Wairarapa
- Official club name: The Friendship Force of Wairarapa
- Closest major airports: Wellington Airport and Palmerston North Airport with access from both by bus or, in the case of Wellington, by train.
- Maximum number of Ambassadors our club can host: 20
About the club:
Friendship Force Wairarapa was established in 1984 as one of the first clubs in NZ. Currently we have 31 enthusiastic members and can host up to 20 ambassadors, however 12-15 is a more suitable number. We have monthly coffee mornings (usually with an added attraction eg garden ramble), social get-togethers every second month, and Board meetings in-between. This keeps our social secretary very busy always seeking new and exciting adventures. Our aim for the future is add to our membership and provide opportunities for our new and current members to experience new adventures in the name of friendship.
About the region:
The Wairarapa region is mainly agricultural including sheep and beef, and dairy. We are also well known for our award winning wine and olive oil production, plus manuka honey with a high medicinal content. Commercial fishing is mainly crayfish and Paua (abalone).
The biggest town is Masterton (approxmately 24,000 people), other towns in the region include Carterton, Greytown, Featherston and Martinborough.
Attractions include:
- The Castlepoint and Riversdale beaches, about 1 hour east of Masterton.
- Mt Holdsworth for tramping.
- The Aratoi Art and History Centre.
- Vineyards at Martinborough, Taratahi and Opaki are also available for tasting and purchasing of local wines.
- Ngawi is a commercial fishing village also well known for seals at Cape Palliser.
- The Golden Shears (a sheep shearing competition) and the Hot Air Balloon Festival are both in Masterton in March.
- "Pukaha" the Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre is famous for the white kiwi plus other NZ native birds.
- Stonehenge NZ (situated just out of Carterton) is built on the same scale as Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England.
The above list is but a small sample of attractions in the Wairarapa. However our greatest asset by far is the people who live here.
What to expect on a journey to us
Arrive by train usually from Wellington (our closest airport in the capital city) to be greeted by club members and your hosts.
Depending on the time of arrival we may have lunch or a coffee/tea break at a member's residence, then it is home with your host to relax for the evening. Over the next few days of your journey we offer a variety of activities (not necessarily in the tourist information) but these will be chosen to suit individual clubs/members, special requests, and sometimes level of fitness. There will be time set aside to relax, and other times your host can set the programme around you for some one-on-one bonding and sharing. Sometime during your journey we will host a club-wide dinner or smaller dinner parties as a time for getting to know each other. When it is time to leave us we may meet at a café just prior to departure, again usually on the train to Wellington.
Updated 8 March 2022
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