After weeks of lockdown the doors of Wairarapa’s shops, cafés, restaurants, and accommodation opened. And we couldn’t have been more delighted! Whether you live in the Wairarapa or are making a trip here, now’s the time to support the many creative, owner-operated shops and eateries that make our towns and villages such vibrant places to live.

If you’re local, you don’t need to head over to the capital for retail therapy or to enjoy culinary treasures – the table is set here for all takers, and now is the time to try all that you have been missing. Be it fine restaurant-dining or a delicious pastry to have on the go, Wairarapa caters for all taste-buds and pockets.

If you are visiting from Wellington, the foodie offerings start the moment you leave the Remutaka Hill road and arrive in Featherston. Already an institution for fromage fans from far and wide, Featherston’s beloved C’est Cheese is a must-visit, and a good place to start your tour of the town’s many bookstores, (at last count there were seven, hardly surprising then that it is a Booktown).

If you are arriving from the north, at Don Luciano in Masterton you can treat yourself to a splash of Central American colour, or a mix of authentic Indian and Malaysian inspired cuisine at Koi Lounge – Spice Craft & Whisky in Kuripuni Village. Fabulous food and a bounty of beverage is a theme throughout the valley, with the wine village of Martinborough the showpiece.

But it is not all pleasures of the palate, on the retail scene Wairarapa packs plenty of punch, particularly in Greytown, where a Victorian country village meets metropolitan style on the main street. With its small, independent owner-operated shops offering high quality and distinctively individual goods, Greytown is the antithesis of bland and samey malls.

So there’s no time like right now to be a tourist on your own patch or to plan a visit over the hill – add winetasting, cycling, or walking into the mix and you have all the ingredients for a great weekend or day out.

For more ideas, see www.wairarapanz.com