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 The Wairau Plain is bounded to the north by
the Richmond Range and to the south by the Whither Hills. The Wairau River winds across
the fertile floodplain, emptying into Cloudy Bay.
At the eastern end of the Wairau Plain, Blenheim is
the commercial centre of the Marlborough region and one of New Zealand's sunniest towns.
With its wide streets and spacious, country town ambiance, Blenheim offers its visitors
outstanding shopping, art galleries and attractive parks and gardens. The town also has an
excellent choice of restaurants and cafés catering to a wide range of budgets and tastes
- from "kiwi cuisine" and Mediterranean fare, through to Indian, Thai and
Chinese. Many of these eateries feature Marlborough wines and use local produce served in
imaginative and delightful ways.
Situated 10km west of Blenheim, the village of Renwick
is a thriving community with a population of about 1,750. The countryside surrounding
Renwick is rapidly changing, with the large-scale development of vineyards replacing the
more traditional farming activities. With the local economy being extremely buoyant,
excellent employment prospects exist in the wine, tourism and building industries.
Much of the region's - and New Zealand's - flourishing wine industry is
based on the Wairau Plain where some of the best Sauvignon Blanc grapes in the world are
grown by a number of internationally renowned wine companies. Many of the wineries offer
wine tasting as well as lunch and dinner, and are a "must see" while in the
area. |
