Spirited away to Martinborough

After navigating the precipitous slopes of the Rimutaka Range, which whisk you north-bound out of Wellington, the road to Martinborough rewards the driver with the bucolic sight of South Wairarapa's broad expanse of farmland - a rainbow of colours in the late afternoon sunlight.
Within minutes, my arrival in this premium tourist village was heralded by the prettily painted, veranda-lined main street that sweeps you into Martinborough's bosom. Bracketed by boutiques and bountiful vineyards, this elegant and historic village is a gourmand's delight with a dizzying palette of wining and dining possibilities. Martinborough's street design is a traffic-stopper in its own right. Look carefully and you'll notice that eight streets converge on the town square, deliberately laid out to form a Union Jack. Immigrant John Martin was responsible for this masterly design in 1879 and many of the streets were named in honour of his favourite international destinations.
The township's showpiece property is the cream-coloured and gorgeous Peppers Martinborough Hotel. This grand hostelry was built in 1882 and has been extensively restored to its former glory. As I tottered around its stately interior, I soon got a feel for its rich history, as expressed through its sumptuous antique furnishings and wonderful collection of sketches adorning its walls. Sixteen individually designed rooms open out on to the sweeping veranda or flower-filled courtyard. This boutique hotel affords the utmost in comfort, with luxurious fabrics and linens, plump in-room armchairs and bathrooms designed with indulgence in mind.
Whether you're a resident guest or not, be sure to pop into the hotel's fabulous bar to meet the locals and sample the nerve centre of Martinborough social life. The cosy open fire, antique oak tables, wine barrels, posh pub nosh and local wines all help deliver an indelible experience. Although if you have an early morning schedule to keep to, take it from me, the seductive comforts of this bar can spirit you away from any concept of the hours ticking by. For fine dining buffs, a more extensive and formal menu is available in the chandeliered-setting of the hotel's refined restaurant.
Scattered throughout the year, weekend market fairs are staged at the town square across the road from the Martinborough Hotel. An extraordinary array of local arts, crafts and gourmet produce are lustily displayed and sold from the hundreds of stalls.
Further afield, Martinborough is the perfect launch-pad to survey the rugged splendour of the Wairarapa coastline (as immortalised in Lord of the Rings), the Cape Palliser lighthouse and the burgeoning seal colony. A 30-minute drive west brings you to cottage-laden Greytown, the former centre of the Wairarapa. This photogenic town is home to Cobblestones Regional Early Settlers Museum, an exceptional assemblage of historic buildings and antique machinery. And don't miss Greytown's most decadent attraction, Schoc Chocolate, which creates sweets to exhilarate your taste buds.

TRAVEL TIPS
The Peppers Martinborough Hotel sits in the heart of Martinborough and  rooms are cheaper on weeknights. For more information go to www.peppers.co.nz
The Martinborough i-Site is located at 18 Kitchener St, and is a treasure chest of advice. Bike hire is also available here. Half-day hire starts from $15. For further information go to www.wairarapanz.com
Toast Martinborough is the region's most lavish annual bash, wooing epicureans the world over. Staged on the third Sunday in November, the 10,000 festival tickets are soon snapped up following their release in October.  For more information go to www.toastmartinborough.co.nz