Must Dos.

Wake early in the Marlborough Sounds for a stunning dawn chorus, like that heard by Joseph Banks when he visited Queen Charlotte Sound with Captain Cook.

Check out the end of the Queen Charlotte walkway at Anakiwa, a very attractive bay in the Marlborough Sounds. Take walk to Davies Bay for a taste of the walkway.

Explore Marlborough’s whaling history at the Perano Whaling Station.

Visit the beautiful Motuara Island in the Queen Charlotte Sound. This predator free sanctuary is home to kiwi, saddlebacks and other native wildlife.

Travel out to the 13-hole Nopera Golf Course in the Kenepuru Sound, where pukeko, weka and ducks may join your game.

Road bike the winding Queen Charlotte Drive, with native bush on one side of the road and the sparkling Marlborough Sounds on the other.