SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN

There’s nothing quite like a mosey through Marlborough’s majestic sea-drowned valleys on a gloriously sunny day. Hop on a boat from Picton for an outing on some of the world’s most beautiful waterways

Mosey through some of the world’s most beautiful waterways

LEGEND HAS IT that Kupe chased a giant octopus into the Tory Channel, dispatching the cephalopod in the channel after a furious fight. Captain James Cook entered the Marlborough Sounds from the west, anchoring off the beach at a place he named Ship Cove. He returned on each of his three voyages and stayed here more than anywhere else in New Zealand.

Today, the four sounds dominating this geographical spectacle are known as Queen Charlotte, Kenepuru, Pelorus, and Māhau. Given the remoteness of this jewel, it’s no wonder primary industries such as whaling, forestry and farming have historically kept locals afloat. However, much like the valleys overcome by seawater, most have yielded in time to the economic darlings of the Sounds: tourism and fisheries (namely, mussels and salmon).

The region’s distinct beauty is the result of shifting tectonic plates and rising sea levels which, over time, encouraged the mountainous landscape to crumple in and sink towards the Cook Strait. The surrounding valley floors eventually succumbed to seawater, forming a complex network of bays, inlets and islands.

Luckily, even the time-poor traveler can experience its greater vastness. Day trips, many starting at Picton Marina (a 30-minute drive from Blenheim), are as varied as the waterways themselves.