Discover Blenheim, Marlborough

Marlborough is a destination for anyone who loves nature, outdoor adventures and good flavours. It's a place blessed with many storylines, both old and new. From pursuing food and wine in the vineyard landscape to paddling a kayak in the sounds, you can pick your own path.

About our flights to Blenheim

Air New Zealand operates daily non-stop flights to Blenheim from Auckland and Wellington, with connections across the New Zealand domestic network. With all our New Zealand domestic airfares you can choose seat, seat+bag, flexichange or flexirefund fare types. Flexichange gives you the flexibility to change your flight with no change fees while flexirefund is fully refundable. Find out more about our New Zealand domestic seat options.

If riding a bike sedately from cellar door to cellar door sounds like your idea of heaven, Marlborough is your sort of place.

Things to see and do when you visit Marlborough

To enjoy the best of Marlborough, we recommend you pick up a rental car at the airport. Alternatively, you could use local operators to shuttle you around the region. Bikes are also a great form of transport in Marlborough, if your aim is mainly to explore wine and food across the Marlborough plains.

Hiking, biking or kayaking in Queen Charlotte Sound

Before the days of wine and cellar doors, the Marlborough region's chief claim to fame was its sounds - extraordinary sea-drowned valleys created when ocean levels rose many millions of years ago. This marine wonderland can be explored by mountain bike, on foot, by kayak or on a cruise.

Queen Charlotte Track is one of the most popular adventures in the area. You can hike it, bike it or paddle around in a kayak. Measuring 72 kilometres from end to end, it passes through lush coastal forest, around coves and inlets, and along skyline ridges that deliver breath-taking views of sky, ocean, beaches and bays. You can get out there for one day or several, with or without a guide. Accommodation options include camping under the stars or bedding down in a comfortable lodge. The track is open all year round. In summer, one section (Ship Cove to Punga) is closed to bikers.

To get your Queen Charlotte Track adventure sorted, call on some help from Marlborough Tour Company. They have two fabulous Marlborough Sounds lodges – Furneaux Lodge and Punga Cove. They also operate Cougar Line, a water transport company that can get you to your starting point, then deliver you back to Picton at the end.

Another way to see the sounds is to catch a tour on Havelock's famous Pelorus Mail Boat. For more than 100 years it's been providing sightseeing experiences while delivering mail around the beautiful Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere area.

Lochmara Lodge

Lochmara Lodge is both a centre for wildlife recovery and a wonderful place for a holiday. Accessible only by water, the lodge has an underwater observatory, sculpture trail, nature walk network and a spa. There's also a comprehensive programme of nature-based excursions and activities. You can visit Lochmara Lodge for a day trip or stay a few nights in the comfy chalet accommodation. Water taxis leave from Picton.

Wineries in Marlborough

If riding a bike sedately from cellar door to cellar door sounds like your idea of heaven, Marlborough is your sort of place. It has more sauvignon blanc plantings than anywhere else in New Zealand, as well as plenty of pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot gris and riesling vines, to bring variety to your tasting tour. From the small township of Renwick, there are more than 30 welcoming wineries within a 24-kilometre circuit.

You won't have to pack a picnic, because there are vineyard cafés and restaurants in every direction. Local delicacies include green-lipped mussels from Havelock, Marlborough salmon and blue cod. Serendipitously, they all pair perfectly with the local sauvignon blanc. Bike hire is easy to arrange - it might even be provided by your accommodation.

Cloudy Bay Winery

Visiting Cloudy Bay Winery is a highlight of any Marlborough cellar door adventure and the environment is almost as enticing as the wine. The vast courtyard extends out to a glorious landscape that invites you to commune with nature while you sip your way through a tasting. During summer, Jack's Raw Bar is open at Cloudy Bay. The meals are informally fabulous with an emphasis on local seafood.

A divine Marlborough degustation

As well as winery cafés and restaurants, the Marlborough region has some exceptional establishments for fine dining. A great example is beautiful Arbour restaurant, which has two hats from Cuisine and multiple awards from other reputable sources. It's all about degustation here - six or nine courses of divinely constructed edible artworks. Every dish represents Marlborough on a plate.

Marlborough's marvellous one-day wine and food festival

At Marlborough's annual wine and food festival, you can discover the maximum number of wine producers in the shortest possible time. Best of all, you'll enjoy the region's best wine in the company of great food - brilliant wine and food pairings are a focus for this festival. Held in a vineyard, this one-day event happens in early February. The festival includes more than 50 wine producers, 25+ food businesses and a stage full of live entertainment. Featuring more than 50 wine producers, 25+ food businesses and a stage full of live entertainment, this one-day event happens in early February. The date and venue are advertised on the festival's website. 

An awesome aviation museum

Plane-spotters will have the best of times the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, but this museum isn't only for aviation enthusiasts. It's for anyone who appreciates the amazing evolution of flying machines. You'll see Sir Peter Jackson's impressive collection of WW1 aircraft and artefacts, and a superb collection of WW2 fighters in the Dangerous Skies exhibition. Incredibly realistic and engaging, the displays are bought to life with dioramas by Wingnut Films, life-like mannequins created by Weta Workshop and immersive multi-media experiences. Top your visit off with a ride in a Stearman biplane or Yak-3. See our Top 10 things to do in Marlborough.

Accommodation in Blenheim

You can expect a room with a view wherever you stay in the Marlborough region. For those on a tight budget, there's a choice of economical backpacker lodges or you can make yourself at home in a tent, cabin or campervan at a picturesque holiday park. If you're a mid-range traveller, look for a cosy Airbnb cottage, tourist hotel or B & B. And if you're splashing the cash, there are winery lodges and luxury boutique hotels that understand the art of upmarket hospitality.

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