| |
New Zealand >
Marlborough
 Marlborough
is a popular year
round holiday destination and is renowned worldwide for it's natural
beauty. It has a low rainfall, hot summers and mild winters.
Picton and Blenheim are the main towns, with Picton being the centre
of water activities in the Marlborough Sounds.
Picton is located at the head of Queen
Charlotte Sound, and is about 17 nautical miles from
Cook Strait and serves as the South Island terminus
for the interisland ferries. It
is always busy with ferry traffic and it has a wide
range of accommodation. There are water taxis and
tours, scuba diving, horse riding. There are large numbers of pleasure
boats and several marinas offer which permanent and
casual berths and other facilities like the village of Waikawa Bay.
The
area of harbour waterways consist of:
Croisilles Harbour, D'Urville Island, Admiralty Bay
Harbour, Pelorus Harbour, Port Gore Harbour, Queen
Charlotte Harbour, Wairau Harbour and here is an
extensive network of navigation aids throughout the
area. Picton Harbour Radio operates on a 24-hour
basis on channel 16 VHF.
The
port also exports bulk timber from a deep-water berth
in Shakespeare Bay to the west of Picton. And
aquaculture; mostly muscles, are produced in marine
farms in Pelorus Sound. The harvested muscles are
landed in several areas, with Havelock, at the head
of Pelorus Sound, the main centre.
 For
the traveler, a most pleasant drive is to be had by taking the Queen
Charlotte Sound road to Havelock, (and on to Nelson, or Top House
and the Nelson lakes, or to Blenheim). This scenic road winds
around sheltered bays with many picnic and swimming areas and boat
Around Blenheim you will find many small boutique
wineries and larger ones like Montana Wines. In fact
at this time, farmers are tearing up orchards and
planting more grapes for wine production.
The town
is relatively quiet with social activity cantered
around the bars and wineries. It does have a cinema
complex and a wide range of accommodation.
Other
places of interest are Seymour
Square is a picturesque park of carefully tended
floral gardens and a 15 m high historic stone clock
tower and a memorial fountain with a lovely
multi-coloured display at night. Whether picnicking,
strolling or taking time out, Seymour Square offers
an ideal setting and is only 2 minutes walk from
Blenheim's town centre.
Pollard
Park is a showcase of floral gardens, rose displays
and native rockeries border an attractive stream
which meanders through 24.6ha of wooded parkland and
golf course.
Wither
Hills farm Park is a working sheep and cattle farm
covering 1,100ha of the southern boundary of the
Blenheim urban area with many recreational
opportunities for both locals and visitors alike, the
Park has an extensive network of walkways and tracks
which guide you through a variety of tree lined
valleys or hill-top vantage points overlooking
Blenheim and the Wairau basin, and you can also see
across to the North Island.
Blenheim
Hotels
& Motels, Picton Hotels
- Inter Island ferries
- St Arnaud
|
|
Marlborough
Index
Havelock
Accommodation
Driving
Kaikoura
Nelson
|
|
