Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region, commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a district and a region. Marlborough District Council is based at Blenheim, the largest town. The unitary region has a population of 52,200.
The Marlborough Sounds seen from the Wellington–Picton ferry
Blenheim
Green-lipped mussel farm beside Havelock
View looking north from Blenheim of Marlborough vineyards
The South Island, also named Te Waipounamu in Māori, is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island, constituting 56% of New Zealand's land area. At low altitude, it has an oceanic climate.
South Island
Charcoal rock drawing at Carters rockpool on the Ōpihi River
First European impression of Māori, at Murderers' Bay, 1642
Ships in what is likely to be Akaroa Harbour some time in the early 19th century