The Pelorus Mail Boat has been a lifeline for people living in far-flung bays, inlets and jetties of the Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere for more than a century.
Mail was first delivered to the Marlborough Sounds by government steamer in 1869. Initially the steamer delivered all the mail to one location for residents to collect, but as the population grew the steamer put the mail ashore at several small post offices throughout the area.
In 1918 the government put the mail service out to private operators and the mail run, just as it is done today, was created.
For a number of years he’s skippered boats in Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui, the Bay of Islands and now – back home in the Marlborough Sounds - Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere. Levon is the Marine Manager both at the Pelorus Mail Boat, and over the hill at Cougar Line Water Taxis, Picton. In his free time, he enjoys playing rugby, free diving, mountain biking, and being a dad.
James is a true Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere local. Having spent his younger years growing up in an isolated place in the Marlborough Sounds called Canoe Bay, he has an immense amount of local knowledge. He has spent time skippering boats in many parts of New Zealand, including Fiordland, Nelson, Taranaki and the Marlborough Sounds. He has managed to find his way back to the place he grew up, and is now living in Canoe Bay once more. James enjoys cracking a good joke, and getting a laugh out of everyone. In his free time he enjoys photography and playing his ukulele.
Nicole’s childhood, spent growing up on a farm in Tokoroa couldn’t be much further from the water.
