RAPAKI WALK
Walk is closed in September and October as it is lambing season. This loop walk across farmland has spectacular views of the Wairarapa valley & Martinborough vineyards. Near the highest point, a stile takes walkers to an optional viewpoint over the scenic Te Muna Valley. There are some moderately steep slopes & several stiles which need to be negotiated to get up & down from the upper terraces of the track. Still they are easily negotiated & make for one of the best Wairarapa family activities. Large cattle with horns may be encountered & it’s best to walk around the perimeter of their paddock & pick up the track on the other side. Children must be supervised at all times. THIS IS A FARM & DOGS ARE NOT PERMITTED. The track starts 1 km from the eastern end of Dublin Street on Shooting Butts Road.
PALLISER VINEYARD WALK
50 minutes loop - This walking track takes you around Palliser Vineyard towards the river & back through the centre of the vineyard.
Start the walk at Considine Park on the corner of Kitchener & Princess Streets. Just follow the limestone path behind the Top 10 Holiday Park. After going through a gate at the end, turn right into Dublin Street. At the end of Dublin Street go through the gate on your left & turn right which takes you around the perimeter of the vineyard towards the river.
The exit is through the centre of the vineyard onto Weld Street. The walk is open weekends only, or weekdays after 5pm, depending on the season. It is closed in March & April during harvest.
WAIRARAPA MOANA
Wairarapa Moana Wetlands has extensive wetlands where fishing and birdwatching are popular activities.
Just 40 minutes' drive from Masterton and 5 minutes from Featherston is Lake Wairarapa, the third largest lake in the North Island.
This is the largest wetland complex in the southern North Island, supporting native plants and animals of national and international importance.
Wairarapa Moana is made up of the beds of Lake Wairarapa and Lake Onoke and the publicly owned reserves around them. This covers over 9,000 hectares, from Lake Domain in the north to Onoke Spit, 30km away, at Palliser Bay.
FEATHERSTON RESERVES WALKWAY
The Featherston Reserves Walkway is a series of four short walking tracks all within an easy walk of Featherston. These walking tracks are well suited as family activities.
Two of the walking tracks stand out for variety and access. The Featherston Domain is the longest of the walks and enables access to a good lookout at the top with views across Featherston and the Wairarapa. From there it’s an easy walk to Barr-Brown Reserve for a short loop track through native bush. Featherston Domain is accessible from Revans Street, Bell Street or Harrison Street West. Barr-Brown Reserve is best accessed from Underhill Road
WAIOHINE GORGE
There are a number of short tracks that descend from Waiohine Gorge Road into the gorge, giving access for picnicking, swimming, fishing and watersports.
At the end of Waiohine Gorge Road a track leads down to the river. Near the Waiohine Shelter another track leads down to the river. At the ford at Devil Creek a route leads down the creek to the river. Turn off State Highway 2 just south of Carterton into Dalefield Road. Follow the road signs indicating Tararua Forest Park. The road-end car park is approximately 15 km from State Highway 2. Waiohine Gorge Road is a winding, narrow gravel road with one ford crossing a stream.
CARTER SCENIC RESERVE
Carter Scenic Reserve is one of the few remaining remnants of patchwork landscape once typical of the Wairarapa - grass, wetland, shrub-land, and forest. Hardy native trees such as tarata lemonwood, totara and a variety of pittosporum have been planted among the tree lucerne. Rare tree species that once thrived at Carter and the surrounding area are being propagated and have been re-introduced to the area and planted amongst these regenerating forests.
Carter Scenic Reserve is in Wairarapa, 12 km south-east of Carterton on the Gladstone Road. From Carterton follow Park Road to the end, turn left into Carters Line and right into Gladstone Road. The reserve is signposted approximately 3 km along Gladstone Road. The car park is about 500m along the driveway.
FENSHAM RESERVE
There is one circuit track on the reserve that takes approximately one hour to walk. From this track you can access the old fence track and the brow track. Look out for the NZ kingfisher, tui, NZ pigeon, morepork, North Island fantail, grey warbler and wax-eye.
Belvedere & Cobham Roads, 3kms West of Carterton - This 48-hectare reserve contains a remnant kahikatea swamp forest, as well as important wetlands that are home to our nationally vulnerable mudfish. Kanuka, matai, rimu black beech, titoki and kowhai thrive in this alluvial plains and hill slopes that form much of the reserve.
The reserve is permanently open to the public but because regular pest control operations are in place, no pets are allowed.
