So much to do – so little time…
Your hosts at Straw Lodge are committed to helping you experience the very best this diverse and beautiful Marlborough region can offer. Whether you wish to walk, cycle, drive, tour or even horse trek, they will help you plan and discover Marlborough’s most interesting, beautiful and wild places.
Tours
Marborough Wine Tours and Marlborough Tour Company
Join us on luxury tours and cruises of the Marlborough region, featuring the best wine, seafood and scenery Marlborough has to offer. Your tour, your way – led by experienced local guides, focused on your enjoyment.
Tours & Cruises: Marlborough wine tours, Marlborough Sounds seafood cruises & more.
Transfer Tours: Tour as you transfer with one of our link tours – Nelson, Christchurch, Kaikoura
Molesworth Tours
One day Molesworth Tours to the gates of the Molesworth Station are available all year and go on demand for a minimum of 2 people. Other tours offered are 4 day Molesworth cycle tours, 4 day Molesworth self-drive Tagalong tours, and overnight Heritage Discovery Tours where you can discover the heart and soul of the centre of NZ seeing majestic scenery, and even visiting a Merino Shearing Shed in the high country.
Walks and Tramping
Some of New Zealand’s most amazing walks and treks such as the Queen Charlotte Track are found in Marlborough. OR you can drive from Blenheim to the picturesque seaside town of Picton via Whites Bay and Port Underwood, seeing en-route the coastline and the Marlborough Sounds over to the North Island.
From Picton you could take a trip around Queen Charlotte Drive through some magnificent scenery and on to the green shell mussel capital of the world – Havelock.
Whales and Dolphins
Blenheim is a comfortable 1 ½ hour drive to Kaikoura where we can arrange for you to take a morning or afternoon whale-watch tour. It is rare that whales are not seen in this beautiful area.
Hot Springs
About 1 ½ hour’s drive inland from Kaikoura are our magnificent Hanmer Hot Springs where you can bathe in varying temperatures of Hot Pools or enjoy their great Hydro Slide.
Fishing
If your passion is fly-fishing, the seclusion of Marlborough’s rivers will provide a challenging fishing experience, that will often prove to be rewarding.
On the other hand, salt water sports fishing in the Sounds is great fun. There are numerous professional fishing charters that are available for your enjoyment.
Boating and Kayaking
Alternatively Driftwood Eco Tours could take you kayaking into the Sounds to meet the Spoonbill and other delightful birds. There are several options to cruise in the Sounds where you can combine the glorious views of the waterways with dolphin and bird watching. OR you may wish to take a Day Tour in the Marlborough Sounds and actually swim with the dolphins.
All equipment is supplied for you to share in possibly one of the most exciting and exhilarating nature experiences.
Arts and Crafts
Many arts and crafts people have been attracted to Marlborough for its natural beauty, unpolluted environment, pleasant climate and general unhurried pace of life. The range of work is diverse, including chocolate making, painting, bone carving, soap making, china and glass work, quilting, ceramics and pottery, wood turning and sculpture, paua and jade jewellery.
The artist’s studios are dotted throughout the region and it is possible to combine a personal tour with many other activities and visits. And it is also a pleasant 1 ½ hour drive to Nelson to visit the local galleries and the wonderful World of Wearable Arts Museum – ‘WOW’.
