A Queen Charlotte Sound map, bay by bay

Where is Queen Charlotte Sound? It is the long waterway that opens north-east from Picton, on the northern tip of the South Island, and it is one of the three main bodies of water in the Marlborough Sounds, with Kenepuru and Pelorus.¹ Tourism New Zealand describes the Sounds as ancient river valleys drowned by the sea, with 1500km of coastline between them.⁶ On a map the result looks like a hand of green fingers reaching into blue water.

Picton sits at the head of the sound. It is a small port of fewer than 5,000 permanent residents and the main gateway for the ferries between the islands.² The ferries reach it by threading Tory Channel and then the inner sound, and the whole crossing from Wellington is 96 km.⁷ Arapaoa Island, the second largest island of the Sounds, divides Tory Channel from the outer reaches of the sound.⁸

Read the map in sections. The inner sound, closest to Picton, is narrow and busy with ferries and marinas. The middle sound widens past Allports Island and the bays below the Queen Charlotte Track ridge. The outer sound runs out past Endeavour Inlet and Ship Cove to Motuara and Long Island at the entrance, where the open water of Cook Strait begins. DOC manages more than 50 reserves across this maze of land and water.¹

Mistletoe Bay, below the ridge near Te Mahia Saddle, is a bay you can reach by road as well as by sea, and a handy stop if you are exploring by car.^30,11 It has an eco village with cabins and campsites, and DOC's James Vogel Track is a 45 minute circle through the bush behind it, with a 1 hour Peninsula Walk nearby.²³ Above it, a side path from the track leads to the Onahau Lookout, worth the detour for its view over the inner sound.³¹

Torea Bay and Portage sit on either side of the low Torea Saddle, the old canoe-hauling route between Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru sounds.³² Boats meet walkers at the Torea Bay jetty, and Cowshed Bay nearby has a DOC campsite.¹¹ Further along the ridge, Kumutoto Bay and the Bay of Many Coves lie below the track, with a DOC campsite high above each and a resort on the water at Bay of Many Coves. From the ridge above, you look down into both of them and across to Kenepuru Sound on the other side.³³

Out in the middle of the sound, Blumine Island is a bird sanctuary with a campsite, and Joseph Banks wrote of waking to birdsong on these shores during Cook's first voyage.^3,34 Look for mussel buoys as you cross: the Marlborough Sounds have over 500 mussel farms producing around 70% of the national harvest, and king salmon have been farmed in sea pens here for more than 25 years.^35,36 The ferries pass right by both kinds of farm on their way in to Picton.

Accommodation in Queen Charlotte Sound comes in three broad kinds: lodges and resorts on the water, DOC campsites, and beds in Picton. Some waterside places can only be reached by boat or helicopter, which is a large part of their appeal.²⁵ There are no DOC huts anywhere on the Queen Charlotte Track, but campsites, private camping grounds, resorts and homestays line the route, and some of them sit right on the water.^5,25

Lodges cluster where boats call: Furneaux Lodge in Endeavour Inlet, Punga Cove beside Camp Bay, the Bay of Many Coves resort, the lodge at Lochmara Bay and the eco village at Mistletoe Bay. On some morning cruises you can step off at Punga Cove or Furneaux Lodge for a meal and catch the mail boat back later in the afternoon.⁵³ Ask each host about meals, bedding and boat times before you book, as the outer bays have no shops.

DOC's campsites along the track each have toilets and water, and they must be booked in every season; open fires are banned on the track, so bring a stove.^26,27,28 If you prefer a town base, Picton has hotels, motels, backpackers and holiday parks, and the official track site advises booking ahead, especially in the busy season.²⁹ Walkers off the ferry reach the main cruise office in about 10 minutes on foot, a handy base if you arrive without a car.⁵⁴