Current Wairarapa Drive Information as of 17 Jul 2025
The current format for Wairarapa is .
If you are unsure if your bike is appropriate for this event? Click Here
Please note, as information changes, ride details will be available closer to the ride date and subject to a COVID-19 Self Declaration. We will contact all participants in mid-May with all the ride information.
The time and place you will meet all other drivers.
Time between meeting and drive start - 00 hour 30 minutes.
The time the drive will start.
The place where the drive will finish.
The Wairarapa Distinguished Gentleman's Drive Sunday 28 September
Polish your chrome, wax your moustache (or your eyebrows), press your tweed, and don your
finest driving attire – it’s time to roll out in style for men’s health.
This is a fundraising drive supporting prostate cancer research, and we’re aiming to raise at least
$4000. A suggested minimum donation of $50 per car is requested upon registration, but why
stop there? Rally your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, and even your local barista to
sponsor your drive. After all, what’s nobler than a convoy of distinguished classics driving for a
distinguished cause?
Start & Registration – The White Swan Welcome
Thanks to the generous hospitality of Nick and Rosie Rogers, we will start and finish at The
White Swan Country Hotel, Main Street, Greytown. Breakfast and coffee are available from
9.30am at participants’ own cost – the perfect opportunity to fuel up, exchange motoring tales,
and adjust your bow tie just so.
Nick and Rosie look forward to welcoming everyone. Registration for the day will take place
here, with more detailed ride instructions available to ensure your journey is both elegant and
unruffled.
��️Briefing: 10.10am
��️Engines On: 10.30am
Leg 1 – Grand Homestead Arrival
Destination: Rototawai Homestead, 808 Kahutara Road, Kahutara
Travel Time: Approx. 35 minutes at a relaxed, gentlemanly (or gentlewomanly) pace.
Take the recommended route via Wards Line, Te Marie Road, Pahautea Road, and back onto Te
Marie Road. These little-travelled country lanes offer sweeping vistas, gentle corners, and just
enough gravel crunch to remind you your classic is alive.
��Note: There is a short 2km stretch of well-formed shingle road. Should your steed prefer to
remain dust-free, stay on Te Marie Road direct to Rototawai.
Activity:
Arrive in splendour at Rototawai’s grand circular drive with its majestic tree-lined entrance – an
ideal photo stop for both vehicles and their impeccably attired drivers. Take time to explore the gardens and impressive homestead, which houses a stunning art collection curated
for true connoisseurs.
Judges will be casting their eyes for the best-dressed drivers and passengers alongside their
gleaming motors – so brush down that three-piece suit and polish up your brogues. Prestige
awaits.
��Entry: $30 per person, paid at the gate, supporting the Trust’s operations. Knowledgeable staff
will be on hand to support your visit at the house and grounds. Should drivers choose not to visit, you may
continue on towards Pirinoa or Martinborough at your leisure.
��️Departure: Engines no later than 12.15pm.
Leg 2 – Picnic & Pinot
Destination: Martinborough
Travel Time: Approx. 35 minutes
Activity:
Lunch amidst Martinborough’s elegant charm. Spread out your picnic blanket under the shady
trees in the Square, or indulge in the refined pleasures of one of the region’s award-winning
vineyards. Champagne corks optional; witty repartee essential. This is your moment to recline,
refresh, and regale your fellow drivers with tales of mechanical triumphs and sartorial victories.
Judging will continue from 1pm at the square for those drivers and cars whose finery escaped attention at Rototawai
Leg 3 – The Gentleman’s Grand Procession
Destination: Return to Greytown via Gladstone
Assemble on Oxford Street, Martinborough, for a convoy departure at 2.00pm sharp. This route
features delightful twists and turns, with narrow stretches that reward a stately procession.
Connectivity is patchy in places, so keep visual contact with the car ahead – few sights are finer
than a line of distinguished classics winding gracefully through the Wairarapa hills.
Alternatively, if the call of afternoon tea grows urgent, drivers may prefer the direct main road
back to Greytown.
Travel Time: Approx. 45 minutes
Finale – Awards, Applause & Fond Farewells
Return to The White Swan for the culmination of your gentlemanly exploits. Gather for well-
earned refreshments, laughter, and a toast to a day well spent in the company of automotive
and human excellence.
��️From 3.00pm: The official debrief commences. Expect heartfelt thanks, roars of
applause, and awards presented to deserving drivers, passengers, and vehicles that have
truly captured the spirit of the day. Perhaps you’ll take home the laurels for Best Dressed
Driver, Most Impeccable Motor, or Most Admirable Accessory (watch out, lapel flowers
and pocket watches).
Depart at your leisure, your spirits buoyed by camaraderie and your conscience content,
knowing you have driven in style for a most distinguished cause.