Don’t Miss

Savour the flavours of Marlborough

Blenheim is the base to begin your explorations of Marlborough's wineries.

• Tour some of the 70 wineries on a guided tour or bike the wine trail on the wine cycle network
• Lunch alfresco amidst the vines at a winery restaurant
• Spend a Sunday morning shopping for superb fresh local produce at the Farmers Market
• Visit a distillery or brewery to taste locally produced fruit brandies, beers and liqueurs
• Visit Tohu Wines, where the people of Wakatu Incorporation, Ngati Rarua Atiawa Iwi Trust and Wi Pere Trust are producing fine wines for the export market in the spirit of Tikanga Maori

Soak up the scenery of the sounds

A sound is a valley drowned by the sea - forest and water merge to create a dramatic coastal landscape.

• Arrive by sea through the glorious maze of deep coves and bays that is Queen Charlotte Sound
• Explore the town of Picton. European settlement of this area began in the 1840s and many of the early buildings still grace the waterfront.
• While in Picton, visit the thriving art and craft galleries or take a guided tour to learn about the rich cultural history of the area
• Picton Museum offers a fascinating insight into whaling in the sounds, and the history of Waitohi as a Maori trading settlement, colonial port and whaling port
• Go on a sea kayaking safari - guide yourself or join a group for expert tuition
• Walk the Queen Charlotte Track (one to four days) - a popular walkway with many entry and exit points. There are numerous top class accommodation providers and restaurants along its length
• Take a 'myths and legends' eco-tour of Marlborough Sounds with a local Maori family
• Visit the Edwin Fox, a maritime artefact, situated in Picton. The aquarium next door specialises in sea-horses
• Dive shipwrecks. Choose between the Russian cruise liner Mikhail Lermontov and the wreck of the Hippalos, a 120-year old wooden barque
• Charter a sailing boat and cruise the sounds - bareboat or skippered
• Chill out in a waterfront café, sampling local cuisine and soaking up the ambience of the neighbouring marina

Find a fresh country adventure in the Awatere Valley or along the Pacific coast

There's much more to Marlborough than wine and water. See what else happens in this beautiful region.

• Enjoy a high country horse trekking trip
• Explore private gardens open for viewing
• Local museums and restored heritage homes illustrate the early history of the region
• Challenge your stalking skills with a fly-fishing or hunting tour
• In summer you can do a guided tour of Molesworth Station, a high country farm. View the grandeur and beauty of the mountainous high country
• Take a walk in Wither Hills Farm Park - great views over Marlborough and the Wairau Plains
• Visit an orchard for seasonal fruit. Marlborough cherries (Dec-Jan) are a delight
• Art galleries offer ever-changing exhibitions of local and national artists
• Take a river cruise along the traditional trading route used by the early settlers

Adventures that begin in Havelock

The charming seaport of Havelock was once a thriving gold-mining town. Today it's a base for further explorations of the sounds.

• Taste the local delicacy - green-lipped mussels
• Visit the historic gold mining township of Canvastown, the scenic splendour of Pelorus Bridge Reserve and rural Rai Valley
• Get on board a charter boat and go snapper fishing or learn the eco-history of the Pelorus and Kenepuru sounds
• Follow the Nydia Track to Tennyson Inlet. The walk takes two days
• Visit the tiny settlement of French Pass and offshore D'Urville Island
• Do the Pelorus Bridge Walks - 18 kilometres west of Havelock