Masterton

Masterton and nearby Greytown were established in 1854 by the Wairarapa Small Farms Association. The association was led by Joseph Masters, after whom the town is named. Masterton gained borough status in 1877, and the railway from Wellington arrived in November 1880. Today the town is home to 21,800 people, with another 3,400 living in the surrounding rural areas.

• Masterton i-SITE Visitor Centre

  phone: +64 6 370 0900
  address: cnr Dixon & Bruce Sts, Masterton

By car

State Highway 2 passes through the middle of Masterton en route between Wellington and the Hawke's Bay. There is a signposted heavy traffic bypass for those passing through and wanting to avoid central Masterton. State Highway 2 from Wellington passes over Remutaka Pass via the Rimutaka Hill Road, a busy and winding 15 km road with a poor accident record, so take extra care.
Distance and times (non-stop):

• Wellington - 100 km (1hr 30min)
• Palmerston North - 110 km (1hr 25mins)
• Hastings - 210 km (2hr 30min)
• Auckland - 610 km (7hr 15min)

By train

Metlink train services run between Wellington and Masterton five times daily on weekdays and twice daily on weekends each way, taking around 95 minutes. There are no reserved seats but there is a luggage compartment and bicycles can be carried. Tickets can be purchased at a station ticket office (cash or EFTPOS) or onboard the train (cash only). The standard adult single fare from Wellington is $18.00.
There are three stations serving Masterton: , , and . Masterton is the main station and the closest to the town centre, and is staffed for 30 minutes prior to each Wellington-bound departure. Solway and Renall Street are non-staffed; Solway is mainly a park 'n' ride station located in a semi-rural area serving southern Masterton, while Renall Street serves the nearby residential areas.

By bus

A regular public bus service operating six days a week (no service Sunday or public holidays) connects Masterton with Carterton, Greytown, Featherston and Martinborough to the south. Tranzit Coachlines operates a bus service between Palmerston North and Masterton five times per week.

By plane

There have been no air services to Masterton since February 2014. The nearest airports with scheduled air services are in Wellington and Palmerston North.

Central Masterton has three main streets parallel to each other; Chapel Street (SH 2) to the west, Queen Street in the middle and Dixon Street to the east. Most of the major commercial and retail facilities in Masterton are located on one of these three streets.
Masterton is reasonably flat, so walking and cycling around the town are viable options.
A shopper bus service operates within the town between 09:00 and 15:15 on weekdays rotating between four routes: South (202), West (201), Lansdowne (203) and East (206).

• Aratoi

  address: Bruce St

• The Wool Shed, National Museum of Sheep and Shearing

  phone: +64 6 378 8008
  address: 12 Dixon St

• Queen Elizabeth ParkPark with cricket oval. Minature train rides at weekends, boating pond and children's playground.

• Mt Holdsworth - Jumbo CircuitA 24km 2-3 day tramp (walk), with accommodation in DOC huts. The route climbs through forest to open high top tracks, climbing from an altitude of 313m to 1448m.

Events

• Golden Shears

  address: War Memorial Stadium, 2 Dixon St
  New Zealand's premier sheep shearing and wool handling competition, held annually in the first weekend of March.

• Wairarapa Balloon FestivalDozens of hot air balloons from New Zealand and the world congregate on the Masterton area for an annual 4-5 day festival held in March-April. The major highlight of the festival is the Night Glow, held at Solway Showgrounds.

• Wings over Wairarapa

  address: Hood Aerodrome, South Road
  A biennial air show and festival featuring dozens of vintage WWI and WWII aircraft. The last festival on 17-19 February 2017 was washed out; the next is due in 2019.

• Wairarapa Farmers' Market

  address: The Farriers Carpark, 4 Queen St
  Local produce including fruit and vegetables, honey, cheese, wine, eggs and olive oil.

All three major supermarket chains have a presence in Masterton: Pak'n Save (cnr Queen & Crayne Sts, Kuripuni), Countdown (cnr Queen St & Worksop Rd), and New World (cnr Dixon & Bruce Sts). Most of the national fast food chains have presence in Masterton: Burger King, Domino's, McDonald's, Pita Pit and Subway are within a short distance of each other on Chapel Street between Lincoln Road and King Street, while Hell Pizza (276 Queen Street), KFC (cnr Chapel & Crayne Sts, Kuripuni), and Pizza Hut (89 Chapel Street) are also present.

• Cafe Strada

  phone: +64 6 378 8450
  address: 232 Queen Street

• The Farriers Bar & Eatery

  phone: +64 6 377 1102
  address: 4 Queen St

• Lone Star Restaurant & Bar

  phone: +64 6 377 7308
  address: 49 Dixon St
  Texas-themed restaurant known for its large meals.

• Ten O'Clock Cookie Bakery Cafe

  phone: +64 6 377 4551
  address: 180 Queen St
  Multiple award-winning bakery.

• Mr Chips Takeaway

  phone: +64 6 377 3697
  address: 22 Chapel St
  Fish and chips and Chinese takeaway, with large Chinese smorgasbord daily from 17:00. Won the 2017 Bidfood People’s Choice Best Chips Award.

• Acorn Estate Motel

  phone: +64 6 377 0155
  address: 6 Manchester St, Solway
  11 Smoke free self contained suites with full cooking facilities & Sky TV. Access units available. Guest laundry, BBQ, swimming pool, private spa, playground, trampoline, wireless internet. Continental & cooked breakfasts available. A member of the Host Accommodation group. Qualmark 3 star plus self contained and serviced.

• Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park

  phone: +64 6 370 0500
  address: High Street, Solway
  102 rooms sleeping 2-4 persons. Has on onsite restaurant and bar, separate cafe and golf driving range. Qualmark 4 Star Plus.

Accident & emergency is located at on Te Ore Ore Road, Lansdowne. In an emergency, dial 111 for an ambulance.

• Masterton Medical

  phone: +64 6 370 0011
  address: 4 Colombo Road, Lansdowne
  The sole medical centre serving Masterton. Beware due to the large patient base, a routine appointment can involve a 7-10 day wait. The Wairarapa After Hours Service for urgent after-hours appointments operates out of Masterton Medical on weekends and public holidays 09:00 to 17:00 and at other times by arrangement.

• South to Carterton and Martinborough
• North to Woodville, then turn left for Palmerston North or right for Dannevirke
• Southwest to the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington