Marlborough

Marlborough is a region of great geographical diversity and historical interest. Covering an area that includes the internationally renowned beauty of the Marlborough Sounds and the rugged Pacific coastline in the east, Marlborough is full of variety. The Marlborough Sounds is also a breathtakingly beautiful labyrinth of islands and bays serving as an impressive gateway to the rest of South Island. The region also has a wide range of recreational activities, from swimming with dolphins in the Marlborough Sounds to watching whales in Kaikoura and from walks through the bush and along the rugged coastline to relaxing at Marlborough's world-class wineries.

Marlborough is renowned for its wine tasting, and in fact, we spent 2 days sampling all the free wine the wineries had to offer. Heralded as one of the world's finest wine regions, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and methode champenoise are produced in Marlborough's many vineyards. Hire a bike and do the Marlborough wine trail. We especially recommend Cloudy Bay, which has reached cult status in the European market. Their sauvignon blanc is legendary. Villa Maria is also another of our favourites that has been winning lots of awards recently and never seems to be out of the New Zealand press.

Quick Tips:

Oh, and if you’re planning to be here in February, you'll be just in time for Marlborough’s annual Wine Festival (the second Saturday in February each year). It is now an established showcase for the region's bounty and draws people from all over the world to taste and see for themselves the excellence that is Marlborough. We really loved it here.

When you can manage to tear yourself away from the wineries, don't forget to take a look at Blenheim, the largest town in Marlborough and the sunshine capital of New Zealand. Good restaurants, such as Bacchaus, can be found here. Most winery restaurants are closed on Monday nights, so the town is a good option to find something to eat.

Visit some other townships. Nestled at the head of Pelorus Sound, Havelock is the best place from which to explore the Marlborough Sounds. The area is famous for its fishing and green-lipped mussels, which are huge. Go to the Slip Inn and order yourself a bowl of mussel chowder while looking at the marina.

Best Way To Get Around:

Hire a bike so that, when wine tasting, you can drink as much as you’d like without being over the limit. If wine tasting isn't your thing, you definitely need to hire a car if you want to explore the rest of the region, as taxis are very expensive

Watson's Way is a fantastic place to stay whilst wanting a base in the Marlborough wine region. Perfectly situated in the tiny town of Renwick, this hostel is much closer to the majority of vineyards than the neighbouring Blenheim. The ensuite "cottage" rooms are well worth the extra money and are similar in style to a top-notch B&B. A comfy bed, a wicked shower, and a TV ensure a high return of repeat customers. For those rooms that don't have a TV, there's a large TV lounge filled with comfy sofas and armchairs. There’s also a kitchen, ideal for chilling those bottles of wine you bought at the nearby vineyards.

Watson's also has good security. The front door locks, everyone gets a key to their room, and there are some lockers. Internet access is also available, and you can hire bikes for the super friendly host, Pat.

A few meters down is the tourist info office, a post office, and three pubs. The last pub, the one farthest from Watson's, is the best one. It has plenty of character, a good, relaxed atmosphere, and always seemed to be busy with other travelers.

Dorm bed $20 ($18 BBH)
Double room $44-50 ($40-46 BBH)
Camping $12 ($10 BBH)

What an odd, characterless place! Vitner's Retreat is a brand new restaurant and is roughly only one of three winery restaurants open on Monday nights. On entering the restaurant, the first impression is that the designer must have been blind--either that or they didn't hire one and decided to wing it.

The restaurant is a large room with dark grey walls, a light grey carpet, and wicker chairs. The restaurant lacks any sort of character, charm, or romantic atmosphere. For some reason, they then decided to put Hawaiian-style paintings on one of the walls (extremely bright) that didn't seem to go with anything.

The fireplace, also painted grey, had an urn of lilies covering it, and lilies were the flower choice placed on every table. It was then that I realized the whole place was reminiscent of a funeral home and wondered whatever possessed them to design their new restaurant like this. Very odd.

