Featherston Area Guide
Featherston lies at the foot of the bush-clad Rimutaka ranges, an hour's drive up and over the hills from Wellington.
The gateway to the rural Wairarapa, Featherston is often bypassed by travellers heading for the gift shops and cafes of Greytown or the wineries of Martinborough, but the small township is worth a visit for the fascinating glimpse into history it offers.
A wander down the main street provides an insight into the lives of the early pioneers, with the heritage buildings well labelled with information plaques. The 1859 Cundy's Cottage at the entrance to town is believed to be the oldest in Featherston, and was the home of pioneer bullock wagon operator Charles Cundy, who had the challenging task of driving wagons over the Rimutakas in the 19th century.
A railway link between Featherston and Wellington was opened in 1878, when New Zealand's steepest railway line was built up the Rimutaka Incline. The Fell Locomotive Museum in Featherston houses one of the hard-working steam engines which traversed the incline, now the only remaining Fell locomotive in the world. Built in the UK in 1875, the locomotive was one of the hill-climbing engines designed by John Fell to run on three rails, using a raised centre rail to gain extra traction. The incline was closed in 1955 when a tunnel was finally constructed, and the old railway line is now a walkway and mountain bike track, winding round hillsides and through bush and tunnels. The walk starts 10 kilometres south of Featherston at Cross Creek and ends at Kaitoke on the Wellington side of the Rimutakas.
The Locomotive Museum is in the attractive heritage complex on the main street, with pleasant green spaces between the pretty wooden Featherston Library, the Heritage and Fire Engine Museums, and the Visitor Centre, housed in the old Courthouse. The Heritage Museum has exhibits on the huge Featherston Military Camp, two kilometres to the north, which was built to train soldiers for action in World War I, and later converted to a POW centre for Japanese prisoners of World War II.
The gracious historic house and park-like gardens of Fernside in Featherston provided some of the settings for Lothlorien in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Fernside is not open to the general public, but its website has details of Lord of the Rings tours which visit the gardens.
The racecourse at Tauherenikau, on state highway 2 just north of Featherston, in peaceful surroundings among native bush and old trees, provides a lovely place to watch spring and summer horse racing. The racecourse has race meetings three times a year, in November, January, and February. Check the Wairarapa Events Calendar for details.
Just six kilometres to the south of Featherston via state highway 53 lies the vast, shallow Lake Wairarapa, which forms the largest wetland complex in the southern half of the North Island, and is a habitat for many bird species. To go bird watching or picnicking follow Murphy's Line and Lake Domain Road to the Wairarapa Lake Domain.
For expansive views of the Wairarapa, stop at the roadtop summit on the way north from Wellington, and walk the Rimutaka Trig Track, a 45-minute return hike up to the trig marker on top of the Rimutaka range. On a clear day, you will be rewarded with views over Lake Wairarapa and the plains, and along the Rimutakas.