Travel Style

Boaties

The world is your oyster in the stunning Marlborough Sounds.

The Marlborough Sounds is New Zealand's marine playground, with one-fifth of New Zealand's coastline on offer right here, giving you some of the country's best boating and water experiences.

Go fishing for the big one or sit back and watch the dolphins and orca do it instead; dive for your night's dinner or a sunken shipwreck; catch a scenic cruise or charter a boat; lie back in a hammock or on the beach at a resort or holiday home; quietly explore the many coves and bays in a kayak or whip up some waterskiing action... fun in the Marlborough Sounds is whatever you make it.

Useful Information:

Picton Marina

Waikawa Marina

Havelock Marina

Essential Boating Information

Picton Maritime Festival

Enjoy all things maritime at the Picton Maritime Festival in January. Kid's play area, raft races for all ages, clinker boat races, performances from local talented youth and national artists as well. Food and craft stalls.

Blenheim i-SITE Visitor Information Centre

Motuara Island eco sanctuary

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

Blenheim i-SITE Visitor Information Centre

Swim with dolphins

Head out from Picton with Marlborough's specialised dolphin swimming and viewing tour company to view dolphins and even swim with them, in the sheltered waters of the Queen Charlotte Sound.

E-Ko Tours

Governors Bay Scenic Reserve

Enjoy golden sands and azure waters at Governors Bay, a 15 minute drive from Picton.

Blenheim i-SITE Visitor Information Centre

Visit a mussel farm

Take a tour boat to one of the mussel, oyster or salmon farms within our unique waterways to see how some of our wonderful seafood is grown.

Greenshell Mussel Cruise

Play golf on a farm

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

Blenheim i-SITE Visitor Information Centre

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Visit Anakiwa

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.

Featured

Visit Ship Cove

Visit Ship Cove in the Queen Charlotte Sound, the site of the meeting of the Maori and Pakeha cultures and start of the Queen Charlotte Track.

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Cruise with dolphins

Go dolphin watching, and learn about all the marine wildlife you see along the way, including seabirds and seals.

Related Guide:

On the Water

Explore 1500km of winding coastline, secluded bays, historic sites, marine reserves and island sanctuaries, fostering kiwi and other native species.

Beautiful beaches and native bush surround the sunken valleys of water, and every bay beckons. Some can be reached by road, but the only way to really discover the sounds is by water. Kayak, sail or motor your way through the Marlborough Sounds and share in our beautiful treasure.

Cast for kawahai and salmon at the mouth of the Wairau River, or find trout in the tributaries of this beautiful braided river. Pull on your wetsuit to dive for crayfish and paua on Marlboroughs East Coast, in the currents of the Tory Channel and Port Underwood, or out of Okiwi and Elaine Bays to the west.

Go diving in secluded corners of the Queen Charlotte Sound or cast a line for blue cod and snapper in the Kenepuru and Pelorus. Some of Marlborough’s best sea fishing and diving is off d’Urville Island and French Pass, where fishing charters will ensure you find the right spots.

Read our guide

Travel Style

Boaties