What to do In The Marlborough Area

Wine, wine and more wine. A lot of people know this area for the Marlborough Valley Sav Blancs. About 70% of all wine exported from New Zealand comes from here. It is a serious industrial production of wine and when you drive through the valley, you will get that sense. But there is much more to do here than just wine. Like all places South Island, there are some amazing multi-day hikes in the big mountains, but we have no experience with them yet, so will leave them out for now.

The Marlborough Sounds

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The Marlborough Sounds are a series of deep coves, bays and inlets that were once river valleys that have now subsided below sea level. There are three main sounds: Queen Charlotte/Tōtaranui, Pelorus/Te Hoiere and Kenepuru.

Picton

Picton is the town where the ferry that runs between the North and South Island is based. Although it is nice, there is nothing special about Picton. It is pretty small, very touristy and other than a place to get a cup of coffee and walk around for awhile, isn’t worth spending the night. A lot of cruise ships stop here so be aware it will be crazy if one has just shown up.

There are a number of wildlife tours that you can take from there that tour you out into the Sounds. The view of the Sounds is good, but the one that we took, E-ko Tours, was just so-so. The boats were uncomfortable and not all that good for viewing wildlife.

There are also a number of companies the rent and run sea kayaking tours. We have not done one here, but it is a beautiful place to kayak.

There are a lot of water taxis that will take you out to various spots on the Sounds. This is the center for doing the famous Queen-Charlotte track. It is a 4 to 5 day tramp that goes from Ship Cove to Anakiwa. This track is not the traditional hut-to-hut, but rather involves staying at a series of hotels and lodges along the way. You can either hire a company that does all the logistics or do it on your own. It is very popular in the summer, so if you want to do this, then book well ahead of time. You can even mountain bike it in the winter months.

If you don’t feel like committing to a full trek, then you can always take a water taxi out to one of the many places to stay in the Sounds; if you want to really swank it up then you could book a night or two at the Furneaux Lodge. There are a lot of Airbnbs you can rent was well. We stayed at the Portage Resort one time and it was just so-so; it is one you could drive to via Kenapuru Rd. Be warned though, it is a narrow windy road.

Havelock

Havelock is a cute little town that claims to be the “Green Lip Mussel Capital of the World”. I will say, the mussels are pretty darn good. We have not spent much time here although I did a boat-access only Airbnb on Pelorous Sound and that was pretty awesome.

There is a water taxi service that can run you around and/or your kayak out into the Sounds. There are some pretty cool houses to rent in the area, so if you have some time and want to hang out with the Hector dolphins and catch massive Snapper this might be a good option for you to do something unique.

There are a few tramping trails in the area:

The Nydia Track: This track is starts off of Kaiuma Bay Rd. near Havelock (GPS: -41.234518, 173.790734). It does require an overnight if you do the whole thing. If you want to swank it, you could hike to Nydia Bay and stay at one of the Airbnb’s there.

The Pelorus Bridge: Just West of Havelock is the historic Pelorus Bridge (GPS: -41.2978525, 173.572685). It’s a beautiful little spot with a number of hiking trails that range from very short to very long. The bush is lovely, the river is gorgeous and birds are good here. If it is summer, the river is wonderful for a dip. Do be warned though, there can be quite a few sandflies waiting to torment you here. The trail up the Pelorus River is part of the TA trail and you could take all the way to Wairau Valley over the Richmond ranges.

This is a great place for sea kayaking as well and there are a number of rental places in Havelock. There are both guided and unguided options. Just google it.

D’urville Island/French Pass

French Pass and D’Urville Island are truly at the end of the road of the South Island. It is a gorgeous, lightly visited area worth considering if you have lots of time. D’urville Island is the largest island in the sounds and can only be accessed via boat or taking the ferry across from French Pass. I have been to D’urville Island once, way back in 1986, when it was a single sheep station. It is now a bit more developed with a few bachs that you can rent along with a few campsites. There is even a resort there now that has a range of services. There is good biking, hiking and fishing opportunities on the island…and some great Green Lipped Mussels.

marLborough Valley

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