Scenic South Wairarapa Full Day Tour from Wellington

This private guided tour gives you a full day in the South Wairarapa with your own dedicated driver guide. Over 9 hours, the route combines local food and wine with forest, coastal scenery and a series of well known regional stops.

Leaving Wellington, you pass the Parliamentary Precinct, including the Beehive, Parliament House and the Parliamentary Library Building, before heading to Kaitoke Regional Park in the foothills of the Tararua Ranges. Here, a walk through native rainforest brings you among towering kahikatea trees and to the filming location used for Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The tour continues over the Remutaka mountain summit, 555 metres above sea level, where there are wide views and the Remutaka Crossing monument. In Martinborough, the day includes artisan cheese and chocolate tastings, plus visits to two wineries with tastings and lunch. One stop offers up to five wines, including Poppies Rosé.

From there, the drive continues to Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island. You can climb the 253 steps to Cape Palliser Lighthouse for views over the South Pacific Ocean and the South Island, then continue a short distance to the Cape Palliser Seal Colony, where visitors are asked to stay at least 20 metres from the seals. The tour also takes in Ngawi and finishes with dinner at Lake Ferry Hotel or a local Martinborough restaurant.