the remote wild Wairarapa coastal scenery

·       Mount Bruce Forest and National Wildlife Centre

·       Cross the Waiohine Gorge on one of New Zealand's longest swing bridges

·       Greytown – travel back in time through this quaint town

·       Drive out to Cape Palliser via the Putangirua Pinnacles

·       Tour the Martinborough vineyards

·       Day trip to or overnight on Kapiti Island, a wildlife heaven

·       Nga Manu Nature Reserve, a delightful bush setting

·       Follow in Tiger Woods footsteps at Paraparaumu’s golf course