Lazy Lunchtime Cruise

The Lazy Lunchtime Cruise is a chance to enter another world, onboard an old-styled, wood-pannelled riverboat.

Discover scenic Marlborough by river on our relaxing cruise. Bring your own lunch or try our own light lunchtime platter of local Marlborough cuisine for only $14. Indulge with a little local wine or beer from our licensed bar. This cruise really is a way to escape the everyday and wind down in the midst of Marlborough's beautiful scenery.

Our upper and lower decks offer you the opportunity to bask in the sunshine in good weather or relax inside if it's wet. We are warm on the coldest days, with our lovely fireplace creating a special atmosphere on board. Yet we're cool on the hottest days as there's always a breeze created as we gently cruise along.

Cruise departs Blenheim at 12.00 noon, returns 2.30pm. Every day except Mondays.  (All cruises are at the discretion of the skipper and dependent on weather conditions.)

Cruise fares: Adult $75 | Child* FREE | Senior** 10% off. Lunch is an optional extra - $14 for adults and seniors, $10 for children.

 *Child under 15 years (must be accompanied by an adult).
 ** Over 65 years.

Lunchtime Platters $14

Our light lunchtime platter aims to celebrate Marlborough produce. Let us know your preferences and we'll do our best to provide a platter to suit your taste and any dietary requirements - but our platters usually include the following: local green-lipped mussels from the Marlborough Sounds, a taste of Marlborough salmon, shrimps in a homemade aioli, locally shot wild-game salami, a couple of cheeses, some nuts, bread, crackers and chutney. Let us know if you don't like seafood or have any special dietary needs and we'll see what we can put together especially for you.

What people have said about our Lazy Lunchtime Cruise

I couldn’t have wished for a more pleasant and relaxed afternoon with the time passing all too quickly. Views are many and varied from both levels of the River Queen with houses and gardens near town giving way to tree lined banks, through vineyards and open fields. 

Anne, Marlborough

Gloriously relaxing. We had lunch on the River Queen recently and it was bliss. The boat was roomy and we were able to sit back and enjoy the everchanging river views. Flowing water, green willow trees and riverbanks and ducklings made the journey relaxing and interesting. The host was friendly and the food superb - the different dietary needs of the group were met without fuss. I highly recommend this trip to visitors and local people alike.

Google Review

 A trip down the river at lunchtime - letting you know where we go 

Marlborough's River Queen sits on the Taylor River at Beaver Station Wharf in Riverside Park, Blenheim. Just 200m down river we reach the old Boathouse Theatre. It's here that we meet the Opawa River, which eventually winds its way out to Cloudy Bay, some 20km later. It is the Opawa River which drew the first European settlers inland from Cloudy Bay, to found the early port of Blenheim, then called simply "The Beaver".

As we cruise down river, we pass old wharfs and the home which used to be Blenheim's maternity hospital but is now run as a Backpackers. Passing by gardens and homes we come to Long Drop Bend, site of an old Long Drop toilet in days gone by. This toilet ended its days when it was speared onto the bowsprit of the scow Echo and torn away from the riverbank. No one records if anyone was using the toilet at the time.

Gliding gently along, we pass Green Gables, a boutique Bed & Breakfast place, with lovely gardens. It is here that we sometimes stop for wedding parties, so the service can be held in the gardens, before a reception cruising the river continues their special day.

Emerging from town into the pastureland, we travel behind the old Duncannon Motor Camp, now run as accommodation for vineyard workers. And just before the river turns completely away from the road, we arrive at Butter Factory Bend. The old Butter Factory is still visible here, as are the mainline railway and main road to Christchurch. It is the one point where the road, the railway and the river meet. This is also the site of a gruesome story from the last years of the scow Echo sailing the river, some 50 years ago. After crew had reported money going missing, the owners engaged a detective to track down the culprit. The detective quickly found evidence to accuse the cook but, that night, after serving the evening meal, the cook jumped ship and was never seen alive again. His dead body washed up just here, on Butter Factory Bend, and some say his spirit still lingers to this day.

Our cruise continues out past the vineyards and towards the old Malthouse, which was used for dances to raise money for the troops, during the second world war. The Malhouse is also the last point of road access to the river. It is here we meet with Na Clachan Wine Tours for passengers booked on our Cruise and Wine Tour package.

We continue down river, with the Bluff Cliffs which mark the southerly edge of Cloudy Bay just visible in the distance, through the trees lining the riverbank. Depending on the tide and weather conditions, the skipper will find a convenient spot to turn the vessel down river and begin our gentle progress back to town. Now the views are different again and we see things from quite a different perspective. It's often on the return journey that people note wildlife, (pukeko, spoonbills, shags or the white heron) or other points of interest, which was missed on the way out.

Once we reach the Boathouse Theatre again, the skipper pushes the nose of the vessel up the Opawa, before reversing slowly up the Taylor to our berth.