Picton is a town of about 3,000 people at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound, at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island, and the first photograph shows why it is where it is. The MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS are drowned river valleys: the land here has been tilting and sinking for a long time geologically, so the sea has flooded a system of ridges and valleys to produce hundreds of kilometres of sheltered waterway with almost no road access. Picton sits at the one place where a deep sheltered harbour meets the land route south, which is why the COOK STRAIT FERRY docks here. Its Maori name is WAITOHI. For most visitors this is a place you pass through, and it rewards a night.
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What Is Here
THE COOK STRAIT CROSSING IS THE REASON MOST PEOPLE COME AND IT IS NOT A ROUTINE FERRY. The second photograph is the harbour at night with the ships in. The crossing to Wellington takes about three and a half hours, roughly half of it through the Sounds, which is one of the most beautiful stretches of water anywhere, and the other half across open strait. COOK STRAIT IS AMONG THE ROUGHEST AND MOST WEATHER-EXPOSED FERRY CROSSINGS IN THE WORLD, a funnel between two land masses where the Tasman meets the Pacific, and SAILINGS ARE CANCELLED IN SOUTHERLY GALES as a matter of routine rather than exception. Build a day of slack into any itinerary that depends on it, book a morning sailing, and do not plan a same-day connecting flight from Wellington.
THE EDWIN FOX IS THE BEST THING IN THE TOWN AND ALMOST NOBODY EXPECTS IT. A merchant barque built in Burma in 1853, now in a purpose-built museum on the waterfront, and the claims attached to her are extraordinary and true: she is among the oldest surviving ships in the world, and she is THE ONLY SURVIVING VESSEL THAT CARRIED CONVICTS TO AUSTRALIA. She also carried troops to the Crimea and emigrants to New Zealand, then ended as a coal hulk and a freezer store before being saved. She is a hull rather than a restored ship, which is the point: you walk around something that is visibly 170 years old.
THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE TRACK IS THE REASON TO STAY MORE THAN A NIGHT. About 70 kilometres along the ridges and bays of the Sound, normally walked or mountain biked in three to five days, and it has an unusual arrangement that makes it accessible: WATER TAXIS CARRY YOUR BAGS AHEAD TO THAT NIGHT'S LODGE, so you walk with a daypack and sleep in a bed. You can also do a single day section by water taxi out and back, which is what most visitors do and is an excellent day. Note that parts of the track cross PRIVATE LAND and a pass is required, which the local operators handle.
SHIP COVE, MERETOTO, IS WHERE COOK KEPT COMING BACK. At the outer end of Queen Charlotte Sound, it was James Cook's base in New Zealand across three voyages, used five times, and it is where he claimed the country for Britain. It is reached only by boat and it is the usual start of the track. MOTUARA ISLAND nearby is a predator-free bird sanctuary where you can see species that are gone from the mainland.
AND MARLBOROUGH WINE IS THIRTY KILOMETRES AWAY RATHER THAN HERE. Worth being clear about: the Sauvignon Blanc that made New Zealand's wine reputation comes from the Wairau plain around Blenheim, half an hour south, not from Picton. Tours run from here and the two are routinely combined.
When to Go
December to March is summer, in the high teens to low twenties, with the water taxis and the track at their busiest, the Sounds at their best and the ferry most likely to sail. Marlborough is one of the sunniest regions in New Zealand.
October, November and April are the best weeks, in the mid to high teens, with the track quiet and the lodges easier to book.
June to September is mild and wet, in the low teens, with the ferry cancelled more often, some water taxi and lodge services reduced, and the Sounds grey and empty and rather beautiful.
THE SANDFLY SEASON IS THE PRACTICAL CONSTRAINT AND IT IS NOT A JOKE. New Zealand sandflies, which are blackflies, are present in the Sounds from spring through autumn and are worst at dawn and dusk, in still conditions and near fresh water. They are the single most complained-about feature of this coastline and they will spoil an evening on a deck if you have not brought repellent.
Getting There
The ferry from Wellington is the main arrival, about three and a half hours, with two operators and several sailings a day. Blenheim's Woodbourne airport is about half an hour away with flights from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and Nelson is about two hours by road.
Christchurch is about four and a half hours south down State Highway 1 through Kaikoura, which is one of the better drives in the country. The COASTAL PACIFIC train runs the same route seasonally and connects with the ferry, which makes a rail and sea journey from Auckland to Christchurch possible.
