Motuara Island, Marlborough Sounds

The Marlborough Sounds, at the top of the South Island, are naturally gorgeous but they also contain a historically significant site. More than a century after Tasman first visited the South Island, Captain James Cook made several stops in the Marlborough Sounds in the 1770s. On Motuara Island, near the entrance of the Queen Charlotte Sound, there's a memorial stone marking the place where Cook claimed possession of the South Island on behalf of England's King George III. A pre-European Maori pa (fortified settlement) lies at one end of the island, and the area was where some of the first sustained contacts between Maori and Pakeha (Europeans) occurred. The Department of Conservation presently manages Motuara Island as a bird sanctuary. The Cook Memorial on the mainland is nearby, at Resolution Bay, and marks the start of the beautiful Queen Charlotte Track, a five-day hike.

Motuara Island is a historic and scenic reserve located at the entrance to Tōtaranui/Queen Charlotte Sound. Notable are the actions of James Cook. During HMS Endeavor's stay at nearby Meretoto/Ship Cove, Cook climbed Mount Motuara and officially claimed (and controversially) it and adjacent lands in its name and sovereign use of the British Empire.

Location: Motuara Island, Marlborough 7282, New Zealand