Queen Charlotte Sound

Walk or ride a track fit for a queen
The Queen Charlotte track is located in the Marlborough Sounds and offers a spectacular trip from the historic Ship Cove through to Anakiwa in the Grove Arm. The 71 kilometre track passes through lush coastal forest and skyline ridges and will take walkers with a good level of fitness between 3 and 5 days to complete. Now, nothing taken away from how great the track is to walk, but the best way to tackle the track is on a mountain bike. You'll need some experience and it should take you 2-3 days one-way to complete. Ship Cove (the starting point of the track) can only be reached by boat so you'll have to arrange transport with local operators. They will also offer a pack drop off service so you can focus on riding hard. With elevations ranging from 100 - 1500ft there are plenty of decent climbs and descents and the views are simply awesome.

Experience Captain Cooks favourite place in New Zealand
We love kayaking, it's such a great way to get out on the open water and truly experience the wild beauty of a location. The Marlborough Sounds is without doubt one of the top kayaking locations in New Zealand. For a real adventure for the experienced kayaker, hire a kayak and depart from Picton and head up the Queen Charlotte sound - destination Ships Cove. Internationally recognised as Captain James Cooks favourite New Zealand base during his three voyages of exploration, in total he spent over 100 days in the cove. This was also the location of some of the earliest contact between Maori and Europeans. Maori valued the area highly as a place of shelter at the edge of the open sea. Expect your trip to take between 5-8 days return, depending on how often you wish to stop at the cove.

Local Wildlife

Hector's Dolphin
A visit to the Queen Charlotte sound may reward with a sighting of one of the rarest dolphins in the world. The Hector's dolphin is unique in that it has a rounded dorsal fin. Very friendly and curious any encounter will be a memorable one.

Blue Penguin
The blue penguin is the smallest species of penguin growing to a maximum height of 43cm and weighing about a kilogram. They feed by hunting fish, squid, and other small sea animals, for which they travel and dive quite extensively.

The Great Cormorant
The Great Cormorant is a large black bird, 77-94 cm in length with a 121-149 cm wingspan. It has a longish tail and yellow throat-patch. In New Zealand the cormorant is referred to as a 'shag'. Believed by many to be competition for fish they are often killed by fisherman.