The White Swan Greytown, Wairarapa. Photo / Jet Productions
The White Swan Greytown, Wairarapa. Photo / Jet Productions
Linda Meads find out what makes the tiny town of Greytown so special.
A relaxing wander around the pretty main street of the colonial village of Greytown quickly reveals why judges of the 2017 Beautiful Awards declared it the "Most Beautiful Small Town in New Zealand (population under 5000)", describing it as "a gem of the Wairarapa". There's something new to discover every few steps, most of it housed in beautifully restored heritage buildings, about an hour's drive from Wellington.
On a sunny Saturday in late spring the front veranda of the town's iconic country hotel, The White Swan, is heaving with people enjoying its acclaimed cuisine and drinks selection while further up the street, townsfolk and weekenders are indulging in sweet treats from the 85 flavours on offer at Schoc Chocolates.
Our destination today, however, is the new-look Food Forest Organics, which has just moved the delicatessen part of its operation into the front room of the premises it occupies in historic Baillie House (1885) on Main St, leaving the room at the back solely for its cafe.
Forest Organics was opened in 2015 by Hollywood film-maker James Cameron and his wife, Suzy. The couple wanted to showcase the produce from their 1450ha Cameron Family Farm. in Wairarapa, and spread the word about the benefits of a plant-based wholefood diet, The deli sells 95 per cent organic food, with fresh organic produce arriving twice a week from the Cameron's farm, which also produces its own honey, lavender and hemp products and cold-pressed oils including olive, walnut and flaxseed. The cafe's daily lunch service has been enthusiastically adopted by the local community, says manager Sally Adams.
Part of the education process, she says, is shaking the preconceptions people have about plant-based food — that it is boring and unfulfilling. Rest assured, it is not — the delicious burger we try features a tasty patty made with walnuts, white beans and red rice and comes with a vibrant, fresh salad. If diners like what they eat, staff can advise them on the ingredients they need to recreate the simple meals at home.
A lovely space to while away an hour or two, the cafe opens up on to a garden with a dedicated area to encourage bees. Bean bags are available for lounging and there is a playhouse for children.
Upstairs are two lovely apartments, each available for rent from $160 per night. When everyone has gone home for the day, that garden area is yours to enjoy.
To make way for Food Forest Organics' expansion, Blackwell & Sons, the store that formerly occupied the front room, moved across the street in mid-November into the former Borough Council Chambers (1878). Adam Blackwell and his team spent four months transforming the Victorian building into an elegant shop premises for their range of handmade Pashley bicycles imported from Stratford-upon-Avon in the UK and a wide range of accessories, including picnicware, clothing and hats. This must surely be the prettiest bicycle store in New Zealand — the Pashley bicycles are beautifully displayed, as are the Goorin Bros hats (made in San Francisco) and the range of Picnic Time hampers, one of the store's best-sellers.
The cleverly designed bicycle-themed T-shirts are also hugely popular, especially the "Twitter Handle" design depicting a tūī on a handlebar.
Greytown, Wairarapa. Photo / Jet Productions
Tucked behind yet another glorious building in suburban Greytown — this one a cottage named Drummond Cottage (1860) — is the small studio belonging to artist Josephine Durkin, who creates unique ceramic pieces for customers around the world under her Oggi Domani label.
Durkin found herself in the Italian town of Deruta, a centre of ceramic art in Umbria, working for a ceramics maestro who wanted her to be his business manager. Instead she learned the craft over 12 years. These days handmade terracotta pieces are shipped to her Greytown studio, where she handpaints and then fires them in a small kiln. A large plate can take around 26 hours of work, while a huge bowl may take her a week, with firing times taking at least a full day on top of the artwork.
Each of Durkin's ceramics — which range from salt and pepper shakers to huge platters — is unique, a detail which escaped one customer who ordered a dinner service then casually mentioned late in the process that he had obsessive compulsive disorder.
Durkin's heart sank as she explained the impossibility of getting each piece identical, and the pair compromised with a set made up of deliberately different colours and styles.
The judges of that 2017 award were spot-on when they described Greytown as "offering the antithesis of big-box shopping or bland and samey malls you find in many large centres" thanks to its high quality, distinctive owner-operated shops. In one afternoon, we've barely scratched the surface of this lovely little town — there's so much more to explore, such as the locally designed fashion based on sustainable principles by Lorraine Hall at HALL NZ, or the Latvian jewellery, art and ceramics at LINArte.
