Visitors to Eketāhuna, the first significant settlement on State Highway 2 north of Masterton, are greeted by a large white kiwi. Born a natural brown, the concrete bird was re-painted to honour three rare white kiwis bred at nearby Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre. Pūkaha, located in a special remnant of an ancient podocarp forest, is the biggest visitor magnet in Eketāhuna's orbit, and kiwis are Pūkaha's main attraction. Eketāhuna, therefore, is as kiwi as it gets. By Simon Burt. Photos by Sarah Watkins.

Who doesn’t long for time out in a tranquil setting? Walt Dickson has found a haven in the foothills of the Tararuas.

Griff loves to grow vegetables in his “lovely bit of paradise”. Called Rebel Gardens, it’s hidden away between Martinborough and Greytown, his two main markets. By Sue McLeary. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti.

Boasting 11 independent bookshops and the country’s only Booktown, the Wairarapa may just be New Zealand’s #1 region for readers. We sent our booksellers the same set of questions – they responded so enthusiastically, it’s easy to see why sharing the love of reading is alive and well in the Wairarapa. Here’s a sampling of the curious and clever minds behind our bookstores. By Millie Blackwell.

It’s harvest time, and the tang of fresh apples is in the air at TeePee Cidery on the outskirts of Carterton. Dr Trevor FitzJohn and wife Frances grow cider apples and Perry pears to create a premium sparkling cider that’s akin to champagne. By Katherine Robinson. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti.

New Zealand’s largest art show is back in 2021, presenting for sale thousands of works including Wairarapa photographers and artists. The three-day event is held over Queen’s Birthday weekend (4 - 6 June) at Wellington’s TSB Arena.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Lorraine Hall may have spent her life in contemporary fashion, but she also has a respect for the past. By Katherine Robinson. Photo by Lucia Zanmonti.

The latest enterprise to join Greytown’s busy Main Street retail scene goes to prove that good things just take time. By Walt Dickson.

From their little white home behind emerald grapevines, Alex Muir and Leah Creaven create true and pure products. By Julia Mahony. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti

When it comes to choosing pieces for her Martinborough homeware and fashion store, Jessica Jina looks for affordable luxury.

Bringing the art of the tattoo at its finest to the Wairarapa, Mario Gregor sets up his studio in Featherston. By Erin Kavanagh-Hall. Photos by Sarah Watkins.

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.

Talented mother and daughter duo Mandy and Lucinda Emerson have pooled their talents to create a new natural range of skincare, Swinny Skin. By Katherine Robinson. Photo by Lucia Zanmonti.

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.

“There’s something in the water” or so the song goes, but for Wairarapa olive growers it’s more like the soil, the dry heat, and the wind, reports Sue McLeary.