Whether you’re a lover of music, a fan of the outdoors or someone who delights in wine and food, South Wairarapa in spring offers something for everyone. Here’s a guide to some of the most exciting events happening this Spring —perfect for planning a memorable weekend getaway or an extended stay in our beautiful Wine Village.

Martinborough Music Festival

Dates: 27–29 September, 2024
Venue: Martinborough Town Hall, Waihinga Centre

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Greytown Festival of Fire featuring Stoked

Festival Dates: Friday 4 to Monday 28 October, 2024
Stoked Date: Saturday 26 October, 2024
Venue: Various venues around Greytown

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Round the Vines

Date: Saturday 2 November, 2024
Venue: The course is set amongst Martinborough’s vineyards

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Pūkaha Wairarapa Garden Tour

Dates: November 9–10, 2024
Location: Private gardens around the Wairarapa region

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Stay Overnight and enjoy a Spring Getaway.

With so much going on, staying overnight or even for the whole weekend allows you to fully experience the charm of Martinborough and its surrounding areas. Take the opportunity to explore the local wineries, dine at one of the town’s celebrated restaurants, or head out to the Palliser Lighthouse and Seal Colony.

Book your accommodation at Martinborough TOP Holiday Park Now.

As a small park, with limited space we have traditionally only accepted dogs during our quieter months.

We are dog lovers here at Martinborough TOP 10, but we don’t love dog poop, dogs running free and unsupervised around the park and in the playground, we don’t love being barked and growled at and we really don’t like abusive dog owners.

We have an obligation to provide a safe and healthy environment for our guests and our team and we have made the difficult decision to no longer accept dogs. As ever Certified Disability Assist dogs are welcome at any time, with proof of certification. We will review the decision in 2023.

Because we all know that Spring in New Zealand is beautiful but can be a bit breezy.

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Spring, the season of lambs, daffodils, longer days and wind. The Wairarapa is beautiful at this time of year but it can get a bit breezy from time to time. We’ve gathered together our Top 10 tips for tent camping when it’s windy.

1. Check the weather forecast before you travel, if wind is forecast later in the day give us a call to see if you can set up early. We’ll help where we can.
2. Know your kit – check your tent’s wind rating, you get what you pay for and a cheap tent is less likely to withstand strong wind gusts.
3. A windbreak is your friend, you can use your car as a windbreak and our reception team will help you with a sheltered spot wherever possible.
4. Consider the size and shape of your tent – large, multi room family tents are great for space and comfort but tents that are lower to the ground will fare better in windy conditions.
5. Learn how to put your tent up properly – we’ve seen identical tents put up side by side on a windy day and it is easy to spot which one has been put up well.
6. Put your tent up with the smallest, lowest end facing into the wind.
7. If possible pitch your tent with the main door facing away from the wind.
8. Make sure you put your tent pegs in at a 45 degree angle and adjust the guy ropes to keep the fly taut – most damage happens to flapping tents.
9. Staying at a Holiday Park gives you the option of communal indoor spaces to escape the worst of the weather.
10. Finally, if all of that sounds like hard work we have a range of built accommodation from cabins to fully self-contained apartments, so that you can enjoy the holiday park experience comfortably in any weather.

Why accommodation providers love it when you book direct.

When the tourism industry was struggling back to its feet last year there was a discussion in the media about the benefits of booking direct. Our latest Covid-19 Lockdown has, once again, brought with it cancelled and changed bookings across the accommodation industry. Here at Martinborough TOP 10 those bookings arrive from a variety of sources, including Online Travel Agents such as Booking.com and Expedia.

Like a lot of accommodation businesses we encourage our guests to book direct (or through the TOP 10 website). We believe that direct bookings are good for us and they’re good for you, here are some reasons why:

• Online Travel Agents charge commission and in many cases that money leaves New Zealand. As part of our commitment to sustainability we buy local wherever possible, so a high percentage of any money spent with us finds its way directly back into our local community and national economy.
• In the instance that you need to change or cancel a booking it is much easier for us to help you if you’ve booked direct or via the TOP 10 website, we have direct control over those bookings and can process changes quickly and simply. To change another booking you need to contact the agent you booked with, we cannot change or cancel third party bookings ourselves.
• The TOP 10 group have a Covid-19 guarantee. Our Book with Confidence Guarantee is applicable if you are no longer able to travel due to COVID-19 related developments and you booked directly with Martinborough TOP 10 Holiday Park or through the TOP 10 website. This guarantee doesn’t extend to other agents or websites as we do not have control over those bookings.
• You get better terms and conditions when you book direct because it is so much easier (and costs less) for us to handle direct bookings.
• Given the extra cost and complexity involved in dealing with third party bookings we don’t always list every room that we have for sale with online travel agents – our own website always has all of our available rooms and sites listed, particularly for large event or public holiday weekends.

Having said all of that, the technology capabilities of global online travel agents deliver a very convenient way for guests to book and we will continue to give you that option, we just ask that you read the room descriptions and check the booking terms and conditions when you do.