Moving on... On a positive note, the service was friendly and fast. We both ordered rack of lamb ($29 N.Z) and a side of roast potatoes. When the lamb came, however, the first thought that sprang to mind was, "Where's the meat?" since we were faced with four small racks of fat. I know, of course, that rack of lamb has fat on it, and the meat here is supposed to be the most tender of the whole lamb since the fat protects it. But this was just ridiculous—neither of us had ever seen such fatty bits of lamb before. To make matters worse, when the potatoes arrived, they were basically overcooked new baby potatoes—there was nothing roasted about them.

We didn't bother to check out dessert, even though we were both still hungry, and we both decided that this was a good place to come if you were on a diet, since apart from a few mouthfuls of meat, there was nothing left to eat. Both of us felt rather depressed after spending so much money on a hugely disappointing dinner.

I really would not recommend it.

This has to be one of the friendliest winery restaurants in the whole of Marlborough. The staff could not do enough for you. We started by order two glases of their 2004 Gewürztraminer, and the waitress poured two huge glasses of it, nearly to the brim. The menu was great; we started with the Whitehaven antipasto platter, which is a sumptuous array of hot and cold taste sensations served with homemade pesto, tapenade dressings, crostini, and crisp salad greens. We both then ordered lamb rump stuffed with basil and tomatoes. I told her I hated tomatoes, and she said it was no problem--all food is done from scratch, so they could make me one without. For dessert, we both shared the cheese platter, and again we asked if we could have more of the chedder instead of the blue cheese, which again they accommodated. The portions were huge and came with dried apricots, prunes, and a selction of biscuits. The food was fantastic, and the service was exceptional. The price was very reasonable, around $100 NZ (40 UK pounds), and for three courses and two huge glasses of great wine, we thought it was a brilliant value.

This really is a great place for a quiet romantic evening with that someone special. I cannot rate the service highly enough, and the food and atmosphere added to the evening. Plus, it's open on Mondays and Tuesdays--something not as common as you would expect.

It is also open for lunch, where the vineyard menu features delights like panini packed with mouthwatering fillings, such as roasted tomatoes, peppers, red onion, aioli, and fresh feta; or bacon, blue cheese, rosemary, and mushroom. Definitely a must if you're near the area!

We came here for an early lunch, and since the decor looked great and they had tables outside overlooking the marina, we thought we would give it a go. It's open for breakfast from around 9am, and their specialty breakfast is the kiwi breakfast, which is comprised of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and sausages, which, after much deliberation, I decided against. They also do healthier options, such as muesli and yoghurt and other cereals. I had the French toast with bacon and maple syrup, while my partner had the green-lipped mussel chowder.

It would not be an overstatement to say that the portions were huge. For the French toast, try the French loaf; it was really big and the bacon was good quality. The price was also very reasonable. The mussel chowder, however, according to my boyfriend, was just lots of mussels in cream. He thought it was too rich and not very good, but it was very cheap, the service was fast and friendly, and the atmosphere was nice. They are also open for lunch and dinner and did a good array of paninis. Their fresh-squeezed juices were also very good.

Pinch yourself: no, you are not in Olde England! The Honest Lawyer is an English Pub standing on three acres of peninsular on the Waimea Esturary. It has a wide range of wines and beers including hoegaarden and also serves Lunch and dinner. The Honest Lawyer has even won an award for the excellence of their beef and lamb. Guests can also stay there as the pub, which is huge, also provides accommodations. Double Rooms cost around $165.

The pub, which is so beautiful (ivy and flowers cover the exterior), reminded us of Anne Hathaway's house in Stratford-upon-Avon. Inside the interior is really atmospheric, which accommodates a huge fireplace that would be great in winter. The furniture, fittings, decor, exposed beams, and open fireplace all help to create an atmosphere that makes the Honest Lawyer popular with locals and travellers alike. Not the mention the cool beer garden that overlooks the water.

Staff were friendly and helpful. We dined here twice for lunch and have found the food and service very consistant even when the place was jumping. Really charming.