The Marlborough Region, New Zealand

We took the interislander ferry across the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton. Interislander’s website provides information about the sights along the way.

“The Cook Strait ferry crossing is 96 kilometers (52 nautical miles) and takes around three and a half hours. Two-thirds of the journey is a scenic spectacle, with the ferry looping around Wellington Harbour and drifting through the fjord-like channels and inlets of the Marlborough Sounds.

Described as one of the most violent and unpredictable stretches of water in the world, it is a remarkable and beautiful journey – and wonderfully calm, most of the time.” – Interislander (We were lucky enough to have a not-too-calm day)

About 30 minutes into our ferry ride we reached the Pencarrow Lighthouses. “On the port side as you leave Wellington Harbour, sitting on top of the hill you’ll see New Zealand’s first lighthouse. Erected in 1858, Pencarrow Lighthouse was constructed in England and shipped to New Zealand in 480 segments.

Back then, Pencarrow Lighthouse was run by New Zealand’s only female lighthouse keeper along with her six children. The Lower Pencarrow Lighthouse was built on the beach below in 1906 to be used during the frequent foggy conditions that rendered the hilltop lighthouse useless.” – Interislander

“The gateway between Cook Strait and Tory Channel is a narrow entrance between two heads – East Head and West Head. This craggy entrance is northward from Cook Strait, and so the small bird-covered island on the right-hand side is East Head. 

Interislander turns a sharp 90 degrees to go through the entrance and, on approach from either direction, it looks like the ferry is on a collision course with the huge rolling Marlborough hills.” – Interislander

“At the southern end of the journey is Waitohi/Picton, a sleepy fishing town at the end of the Queen Charlotte Sound. Although inter-island ferries come and go throughout the day, the town remains quiet and is a surprisingly idyllic place to stay or enjoy a few hours of calm.

Picton is also the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds, with water taxis departing regularly for the holiday spots dotted amongst the silent bays and inlets lining the Queen Charlotte Sound.” – Interislander

This IS a very quiet town. Despite the large ferry, which seems to carry hundreds of people on each of the 4-5 crossings per day, we saw very few people while walking around town, and didn’t have any problem getting a table at any restaurant or bar here.

Our friends on the North Island, Charlie, Paul, and Chris, gave us several recommendations for things to see and do in the area. First off, drive the scenic road to Havelock and eat at the Mussel Pot.

The drive took about an hour, but it was so worth it! There were several pull-offs and the scenery was stunning everywhere we looked.

The Mussel Pot is a small restaurant in the small (population 640), historic town of Havelock. Once a gold mining settlement, Havelock now calls itself the “Greenshell Mussel capital of the world”.

Chris told us we can’t miss it, just look for the mussels all over the roof. We didn’t really know what to expect…but we laughed when we finally saw it.

Joel ordered the sampler platter so we could try all the different kinds of mussels they serve. Some were interesting, most were delicious, and we ate way too much. (oomph…we had to roll ourselves out of here)

“The Marlborough region is about world-famous Sauvignon Blanc, delicious fresh seafood and diverse landscapes, from valleys of vines to sheltered waterways.”

– 100% Pure New Zealand

Charlie and Paul told us to try the wine in Blenheim, New Zealand’s largest winegrowing region. We looked up a few wineries to try and our first stop, Bladen Wines, was a great introduction to the wines of the region.

The setting was beautiful. And Blair, whose father started the vineyard when he was just one, spent some time talking to us about wine growing in the region. He also recommended another winery for us to try – even called them to set up a tasting for us!

Joel had only a sip of one of the wines from my tasting, since he was driving (and not really into white wines), which made him a bit eager for this next unexpected experience. On the way back to our hotel we were stopped at a random DUI checkpoint near the wineries. Joel took (and passed) the breathalizer test without any worries. Mark that one off the bucket list! (Wait, should that even be on a bucket list?!?)

The winery that Blair recommended is Dog Point Vineyard. They do tastings by appointment only and include a short tour of the property.

The wine was delicious! We even bought a bottle (though I’m not sure how I’m going to fit it into my way-too-small, and getting smaller, suitcase).

Also near Blenheim is Makana Confections. “You are welcome to visit our two boutique chocolate factories in New Zealand — one in the beautiful Bay of Islands area of the North Island, and the other in the heart of the Marlborough Wine Trail at the top of the South Island. Each facility is set up like a winery / cellar door where you can watch how we make our chocolates, taste a few samples and, of course, shop for delicious chocolates.” – Makena

We spent the rest of our time in Marlborough wandering around Picton, which is a very walkable town. Here are some highlights –

“Waitohi was chosen by the New Zealand Company as a site for the town of Picton for exactly the same strategic reasons Maori chose it several centuries earlier. Wartoni had shelter and deep water, access to Cook Strait / Raukawa Moana for inter-island trader and land access to the Wairau Plains.

In 1859, when Waltohi was proposed as the capital of the newly-established Marlborough Province, the name Picton was decided upon by Central Government. It was named after Sir Thomas Picton, a British military hero who died at the Battle of Waterloo. There is a Picton in New South Wales, Australia: and also one in Canada.” – Marlborough District Council

This was a good start to our adventures on the South Island.