Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EXPLORING THE MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS
The Marlborough Sounds are a maze of peaks, bays, beaches and watery reaches,
formed when the sea flooded deep river valleys after the last ice age. They are very
convoluted: Pelorus Sound, for example, is 42km long but has 379km of shoreline.
Many spectacular locations can be reached by car. The wiggly 35km drive along
Queen Charlotte Drive
from Picton to Havelock is a great Sounds snapshot, but if
you have a spare day, head out to
French Pass
(or even
D'Urville Island
) for
some big-picture framing of the Outer Sounds. Roads are predominantly narrow
and occasionally unsealed; allow plenty of driving time and keep your wits about
you.
Sounds travel is invariably quicker by boat (for example, Punga Cove from Picton
by car takes two to three hours, but just 45 minutes by boat). Fortunately, an ar-
mada of vessels offer scheduled and on-demand boat services, with the bulk oper-
ating out of Picton for the Queen Charlotte Sound, and some from Havelock for Ke-
nepuru and Pelorus Sounds.
There are walking, kayaking and biking opportunities, but there's diving as well -
notably the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov,a Russian cruise ship that sank in Port
Gore in 1986.
From Picton
Most of Picton's boat operators depart from the smart Town Wharf. They offer
everything from direct lodge transfers to cruises taking in sites such as
Ship Cove
and
Motuara Island
bird sanctuary, to round-trip
Queen Charlotte Track
trans-
port and pack transfers that allow trampers to walk without a heavy burden. Bikes
and kayaks can also be transported.
www.cougarlinecruises.co.nz
;
Town Wharf; track round trip $105, full-day tour from $80)
Queen Charlotte Track transport, plus various half- and full-day cruise/walk trips,
including the rather special (and flexible) ecocruise to Motuara Island and a Ship
Cove picnic.
624 526;
www.beachcombercruises.co.nz
;
Town Wharf; mail run $93, cruises from $35, track
round trip $99)
Two- to four-hour cruises, some with resort lunches. Cruise/walk,
cruise/bike and Queen Charlotte Track options available.
www.wildernessguidesnz.com
; Town Wharf; 1-day trip from $120, kayak/bike hire per day $60)
Host of the popular and flexible one- to three-day 'multisport' trips (kayak/walk/
cycle) plus many other guided and independent biking, hiking and kayaking tours
