New things to do in NZ this summer: Wairarapa

Nara at Palliser puts a gourmet spin on food truck fare. Photo / Supplied

1. Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, Masterton

Wairarapa's art and history museum is leaning into its adventurous side with its summer exhibition. On one side of the room, visitors are confronted by Natasha Cousens' Beyond the Red Flowers collection of mixed-media sculptures invoking ideas of life and death, dark and light. On the opposite side of the room, visitors find art from 18 Dutch and New Zealand printmakers in Distant Kinship, exploring the relationship between the Netherlands and New Zealand.
aratoi.org.nz

2. Moonlight Peak Glamping, Carterton

Tim and Summer Priest initially planned to build a glamping site on a hill on their remote Wairarapa farm. Somehow it morphed into this luxury, adults-only, off-grid, solar-powered retreat. The location is secret until you book and you can't drive to the front door – they'll take you, in a 4WD, up a steep farm track to the summit overlooking the Wairarapa and up to the Tararua Ranges. After that, you're on your own, apart from your significant other. Relax and enjoy.
canopycamping.co.nz

Jane Cooper and Lesley Reidy in front of Alexia Urban Winery. Photo / Lucia Zanmonti

3. Alexia Urban Winery, Greytown

It's only 15 minutes north of Martinborough but Greytown has been a world away in winemaking terms. Now Jane Cooper and Lesley Reidy are making the heavy hitters – pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, rose – and lesser-known gamay, chenin blanc and cabernet franc at a purpose-built winery on an industrial site in the town. Cooper knows her grapes: she's been winemaker at Seifried and Matahiwi estates, with vintages in Chile, Italy and Australia, and chairs the Royal Easter Wine Show judges. The couple are committed to sustainable winemaking, using rainwater from the winery roof; grape by-product compost; and the site, once a wasteland, is becoming a haven for birds and creepy-crawlies.
alexia.co.nz

4. Truckstop, Greytown

Small town, great idea. Truckstop Greytown is a pop-up summer family dining and entertainment experience in the centre of the village, with local companies combining to roll in a variety of food trucks and performers on Friday and Saturday evenings from December to the end of March. The idea is that locals and visitors can walk, bike or park nearby and buy a well-priced meal in all kinds of styles. Yes, this might be wine and craft beer country but no, it's not licensed. From 5.30pm-7.30pm, it's family-friendly with large, free outdoor games; from 7.30 pm-9.30 pm it's a casual place for adults to relax and, on Saturdays, listen to live acoustic music.
Facebook.com/truckstopgreytown

Nara at Palliser puts a gourmet spin on food truck fare. Photo / Supplied

5. Nara at Palliser, Martinborough

Toast Martinborough has been postponed to November 20 2022, but here's an option. Nara means "close" and "nourish" in Swedish; it's the name of Lucy Mutch and Daniel Dew's food truck that will be providing a pop-up at Palliser Estate throughout summer. It's an eclectic mix of cuisine because, the couple say, "We cook all the food that we love to eat - Middle Eastern, Italian, Chinese, Indian, buttermilk-fried chicken and waffles." All that and Guy McMaster's award-winning pinot noirs and chardonnay.
facebook.com/naramartinborough

Ewan McDonald

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