Over the long Easter weekend, my boyfriend and I boarded a short flight from Auckland to Wellington. We rented a car and drove about 2 hours east to the Wairarapa. There, we got an Airbnb on a small farm with mini horses and a NZ kune kune pig!
We chose to check out Martinborough because it is a small vine region. Over Christmas we visited Napier, which is on the East Coast in Hawkes Bay. Napier is known for its “Flapper” style buildings and parties, and for the fact that you can bike from vineyard to vineyard.
Leaving the 1st Vineyard on day 1 in Martinborough
We found Martinborough to be BETTER than Napier in terms of renting bikes and going from place to place. This is because of a few reasons:
- Smaller downtown area
- Town, and vineyards, are in a grid
- Grid is FLAT
- Speed limits on roads for cars are lower than Napier, making it more safe
With my rented bike and treats from the grocery store
Most vineyards we visited had their own kitchen, but since we were spending money on tastings, and then discounted bottles of wine, we loaded up with cheese and baguettes from the grocery store and eat that (with our tastings of wine) in the outdoor areas.
The rental bike company was so organized with the wineries, it had a “pick up service.” If you bought a bottle, you told the vineyard your bike number and then the bike company went around and picked up all the bottles, thus had them waiting for you when you returned the bike! This meant we could buy more bottles and not have to lug them around. 
Our Airbnb was right in the middle of the grid, so we could take a break if we wanted! I liked being able to spend time with Sammy:
The Kune Kune Pig!
Day 2 was a day trip to Cape Palliser. On the North Island it is both the Southern Most Point and is home to the largest fur seal colony! It also has a beautiful lighthouse and amazing coastal views.
Caught a few seals sleeping!
The climb to the lighthouse was definitely our workout for the day with 253 steps. While the lighthouse was built in 1897, the stairs were not added until a few decades ago! This meant that lighthouse keepers had to haul supplies on a dirt track to the right of the stairs.
On the way back, we stopped in Lake Ferry. This is another small town, whose dirt road ends on the water. There is an amazing restaurant and bar at the end of the road, and that is where we got dinner & watched the sunset.
Drinking a beer at the Lake Ferry Hotel
Our last day included another day biking around. This time, we got a tandem bike! It was super fun, but also very hard to drive… I could only do it for so long. We were lucky enough that the “Balloons Over Martinborough” occurred on Easter Sunday. On the way to rent our bikes, we were awoken to an amazing site:
This little town and wine country is now one of our favorite spots in New Zealand. The downtown “Main Street” had about 3 blocks of cafes, bars, restaurants and small boutiques. I also enjoyed the art gallery and antique shop. We cannot wait to return, and are trying to plan for friends to make a weekend out of it so we can rent 4-6 person bikes!
On the tandem bike!
TIP: Riding a bike requires a book-bag, or fanny pack, as purses can be hard to juggle. Be sure to bring one with you if you go to Martinborough, as you will be riding bikes!
What is your favorite wine region?