The town is tiny and entirely walkable. The ferry terminal, the Edwin Fox, the foreshore and the shops are within five minutes of each other.
EVERYTHING IN THE SOUNDS IS REACHED BY BOAT RATHER THAN BY ROAD. Queen Charlotte Drive is a narrow winding road along part of the shoreline and it is slow; the water taxis are the real transport and they run on a timetable from the Picton foreshore.
The Picton Packing List
An exposed strait, a sheltered sound, extreme UV, sandflies and a track walked with a daypack.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the right base here, and the reason is the two different climates this town sits between. On the open deck of a ferry crossing Cook Strait you will be cold in any month, standing still in wind. On the Queen Charlotte Track you will climb a ridge, sweat heavily, and then stop in a breeze on an exposed saddle. Both are the sequence wool is for. From April to October add a heavyweight merino base layer.
A Columbia Fast Trek II fleece in every month, and a Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket, which is both the spray layer on a water taxi and the windproof on a ridge.
Waterproof walking boots for the track, which is well formed and still muddy, root-crossed and slippery in rain over long sections.
INSECT REPELLENT IS NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT ON THIS COASTLINE. A DEET repellent for the sandflies, applied before you get off the boat rather than after the first bite, and reapplied at dusk. This is the item visitors to the Sounds most regret leaving out.
A wide brim UPF 50 sun hat, because New Zealand's UV is among the highest in the world and a cool sea breeze disguises it completely.
Not linked and worth packing: SEASICKNESS TABLETS FOR THE STRAIT, taken before boarding, because the open half of that crossing is genuinely rough; A DRY BAG for the water taxis, where spray is certain; SUNSCREEN BOUGHT LOCALLY; A HEADLAMP if you are on the track; AND CASH, useful in a small town.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Picton
Emergency numbers: 111 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone and reaching a single national dispatch. 105 for non-urgent police matters. Healthline on 0800 611 116 gives free nurse advice at any hour. Maritime rescue is reached through 111 or on VHF channel 16, which matters a great deal here. Coverage is good in the town and PATCHY TO ABSENT ACROSS MOST OF THE SOUNDS AND ON THE TRACK, which is the single most important practical fact in this section.
THE SOUNDS ARE REMOTE IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT LOOK REMOTE, AND THAT IS THE REAL RISK HERE. You are a few kilometres from a town, on sheltered water, in a settled country, and there is no road, no phone signal and no help within a short distance. If you are walking a section of the Queen Charlotte Track or staying in a bay lodge, TELL SOMEBODY YOUR PLAN AND YOUR EXPECTED TIME, and understand that the water taxi timetable is the thing that will come looking for you. The track itself is well formed and not technical; what catches people is weather, a slip on wet roots, and misjudging how long a section takes. THE WATER IS COLD AND THE STRAIT IS SERIOUS. Sea temperatures run roughly 11 to 18 degrees, cold enough for cold shock; the Sounds are sheltered and carry strong tidal currents in the narrows; and COOK STRAIT ITSELF IS AMONG THE ROUGHEST FERRY CROSSINGS IN THE WORLD, so a cancellation is a safety decision and arguing with it is pointless. Keep a spare day. EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMI apply as they do nationally and this area has recent evidence: the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake damaged the port here and the road and rail links south. Indoors the rule is DROP, COVER, HOLD. ON THE COAST, IF A QUAKE IS LONG OR STRONG, MEANING YOU CANNOT STAND UP OR IT LASTS MORE THAN A MINUTE, MOVE INLAND OR UPHILL IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT WAITING FOR AN OFFICIAL WARNING, because a local tsunami can arrive in minutes, and note that a narrow sound can amplify a wave rather than shelter you from one. NEW ZEALAND'S UV IS AMONG THE HIGHEST ON EARTH and the sea breeze hides it. SANDFLIES are the daily reality rather than a hazard. The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in New Zealand and names geology, rapidly changing alpine and coastal weather, and theft from parked cars, which here means the long-stay car parks by the ferry terminal and the track trailheads.
