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Wairau Plains/Blenheim
Blenheim and surrounds
The largest town on the Wairau Plains (and in Marlborough) with a population of approximately 24,000 is Blenheim, which offers accommodation from the most luxurious boutique hotels, motels and home stays, through to riverside camp sites and backpackers.
Within walking distance of Blenheim’s focal point - the century old band rotunda - are thriving cafes, pubs and shops, as well as world class restaurants featuring Marlborough’s wines and cuisine.
There are several notable parks in Blenheim. Pollard Park is beautifully maintained with rare plantings, ancient trees and a picturesque spring fed stream. Seymour Square is near the town centre and features the distinctive war memorial clock and a beautiful fountain at its centre. A favourite spot to have lunch, the park is also the site of the Hunters Garden Marlborough Fete.
On the Wither Hills behind Blenheim there is a network of walkways providing magnificent views over the town to the Wairau Plains and Cloudy Bay and beyond to the North Island.
Blenheim also features Brayshaw Museum Park, which has an historic village and world renowned farm machinery collection. A narrow gauge railway runs from central Blenheim to the Park.
Wineries are open for wine tasting and in many cases, lunches - in the vineyards in summer or by open fires in winter and are easy to get to by car, tour bus or even horse and gig. In the same area there are also olive groves, breweries and distilleries, private gardens and craft studios to see.
Renwick
Surrounded on all sides by vineyards and just four minutes from the Blenheim Airport is Renwick, first settled by Europeans in the 1840s. Here there is accommodation for all budgets and several wineries within a few minutes drive. The Pioneer Museum is next to the Post Office, and on Havelock Street, the first church built on the Wairau Plains.
Wairau Valley
Further West, on State Highway 63, is the Wairau Valley region and township with its own unique attractions - golf, lavender growing, freshwater crayfish (koura) and alpaca. There is accommodation here and a tavern dating from 1856.
At the head of the valley the plain rises to meet the mountains, which in winter provide snow skiing in the rugged St Arnaud Range and Rainbow Skifield, and in summer, some of the best tramping around. Deep mountain lakes and fast-flowing rivers provide boating and fishing or for thrill seekers, white-water rafting and kayaking.
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Wairau Plains Aerial
© Graham Brooks |
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