The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels. According to Māori mythology, the sounds are the prows of the many sunken waka of Aoraki.
Havelock is a small town in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand, at the head of Pelorus Sound, one of the Marlborough Sounds, and at the mouth of the Pelorus and Kaituna Rivers
Pelorus Jack was a Risso's dolphin that was famous for meeting and escorting ships through a stretch of water in Cook Strait, New Zealand. The animal was reported over a 24 year period, from 1888 until his disappearance after 1912. Pelorus Jack was usually spotted in Admiralty Bay between Cape Francis and Collinet Point, near French Pass, a notoriously dangerous channel used by ships travelling between Wellington and Nelson.
Pelorus Sound is the largest of the sounds which make up the Marlborough Sounds at the north of the South Island, New Zealand.
Kenepuru Sound is one of the larger of the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island of New Zealand. The drowned valley is an arm of Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, it runs for 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the northeast to southwest, joining Pelorus Sound a quarter of the way down the latter's path to the Cook Strait.
Fairy Bay is east of Mount Stanley, elevation 971 metres (3,186 ft), in Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, part of the Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park, at the top of the South Island, New Zealand. The origin of the name is thought to have been the fairy penguin. It has previously been known as Falls River Bay and Sandfly Bay. A neighbouring bay immediately to the south is called Penguin Bay.
Tawero Point marks the eastern limit of the Wilson Bay Farm and the southern approach to Tawhitinui Reach in Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, part of the Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. Located at the end of a distinctive land feature easily recognisable on a chart or from the air, Tawero Point is home to a number of hardy Romney Marsh sheep which graze its steep and at times windswept slopes. The point is identified at night by maritime navigation lights on either side of the headland. All vessels leaving the inner sound for the open sea must round Tawero Point.
Rotokura / Cable Bay is a bay and small settlement 18 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of Nelson in New Zealand. The settlement at the head of the bay is at the southern end of a thin strip of land or causeway connecting Pepin Island with the South Island.
Maud Island is one of the larger islands in the Marlborough Sounds on the northeastern tip of the South Island of New Zealand, with a total area of 320 ha.
Te Hoiere / Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of South Island of New Zealand in the region of Marlborough. It flows from the Richmond Range into Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its magnificent river swimming where the Pelorus River runs through a gorge at Pelorus Bridge.
Lake Mahinapua is a shallow lake on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Once a lagoon at the mouth of the Hokitika River, it became a lake when the river shifted its course. Lake Māhinapua was the site of a significant battle between Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Wairangi Māori, and is regarded by them as a sacred site where swimming and fishing are prohibited. In European times it was part of an inland waterway that carried timber and settlers between Hokitika and Ross until the building of the railway. Today it is protected as a scenic reserve for boating, camping, and hiking.
Penzance Bay is a popular bay located in Tennyson Inlet, New Zealand, within the Marlborough Sounds. Tennyson Inlet is an arm of Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere. The bay is immediately north of Tuna Bay, which is accessed by the same road.
Tennyson Inlet, is the western arm of Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere in the Marlborough Sounds. Tennyson Inlet encompasses Duncan Bay to Tawhitinui Reach. This area is about 10 kilometres (6 mi) long. Tarakaipā and Tawhitinui Islands are the two largest islands in the inlet. There are three main settlements which are used mostly for recreation.
Ngāti Kuia is a Māori iwi of the Northern South Island in New Zealand. They first settled in the Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, and later spread to the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and Tasman districts to Taitapu on the West Coast, and as far south as the Nelson Lakes National Park. Ngāti Kuia tradition states that their founding tupuna Matua Hautere, a descendant of Kupe, came to Te Waipounamu in his waka Te Hoiere, guided by the kaitiaki Kaikaiawaro.
French Pass is a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D'Urville Island, at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand, from the mainland coast. At one end is Tasman Bay, and at the other end the outer Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere leads out to Cook Strait.
Aquaculture started to take off in New Zealand in the 1980s. It is dominated by mussels, oysters and salmon. In 2007, aquaculture generated about NZ$360 million in sales on an area of 7,700 hectares. $240 million was earned in exports.
The Marlborough Sounds Important Bird Areas are four distinct sites comprising several small, rocky islets contained within an area with a maximum linear extent of 40 km, in New Zealand. They lie close to Cook Strait in the outer Marlborough Sounds at the northern end of the South Island. The sites are Duffers Reef, Sentinel Rock, White Rocks and the Trio Islands. They have been identified as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) by BirdLife International because they hold the only known colonies, and encompass the entire breeding range, of the vulnerable rough-faced shag.
Pelorus Bridge is a tiny locality in Marlborough, New Zealand where the Rai River meets Pelorus River. State Highway 6 crosses the Pelorus River at Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, which was used as one of the film locations for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. You can take a guided kayak tour to experience this Hobbit filming location.
Bulwer is a small locality in Waihinau Bay in the outer Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, New Zealand. It can be reached by 77 km of winding, mostly unsealed, road from Rai Valley. A weekly mail boat service delivers mail and also offers passenger services.
Te Matuku Marine Reserve is a marine reserve administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. It includes Te Matuku Bay, one of the largest and least disturbed estuaries on Waiheke Island, as well as a surrounding area of sea. It covers an area of 690 ha and was established in 2003.
