Peter Jackson put a small town on the map with a thrilling attraction

September, 1918. You’re chasing a German plane at 8000 feet when an allied aircraft accidentally clips your flying machine, shearing off your top-left wing and sending you into a death spiral over enemy lines. You have no parachute.

What to do? Well, if you’re Kiwi flying ace Keith “Grid” Caldwell, you manoeuvre yourself onto a wing to balance the aircraft, reach in to take the controls, navigate yourself away from enemy territory as Earth draws horrifyingly close, and then jump from the aircraft and execute a few somersaults to safety, seconds before your plane smashes to the ground. Oh, and then you wander off in search of a phone.

Such thrilling exploits are difficult to picture, but you don’t have to: multiple Oscar-winning director Sir Peter Jackson, has done this for you, capturing the heroic scene on the plummeting plane’s wing, and many others, as only a cinematic storyteller can, in Knights of the Sky, a series of larger-than-life World War I dioramas at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in Marlborough, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island.

There in one corner of a hangar lies a mortally wounded Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron, beside his infamous aircraft, which has crashed into a muddy field. A soldier tugs at the dead daredevil’s furry overboot as others hack at the mangled plane for their own souvenirs. In another corner is more wreckage, this time an aircraft entangled in a snow-covered tree like a snared bird, its injured British pilot sharing a cigarette with his German captor nearby before meeting his ultimate fate.

And in a separate area devoted to World War II, a handsome young airman, still in a parachute, is handed a glass of champagne by a woman in evening dress. This scene is again compelling, not just because of the man’s flirty grin and bloodied head bandage and her outstretched hand, but because, again, this is a real-life story.

James Hayter escaped his burning Hurricane above the Kentish countryside in the Battle of Britain, only to land in the grounds of Grand Swifts estate in Kent. After initially being challenged by a groundsman with a pitchfork, he was identified as RAF and led inside the manor house, where a cocktail party was in full swing. One guest, a woman who was a doctor, patched him up. But truth being stranger than fiction and not always as romantic, turns out she later sent him a bill for her troubles.

These dramatic scenes at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre near Blenheim are aided by the expertise of Weta Workshop, the design team behind Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Not only do the hyperrealistic exhibits shine a long-dimmed spotlight on many incredible war stories like these, they also rekindle the fame of the true stars of the show, the flying machines of World War I, some of which are from Jackson’s mind-boggling private treasure trove of wartime memorabilia (including Hermann Goering’s uniform jacket, as well as a trophy belonging to the Red Baron and a tattered piece of his plane featuring the Iron Cross).

The fact that a collection of this magnitude sits in hangars four hours from Christchurch in the middle of Marlborough wine country, thanks in part to a generous Oscar winner, may seem bizarre, but this is New Zealand, where exceptionalism with a twist appears to be everywhere.

Take the nearby Marlborough Boutique Hotel & Vineyard. Lording over 6.5 hectares of gardens and a working vineyard, this one-time Victorian convent, with its wide verandahs and sweeping kauri staircase, was built in 1901. Yet it didn’t actually appear here until 1994, when it was cut into five pieces and delivered by truck from its original site in nearby Blenheim. Nor is the adjoining chapel next to a mammoth outdoor stone fireplace quite as it seems: it was also moved here, deconsecrated, and now serves as a drinks and canape retreat for guests.

But the real magic of this hotel is inside the former convent, where 10 individually designed guest rooms tempt with fresh decor, eclectic artworks, original stained-glass windows and indulgent en suites, thanks to its 2017 transformation by owner Angela Dillon, bringing much-needed luxury accommodation to the area. Most intriguing is the hidden doorway – some would say portal – to the on-site award-winning Harvest restaurant. Find the button near that wall of books, and presto, the “bookshelf” moves, and you’re on your way.

The hotel, with its onsite working vineyard, is a perfect base to discover the other delights of Marlborough wine country, home to a dramatic landscape of terraced vineyards, winding rivers, rugged hills and mountain backdrops – all viewed en route from Christchurch from our 18-seater Originair flight – and, of course, excellent wine.

We become part of this landscape with the help of e-bikes and local winemaker Richard Ellis, of The Marlborist, one of many creatives who call this area home. On a meander along a sun-drenched river (no anomaly, the Marlborough region is famed for its long sunny days and cool nights) he takes us through the wine country that lured him back to New Zealand after perfecting his craft in France and elsewhere, because “people are doing such interesting things here”.

Cases in point are Framingham Wines, where we sample excellent rieslings and sauvignon blancs and glimpse its poster-lined gig basement, where mosh pits have been known to form; Dudson Scott gallery, where Joanna Dudson Scott describes how a deep love of this unique landscape shapes her contemporary art; and mussels and pasta – with yes, more wine – at Wairau River cellar Door & Number 11 Restaurant.

But no visit to Marlborough is complete without a visit to spectacular Marlborough Sounds, home to a 1500-kilometre network of sunken river valleys and the famed Queen Charlotte track. We board Beachcomber Cruises’ Lady Ann at Picton harbour and cruise to Kaipupu Sanctuary for a short hike. This “mainland island” was set aside as a sanctuary in 2005 and is run by volunteers, aided by a 600-metre predator fence. As we return to its small jetty, a baffling mix of screeches, bell notes, growls and something resembling a flute stops us in our tracks. It’s a plump tui, in its even more baffling coat of many colours, serenading us from a tree.

The next afternoon we whiz south along the coast by rail after toasting our three days of Marlborough adventures with cheese and wine at the cute Blenheim railway station, circa 1906, and now host to Fidelio, a wine bar/cafe (beats waiting in a draughty station with a vending machine).

Our Scenic Plus seats on the Coastal Pacific service to Christchurch live up to their name, with Pacific surf breaks on one side and the Kaikoura Ranges on the other. The trip includes a three-course meal with paired wines (cheese tart and smoky relish; beef fillet with scalloped potatoes and jus, and cheesecake) served on white linen tablecloths. There’s an open-air viewing carriage for photography, and expert commentary that urges us to “make sure to watch for seals and dolphins”.

We do. There are fur seals aplenty, surprisingly easy to see (once we work out that the grey rocks are not the things that are moving) and we pass pink salt lakes, green-pastured farmland, and spot an uplifted sea bed delivered from the depths thanks to earthquakes.

And then, just before we enter a tunnel, a leaping dolphin executes a perfect arc – another daredevil Kiwi flying machine.

THE DETAILS

FLY + RIDE
Originair flies regularly from Christchurch to Blenheim. See originair.co.nz
For Picton to Christchurch Coastal Pacific services, see kiwirail.co.nz and greatjourneysnz.com

STAY
The Marlborough Boutique Hotel & Vineyard. Rooms from $NZ1100-$NZ1500 ($917-$1230) a night, including full breakfast, mini-bar including wine, pre-dinner drinks and canapes and use of swimming pool and tennis court; 776 Rapaura Road, Blenheim. See themarlborough.co.nz 
The George Hotel, Christchurch, from $NZ392 ($320). See thegeorge.com

EAT
Harvest restaurant, see harvestrestaurant.co.nz
Wairau River Cellar Door & Number 11 Restaurant, see wairauriverwines.com

VISIT
Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, 14 Rosina Corlett Lane via Aerodrome Road, Omaka, Blenheim. Open daily 9am–5pm (closed Christmas Day). Entry adults $NZ30 ($25) Children (4-14) $NZ12 ($10), under fives free. See omaka.org.nz

TOUR
Explore Marlborough, see exploremarlborough.co.nz

The writer was a guest of The Marlborough Boutique Hotel & Vineyard and Explore Marlborough.