9. Picton & Marlborough Sound

A 3 hour ferry ride brought us comfortably from North Island across the Cook Strait (which connects the Tasman Sea to the west with the South Pacific Ocean to the east) to South Island. This ferry had baggage check-in and collection at the other side like an airport - very efficient and a far cry from the baggage storage mayhem I had experienced on the ferry from Estonia to Finland last year.

We settled in at our hotel overlooking the harbor of Picton, a small town of about 5,000, and the northern most populated town in the Marlborough area that has amenities.

The 1500 sq mi section of islands, inlets & peninsulas along the northern part of South Island is known as the Marlborough Sound. The steep, wooded hills and small quiet bays of the sounds are sparsely populated, largely because access is difficult. Many of the small settlements and isolated houses are only accessible by boat - groceries and other goods are shipped in by small ferries from Picton.Read more