US State Department travel advisory: the New Zealand advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/new-zealand, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: there is no hospital in Picton. Wairau Hospital in Blenheim, about half an hour south, has the nearest emergency department, with Nelson Hospital about two hours west and Wellington Hospital across the strait for specialist care, reached by air ambulance rather than by ferry in an emergency. Picton has a medical centre with limited hours and an after-hours arrangement. THAT IS WORTH PLANNING AROUND: carry your own prescriptions with a few days to spare. New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation covers treatment for ACCIDENTAL INJURY for visitors, which covers a fall on the track, and it does NOT cover illness, repatriation or lost earnings, so travel insurance remains necessary. Dial 111 for an emergency. New Zealand has a RECIPROCAL HEALTH AGREEMENT with the UK covering medically necessary treatment in public hospitals, which is genuinely useful and is not comprehensive: it does not cover repatriation, it does not cover private care, and it does not cover a rescue. WHAT MAKES INSURANCE NON-OPTIONAL HERE IS THE ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION, the ACC, which is the thing visitors find surprising. ACC covers treatment for accidental injury for everyone in New Zealand including tourists, no-fault, which means a broken ankle on a trail is largely paid for. In exchange you cannot sue, and ACC does NOT pay for repatriation, for a helicopter off a mountain in every circumstance, or for the cost of cutting a trip short. Tap water is drinkable, and a pharmacy, called a chemist, deals with small problems.
The authorities that decide your day: the ferry operators publish the sailing status, which is the page to refresh rather than assume, and the Department of Conservation publishes the Queen Charlotte Track status, the hut and campsite bookings, the private land pass requirement and the Motuara Island access rules. GeoNet publishes the earthquake record and the tsunami advisories, and MetService the marine forecast for the strait, which is the one that decides whether anything sails.
Official health authority: the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Manatu Hauora, covers the national health information and the accident compensation scheme that covers visitors for injury
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Wellington.
Official tourism authority: Tourism New Zealand, covers the country, and the Picton and Marlborough information centre publishes the water taxi timetables, the track pass arrangements and the lodge bookings, which in summer need to be made well ahead
Takeaways
Cook Strait is among the roughest ferry crossings in the world. Keep a spare day.
The Edwin Fox is the only surviving ship that carried convicts to Australia.
The track is walked with a daypack because water taxis move your bags.
Bring repellent. The sandflies in the Sounds are the thing people most regret.
Solo women safety assessment: Picton is a very easy place to travel alone. It is a small New Zealand ferry town with a backpacker trade, hostels, a five minute walkable centre, and tours and water taxis that are booked by individuals as a matter of course; there is no district to avoid and eating alone is completely ordinary. New Zealand has no advised-against areas anywhere, and the crime risk the FCDO names is theft from parked cars, which here means the long-stay car parks by the ferry terminal and the track trailheads, so leave nothing visible. THE REAL RISK IS REMOTENESS THAT DOES NOT LOOK REMOTE. A few kilometres out into the Sounds there is no road, no phone signal and no help nearby, so if you are walking a track section or staying in a bay lodge, tell somebody your plan and your expected time, because the water taxi timetable is what will come looking for you. The track is well formed rather than technical and what catches people is weather, wet roots and misjudging a section's length. The water runs roughly 11 to 18 degrees and the narrows carry strong tidal currents. Cook Strait is among the roughest ferry crossings in the world and a cancellation is a safety decision, so keep a spare day and do not book a same-day flight out of Wellington. For earthquakes the rule indoors is DROP, COVER, HOLD, and on the coast, if a quake is long or strong, move inland or uphill at once without waiting for a warning, noting that a narrow sound can amplify a wave rather than shelter you. THERE IS NO HOSPITAL HERE: the nearest emergency department is half an hour away in Blenheim, so carry your own prescriptions. 111 REACHES EVERYTHING INCLUDING MARITIME RESCUE, and the accident compensation scheme covers visitors for injury.
Reading On
Picton is one end of the Cook Strait crossing and this library covers both. The Wellington packing list covers the capital at the other end of that ferry, three and a half hours north across the strait, and the two towns are each the reason the other matters to a traveller. South down State Highway 1, the Kaikoura packing list covers the whale coast two hours away, where the 2016 earthquake that damaged this port did its worst damage, and the Christchurch packing list the city four and a half hours on. The South Island packing list carries the whole island's geography and driving distances, and the Queenstown packing list, Wanaka packing list, Milford Sound packing list and Dunedin packing list cover the far south. On the North Island, the Mount Maunganui packing list, Rotorua packing list, Taupo packing list and Auckland packing list cover the Bay of Plenty, the geothermal centre and the largest city. For the country, the New Zealand travel guide for women carries the islands, the driving and the seasons in full. For why wool suits a ferry deck and a sweaty ridge climb in the same day, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
