Tourism New Zealand's Trade Website

SECTION ONE: PAGE TWO

Road - self drive

Driving distances and times to and from the Marlborough region

	Km	Miles	Approx Drive Time
Picton - Blenheim	28	17	25 minutes
Blenheim - Nelson (via SH6)	116	72	1 hour 40 minutes
Picton - Nelson (via Queen Charlotte Drive)	110	68	2 hours 30 minutes
Blenheim - Kaikoura	129	80	1 hour 50 minutes
Blenheim - Greymouth	324	202	4 hours 40 minutes
Blenheim - Christchurch	308	191	4 hours 25 minutes

These times are for driving at 80 to 100 km (50 to 60 miles) per hour on open stretches, with a small allowance for traffic delays, petrol stops and refreshments.

Driving Routes

Around the region:

• Treasured Pathway: a signposted heritage highway that links heritage sites along 680km of roads from Picton to Farewell Spit in the Nelson region.
• Classic New Zealand Wine Trail: a wine trail that starts or finishes in the Marlborough region and links the Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay wine regions. www.classicwinetrail.co.nz
• Queen Charlotte Drive: a scenic route linking Blenheim to Nelson via the small village of Havelock. Drivers can enjoy magical views whilst winding past the Marlborough Sound’s numerous bays.

From the region:

• To Christchurch: State Highway 1 runs through Blenheim, Marlborough's main centre. The highway links to the inter-island ferry service in Picton and continues south to Christchurch.
• To the West Coast: Follow State Highway 6 through the Nelson region.
  www.west-coast.co.nz

Air Services

Blenheim airport has regular flights in and out of the Marlborough region. The following airlines offer scheduled services to and from Marlborough.

• Air New Zealand - flights between Blenheim/Wellington, Blenheim/Auckland and Blenheim/Christchurch.www.airnewzealand.co.nz
• Sounds Air - provides a daily service between Wellington and Picton. Connections are available to do same-day wine tours, fishing trips and the Marlborough Sounds. The flying time is 25 mins. www.soundsair.co.nz
• air2there - daily flights between Blenheim/Wellington and Blenheim/Paraparaumu. www.air2there.com

Approximate flying times between domestic destinations

	Approx Flying Time
Blenheim - Auckland	1 hour 20 minutes - 3 hours
Blenheim - Christchurch	50 minutes - 2 hours 30 minutes
Blenheim - Wellington	25 minutes
Blenhiem - Queenstown	4 hours - 4 hours 30 minutes

These are approximate flying times, including connection times, and will differ depending on the airline and type of aircraft used.

Coach Services

Intercity

Daily return services between Picton/Blenheim/Christchurch and Picton/Blenheim/Nelson. www.intercitycoach.co.nz

Shuttle services

There are shuttle services that operate from Picton, meeting passengers off the ferry and transporting them between Marlborough, Nelson, West Coast and Christchurch.

• Atomic Shuttles - daily return services between Picton/Blenheim/Christchurch and Picton/Blenheim/Nelson/Greymouth/Fox Glacier. www.atomictravel.co.nz
• Naked Bus - daily return services Picton/Blenheim/Nelson/Abel Tasman National Park and Nelson/Picton/Blenheim/Kaikoura/Christchurch. www.nakedbus.com
• For other operator details visit the Transport section of www.newzealand.com and or see this region’s website www.destinationmarlborough.com.

Rail Services

Tranz Rail operates the TranzCoastal connecting with the Interislander ferry in Picton. The train travels along the east coast through mountains and river valleys. For over 100 kilometres it runs along a thin ledge of land pinned between the Pacific Ocean and the rugged Kaikoura Ranges. www.tranzscenic.co.nz

Ferry

To the region:

Several ferries services operate between Wellington and Picton linking the North Island with the Marlborough region:

• The Interislander www.interislandline.co.nz.
  Journey time: 3 hours (one-way).
  There are three Interislander ferries offering passenger and car carriage. During the peak season the Interislander ferries offer 5 services a day between Wellington and Picton.
• Bluebridge www.bluebridge.co.nz
  One boat carrying passengers and cars, 2 services per day, 3 during peak season.

Around the region:

To access the Marlborough Sounds and the Queen Charlotte track visitors will require water taxi or a boat charter services. The common departure point for trips into the Marlborough Sounds is Picton.

For operator details visit www.newzealand.com or www.destinationmarlborough.com.