Cycling through Greytown’s history

There’s something about cycling that seems to fit perfectly with the zeitgeist of the early 2020s – zero emissions, abundant health benefits, and affordability. It’s now also perfectly valid to be travelling at 10-20 km/hr not wearing head-to-toe Lycra! By Anne Taylor.

Red’s fabulous shed

If there ever was a haven that for sheer pleasure’s sake, epitomised the intellect, talent, eccentricities and the story of one person, it is Red’s Shed. By Nicola Belsham. Photos by Sam Cameron.

Spice it up

Not just for Thanksgiving – spicy traditional American pumpkin pie adds something extra to the autumn table. By Will Geisler of the Buttercream Workshop. Photo by Sam Cameron.

Riversdale Beach – the Côte d’Azur of the south

In 1953, Masterton tyre tycoon Basil Bodle holidayed with his wife Phyllis in the glamorous Mediterranean beach resort of Cannes. Bodle was so impressed with the town’s “gay and happy colours” that he decided to replicate the festive atmosphere at the Riversdale retirement resort he’d been dreaming about creating. By Simon Burt. Photos by Pete Monk.

Falling under a spell

Marina Adams jokes that if you ever want to change a lightbulb at Little Wetherby, the family’s Riversdale bach, then you should do it in the first half hour. “After that the spell of the place just settles on you and it’s all you can do to think about what you are going to have for lunch, probably followed by a nap.” By Katherine Robinson. Photos by Esther Bunning

Deliciousness on wheels

Jawl Beary is one of the talented businesspeople who made a deft pivot during the Covid-19 lockdown. Drawing on her Thai heritage and love of cooking, she opened Jawl’s Kitchen, a stylish Thai Food Truck at Martinborough’s Schubert Vineyard. By Sue McLeary. Photo by Lucia Zanmonti.

Full house

Be it last-minute drop-ins or road-tripping rellies descending for summer, living in the Wairarapa means you’re never short of visitors, says Sara Bunny.

Phenomenal Finom

A new patisserie/café has opened in Carterton’s High Street – Finom Kitchen, the brainchild of patissier and expert cakemaker Sarah Webster. By Sue McLeary. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti

Perfectly placed for a pitstop

It’s better to travel hopefully than to arrive, wrote Robert Louis Stevenson. As an adventurous traveller who covered many clicks, he knew what he was talking about. When you’re exploring Aotearoa/New Zealand, taking a break every two hours will not only refresh you but also make the most of your journey. And if you are travelling up SH2 from Wellington or Napier, the two-hour mark lands at Pūkaha.