Marlborough is a region on the north-east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Marlborough is renown for high sunshine hours, New Zealand's largest wine growing area and the Marlborough Sounds.
Marlborough is on the east coast of the South Island. The long Wairau Valley bisects Marlborough. To the north is the Richmond Ranges and beyond, the drowned valleys of the Marlborough Sounds. To the south is the Awatere River and then the Kaikoura Ranges and coast. As the prevailing wind is westerly, Marlborough's climate is hot and dry in summer and generally dry all year round.
Today all the iwi named above are recognized as having influence in Te Tau Ihu (the top of the South Island). Ngai Tahu is recognized as having a sphere of influence emanating from Kaikoura and points south. Rangitane are recognized as having influence in the Wairau Valley. Ngati Toa and Ngati Rarua have shared influence over all of Marlborough but especially concentrated on Port Underwood. Te Atiawa are recognized as having influence in Queen Charlotte Sound. Ngati Apa retained influence in Port Gore and towards the West Coast. Ngati Koata had influence on Rangitoto (D'Urville Is). Ngati Kuia has influence in the inner Pelorus Sound, with Ngati Tama having influence closer to Nelson.
PLACE TO VISIT
Whales off Kaikoura with a spectatular mountain backdrop
The Marlborough Sounds, an aquatic playground with bird and dolphin watching, walking, kayaking and sailing.
Vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see in the Wairau and Awatere Valleys.
Lake Grassmere - Where seawater is turned into huge piles of salt by the sun and evaporation as well as being a birdwatcher's paradise. Between Seddon and Ward on State Highway 1.
WHAT TO DO
The Marlborough Wine Festival is held in February each year and on 9 February 2008. Experience over 200 wines from around 40 wineries and gourmet food. It is NZ's longest running wine and food festival.
Garden Marlborough, an annuanl event running from 31 October – 5 November 2007 showcases Marlborough finest gardens.
The Kaikoura Seafest is a celebration of the region. Kaikoura meaning food of the sea in Maori has a justified reputation for crayfish, paua and fish. The festival started in 1995 and is held on the first Saturday of October each year. The 13th festival is to be held on Saturday 6th October 2007.
Marlborough is a outdoors paradise. It can be used as a base for tramping (treking or rambling) in the Nelson Lakes National Park, the Marlborough Sounds, the Richmond Ranges, the Kaikoura Ranges. One of Marlborough's secrets is the Sawcut Gorge.
Ski Rainbow. 1 1/4 hours to the bottom of the access road, Rainbow Skifield is the northern most skifield in the South Island, close to the village of St Arnaud.
WINE
Marlborough can lay claim to starting the modern New Zealand wine industry. Here in the late 1970s, Marlborough produced Sauvignon Blanc, among other varieties, which led to confidence that New Zealand could produce exciting wine.
Today, the Marlborough wine region represents 62% of total vineyard area in the country. The king varietal here is Sauvignon Blanc, closely followed by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The strong contrast between hot sunny days and cool nights help vintners extend the ripening period of their vines like nowhere else, resulting in unique expressions of their grapes. For example, Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough offer very unique aromas and flavors, which earns them much praise from wine lovers around the world.
The majority of Marlborough's extensive vineyard plantings are around Renwick, Blenheim, and Cloudy Bay in the Wairau valley. Further south in the Awatere valley are plantings near Seddon. These are for the most part on old terraces of the Wairau and Awatere rivers.
The area is widely considered by many critics to produce the world's best Sauvignon Blanc. One wine critic said that "no other region in the world can match Marlborough, the northeastern corner of New Zealand's South Island, which seems to be the best place in the world to grow Sauvignon blanc grapes." Hunters Wines, Cloudy Bay Vineyards, Saint Clair Estate Winery and Grove Mill are notable vineyards in the region. Also important is the production of Methode Traditionelle sparkling wines, particularly near Renwick, from Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
HOW TO REACH
By Plane - The largest airport by far is Blenheim Airport at Woodbourne, 10 minutes from Blenheim and 4 minutes from Renwick on State Highway 6. Blenheim Airport is serviced by the Air New Zealand with flights to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The commuter airline Air2there flies to Wellington and Paraparaumu (north of Wellington). Sounds Air, mainly based out of Picton Airport, also has one return flight to Wellington from Woodbourne.
Picton Airport, located 5 minutes south of Picton and 15 minutes north of Blenheim off State Highway 1, is the base for Sounds Air. This commuter airline flies to Wellington as well as offering scenic flights around the Marlborough Sounds. Picton is also used by Skydive the Sounds.
Kaikoura Airport, located at Peketa, 10 minutes south of Kaikoura on State Highway 1 offers two return flights to Wellington a day operated by Sounds Air. In addition, whale watching flights use Kaikoura Airport to view the sperm whales off the Kaikoura coast.
By Train - The TranzCoastal stops in Blenheim, Picton, Seddon and Kaikoura. A fantastic way to see the Kaikoura coast and Marlborough.
By Car - State Highway 1 runs from Picton south to Blenheim (20 minutes), Seddon (40 minutes from Picton), Kaikoura (2 hours) and Christchurch (4 1/2 hours). Travel to Nelson is either via State Highway 6 from Blenheim (1 1/2 hours) or from Picton via the scenic and windy Queen Charlotte Drive. Travel to the West Coast is from Renwick via St Arnaud (1 1/4 hours).
By Bus - Buses and Shuttle Buses run Picton - Christchurch and Picton - Blenheim - Nelson. Nelson Lakes Shuttles specialise in providing transport for trampers, hikers, climbers, mountain bikers and skiers. They run on demand and scheduled services to St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes National Park, Kahurangi National Park, the Richmond Ranges as well as other tramping destinations further afield.
By Ferry - Ferries which link the North and South Islands travel between from Wellington to Picton. The ferry journey takes 3 to 3 1/2 hours, the southern portion of which is through the Marlborough Sounds. The ferries take both vehicles and passengers.
