After picking you up from Wellington we work our way up the Hutt Valley to our first stop at the Kaitoke Regional Park located in the foot hills of the Tararua Ranges to walk through native rain forest and admire the majestic Kahikatea trees. We then visit the magical spot used as the set for Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It’s a short drive of around 10-15 minutes to the Remutaka summit, 555 metres above sea level where we view the Remutaka Crossing monument commemorating 60,000 New Zealand troops who made the crossing from the military camp in Featherston to the Port of Wellington between 1915 and 1918.

From the summit it’s a 10 minute drive down to the South Wairarapa town of Featherston, home of C’est Cheese where we can sample magnificent local cheeses (Remutaka Pass cheeses are made on site) along with international cheeses from Owner/Cheese Maker Paul Broughton. 

We head further north to the quaint town of Greytown where we visit Schoc Chocolates for a tasting of a wide array of artisan chocolates and of course purchase if you are tempted.

After our visit to Schoc Chocolates we head south east to the Pinot Noir Capital of the North Island – Martinborough where we have wine tastings at 2 wineries including lunch.

Once we have had our lunch and wine tastings we drive out to Cape Palliser, the southern most point of the North Island where we can work off our lunch by a ‘gut busting’ 253 steps up to the Cape Palliser Lighthouse for magnificent views over the South Pacific Ocean and the South Island. 

After catching our breath we have a very short drive to the Cape Palliser Seal colony. Care is required – it is very important we keep at least 20 metres away from the Seals.  Most importantly do not get between the Seals and the ocean. Please review the Department of Conservation information sheet of ‘dos and donts’ when visiting the Seal colony. https://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/conservation/native-animals/marine-mammals/seal-deal.pdf

Once the Seals have had enough ‘smiling’ for photos we work our way back to the quaint seaside village of Ngawi. Fun fact: Ngawi has more tractors per head of population than anywhere else in the world. 

On our way back to Wellington we call in to Greytown Honey to understand what it takes to produce outstanding honey and of course sample their wide array of locally produced honey.

We return to Wellington arriving back to your selected drop off location around 6:30pm. 

Inclusions: 

Bottled New Zealand spring water, lunch, tastings and entry fees.

Key points to note: 

• Itinerary subject to change. 
• Not suitable for cruise ship passengers due to the duration of the tour. 
• Parts of this tour (wineries) is not available for ages under 18 years of age. 
• If you have any special dietary requirements please complete and submit the 'Contact Us' form.
  
• Some parts of the tour are not suitable for wheel chairs or walkers such as the swingbridge at Kaitoke Regional Park, Cape Palliser lighthouse and the Seal Colony.