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The Duchess of Cambridge apologised for leaving her "noisy" son Prince George behind as she was given cuddly toys and clothes for him on her first walkabout on the tour of New Zealand.

A crowd of 5,000 people turned out to cheer the Duchess and the Duke of Cambridge as they visited Blenheim on New Zealand's South Island today.

The couple were in town to lay a wreath as part of New Zealand's build-up to ANZAC Day, which falls later this month, but delighted the public by spending half an hour shaking hands and chatting to people who had waited up to four hours to see them.

Lilah Bowers, 10, who had turned out in a home-made Union Jack tiara with her sister Claire, five, gave the Duchess a black bracelet made out of rubber bands and was told by the royal visitor that it "could start a trend".

Lilah, from Blenheim, said: "We asked her about Prince George and she said she would have taken him everywhere but he would have been a bit noisy."

George was spending the day being looked after by his nanny Maria Borrallo at Government House in Wellington, the family's base during their tour.

Some well-wishers gave the Duchess teddies, kiwi soft toys, and clothes including bootees, but the majority had brought flowers for the Duchess, who wore a blue Alexander McQueen coat.

Pippa Sowman, five, gave the Duchess a posy picked from her own garden, from which another bouquet was picked for the Queen Mother when she visited in 1958.

The Duchess asked her name and said: "My sister is called Pippa too!" Pippa said: "She was really nice, really pretty."

One mother had an embarrassing moment when her nine-month-old son sneezed all over the Duchess.

Vicky King, 38, said: "I was holding Alton and he sneezed because he has got a bit of a cold at the moment. She got a bit of a fright – she said 'Oh!' "But they laughed, and I was OK about it, because even though she is royalty she is a mum too, and knows what it is like to have a baby. She took it all in her stride.

"I thanked her for coming, and she said that it was lovely to be here and Marlborough is beautiful. It was just wonderful that they came here. It says something about them as people, that they are thinking about the small town provinces."

After the Duke and Duchess laid their wreath at the town's war memorial, the couple chatted to military veterans.

Wilton Sterritt, 90, who served with the New Zealand Navy in the Second World War, showed the Duchess a photograph of himself with the Duke of Edinburgh when Mr Sterritt was working at the 1974 Commomwealth Games.

He said: "She looked at the picture and said 'that's marvellous, I've never seen that one before'."

Hannah Price, 33, was with her 7-month-old daughter Grace who chewed some flowers meant for the Duchess.

Mrs Price said: “We’ve been here since 6.30, I grew up with a mother who was a royalist and I’ve always followed them.

“We said to Kate ’the flowers are for you but the baby’s chewed them’.

“She said that Grace was a lovely accessory, beautiful.”

Diane Russell was celebrating her 69th birthday and friends had given her a “ birthday girl” badge. The Duke spotted her rosette and stopped to chat.

She said: “He asked me how old I was and then joked ’Oh 21 again!’ Then he asked me where was his invite to my birthday party and said he’d passed lots of Sauvignon Blanc vineyards so he could bring lots of bottles to the party!

“I told him I’d rustle something up for him-and that we had a date!

“It was all a bit overwhelming to be honest and such an amazing experience.

This is definitely a birthday I will never forget.

“I’ve been waiting here four hours and it feels like I’ve been having a birthday party right here.”

The Duke, like his wife, was also given a bracelet woven from rubber bands, and said they were “awesome”, putting one on his wrist.

The Duke asked five-year-old Milly Lane, who was there with her aunt Kelly Musgrove, 37, whether she was missing school to come along to see the royal couple. When she smiled and nodded, he said, “This is better than going to school.”

She said: “He is handsome. I liked him.”

Some young mothers held up babies for the new parents to see. Emily Stein, 27, from Blenheim, had Ada, nine months, in a papoose, said, “I was hoping that they might think she could be playmates as they’re the same age!” Stein was impressed with how William made eye contact, as he greeted well-wishers with ’hellos’. And he was much faster than his wife on the other side.

“He is very efficient, you can tell he’s a pro,” Mrs Stein said. “Kate might learn quickly that she can’t talk to everyone!”

Dorothy Cookson, 67, was holding a banner featuring the Duke and Duchess's coat of arms. She said: "The Duchess asked where I had come from and I said we left at 7am for a two-hour drive. It's a real privilege for us to see her, and it's great for the town."

In an echo of what happened when the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Australasia in 1983, crowds standing on the side of Blenheim's town square that was worked by the Duke were clearly disappointed that they had not met the Duchess.

Some shouted "Princess Kate!" to attract her attention and cheered when she turned around and waved.