Picton lies on Queen Charlotte Sound, the easternmost of the Marlborough Sounds. The waters here are relatively calm making it a favorite of sailors and an ideal place to explore on a boat tour. If you’d rather take in the sights from dry land, the Queen Charlotte Track—a 70-kilometer stretch of coastline from Queen Charlotte Sound to Kenepuru Sound—is one of the most popular trails in New Zealand for bushwalking, biking and birding. It can be explored independently or with a guide. Start from any point, but the recommended route begins at Ship Cove, site of the first sustained contact between Maori and Europeans (led by Captain James Cook).
