Marlborough Region

Introduction

Marlborough Region is a region at the north of South Island, New Zealand. It is famous for its fine wines, particularly Sauvignon blancs. The primary town in Malborough is Blenheim, which has a population of around 30,000. Picton lies on the north shore of the Malborough Sounds and is the South Island stop for the Interislander ferry that runs between Wellington and Picton.

Cities

• Blenheim
• Picton

Getting There

By Plane

Woodbourne Airport (BHE), about 8 kilometres from Blenheim, offers flights to/from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Paraparaumu.

By Train

The TranzCoastal is a daily passenger service between Picton and Christchurch, stopping en route in 6 other places, including Blenheim and Kaikoura.

By Boat

Interislander operates a regular ferry service between Wellington on the North Island and Picton on the South Island. Bluebridge also operates between the North (Wellington) and South Islands (Picton) with up to four sailings a day between the two cities.

Getting Around

By Car

Some of the other options to rent cars include the following companies:

• Avis
• Hertz
• Budget
• New Zealand Rent A Car
• Thrifty
• Ace Rental Cars
• Go Rentals
• Europcar

Before you rent, ask the rental company if they have any relocation deals. Even in high season there can be a bottle neck of cars and campers at certain locations that the hire company is willing to offer discounted sometimes free rental to move the vehicle, possibly right to where you want to go. The only down side is the vehicle often has a time restriction, but even this is negotiable, depending on how much the rental company needs the vehicle moved.

Sleep