Motuara Island (Marlborough Sounds)

Family members gifted us an experience for Christmas a couple of years ago and we finally redeemed it in the form of a half-day trip to Motuara Island with Beachcomber Cruises based in Picton.

It was an 7:30am check in but the need for an early morning breakfast and coffee was well catered for by nearby cafes and a friendly barista working a coffee machine in one of the offices on the jetty.

We joined a range of visitors from around New Zealand and overseas as our boat sailed through the Sounds for an hour or so before dropping us off on the island.

Bird Sanctuary

There is no food or drink permitted on the island, which is a bird sanctuary, so make sure to comply with these restrictions.

It was a steep uphill walk to the lookout, which reminded us that we need to do some more walking before tackling our upcoming multi-day trip to the Abel Tasman National Park. But the effort was well worth it as the views are spectacular.

If you love birdlife you will very much enjoy the island. We had a close encounter with a Saddleback (beautiful song) and a very friendly Robin held us up on the path and helpfully and happily posed for photos for others in our group.

Colonial Past

The island itself provides a snapshot of Aotearoa New Zealand's colonial past, with a cairn that's testament to the arrogance of our predecessors, one of whom stood on a nearby spot and 'claimed' the South Island in the presence of a local indigenous leader.

After a very pleasant hour-long walk to the look out and back we were picked up by another vessel and taken on a tour of some other famous locations (Ships Cove - also strongly associated with James Cook – where we were able to disembark for 20 minutes) and a couple of other lodges and bays which were drop off and pick up points.

Stories To Tell

The skipper had plenty of stories to share, many of which involved adventures from his younger days and drinking with famous locals of yesteryear. He also shared details about mining and farming activities from the past. He pointed out an area of native bush that remains untouched, which was really interesting to compare with the adjacent second-generation regrowth.

Perhaps there's an opportunity for some more stories about conservation or alternative cultural perspectives?

By 12:30pm we were back in Picton. It was a beautiful morning and we felt like we had had a real day out with a pleasant mixture of exercise. and being in nature on the water and on land.