Queen Charlotte Track

SHIP COVE to ANAKIWA, 2-3 days, 73.5km

BEST FOR: A challenging, multi-day ride that will leave you puffed, but impressed.

Incredibly beautiful and rich in human history, the Marlborough Sounds is a magical place of deep blue bays, beaches, forest and view-filled ridgelines. The Queen Charlotte Track takes visitors deep into its reaches.

Don’t be under any preconceived idea that this ride won’t test your endurance. Those jaw-dropping views you seek are found from ridgelines, after long, relentless climbs. There are many sections that skirt the shoreline, traversing from one idyllic bay to the next, but this track is graded as intermediate to advance for good reason. Some areas, such as the ridge-top sections of the central part are listed as Grade 5. However, day trips are a feasible choice for less advanced riders and if you’re overnighting, backpacks can be transferred to your accommodation by local operators, allowing for a lighter ride.

Along the way, various lodges offer comfortable stays. In fact, so isolated are these far-flung hideouts, they feel pleasantly unattainable to the outside world.

From beginning to end, the journey never waivers from extraordinary. From secret coves to saddles and ridges offering stupendous views, this 73.5km track is commonly regarded as one of the best single track mountain bike rides in New Zealand. We have a feeling you’ll agree.

Top Tip – A unique feature of this track is that entry and exit paths are accessed mostly by boat, starting with a scenic cruise from Picton to Meretoto (aka Ship Cove) to commence your ride.

TRAIL GRADES:

MERETOTO/SHIP COVE TO CAMP BAY, 28.5KM GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) to GRADE 4 (ADVANCED)

CAMP BAY TO TŌREA SADDLE, 24.5KM GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) to GRADE 4 (ADVANCED). Kenepuru Saddle to the Bay of Many Coves Campsite is GRADE 5 (EXPERT)

TŌREA SADDLE TO ANAKIWA, 20.5KM GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) to GRADE 4 (ADVANCED). Climb from Torea Saddle is GRADE 5 (EXPERT)

MOBILE PHONE COVERAGE: Patchy along the first section of trail, from Meretoto to Camp Bay. From Camp Bay to Anakiwa there is reasonable signal most of the way.

DRINKING WATER: Water supplies are limited, particularly in the peak, dry season. Fill up your bottles from reliable sources before you set off each day.

TYPE OF BIKE: A ship-shape mountain bike is essential. In accordance with Ngā Haerenga New Zealand Cycle Trails’ policy, e-bikes are not permitted on trails graded 4 and above.

PLEASE NOTE: Sections of the QCT between Kenepuru Saddle and Anakiwa cross private land and require a Queen Charlotte Track Land Cooperative (QCTLC) Pass. A QCT Land Cooperative Pass is required for all private land sections of the QCT between Kenepuru Saddle and Anakiwa. See www.qctlc.com to purchase and for more info.

RIDING THE TRAIL

MERETOTO/SHIP COVE TO CAMP BAY, 28.5KM

The first section from Ship Cove to Camp Bay is closed for biking between 1 Dec and 28 Feb. The trail climbs gently away from the beach thanks to the new reroute, passing through impressive groves of tall native trees and a diverse understory of shrubs and ferns. Your gentle ascent ends at the Ship Cove Saddle, a lookout point with views of both the outer and inner Queen Charlotte/Totaranui. The track then winds its way to the shoreline at Schoolhouse Bay, where there is a DOC campsite, and then on above Resolution Bay. It’s a reasonably gentle climb out of Resolution Bay to reach Tawa Saddle. From there the trail takes in views all the way around Endeavour Inlet. The track is mainly flat and wide, allowing riders to enjoy the forest and birdlife along with various salty seaside scenes and a couple of holiday resorts offering refreshments.

CAMP BAY TO TŌREA SADDLE, 24.5KM

The QCTLC Pass is required for this section. Sidling around ridgelines for much of the way, this section certainly has its ups and downs but rewards riders with magnificent new panoramas at every turn. The climb from Camp Bay to Kenepuru Saddle is the first of many – totalling 900m in all – and ushers riders on to the ridgeline separating Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru sounds. Eatwell’s Lookout is particularly impressive, but it is just one of many on this awesome section. Onward it goes, passing two DOC campsites and endless other spots to stop and absorb the grandeur. It’s a bit of a bumpy final run to Tōrea Saddle where the track meets the short, steep road linking the two Sounds. The right turn leads to Portage where there’s a campsite and other accommodation options. On-road alternative: riders looking for an easier route can ride the sealed road from Kenepuru Saddle to Portage. The road is quiet and undulating with pretty views.

TŌREA TO ANAKIWA, 20.5KM

The QCTLC Pass is required for this section. A decent whack of the day’s 600m of climbing is delivered in the fairly brutal first few kilometres; many riders will have to get off and push. This slog will soon be forgotten once back on the view-filled tops. Along this section the landscape is a patchy but pleasant mix of old farmland and regenerating native bush. The trail eventually dips down and sidles around the top of Lochmara Bay before hitting the final climb over Te Mahia Saddle. Riders with time and gas in the tank should head down to super-pretty Mistletoe Bay, a great place for a picnic (or indeed an overnight stop). From Te Mahia Saddle, it’s a relatively easy cruise around Ōnahau Bay and the Grove Arm, with the trail hugging the shoreline for the last few kilometres – handy if you’re keeping an eye out for your boat. If you have time, linger a while at Davies/ Umungata Bay just shy of the end of the trail. Then again, the ice cream stall at Anakiwa may well be open, and you’ll certainly have earned yourself a refreshing treat. In the past, most riders have finished their ride with the boat trip back to Picton, but the creation of the Link Pathway between Picton and Havelock means it’s also now possible to bike back to Picton via the picturesque Queen Charlotte Drive and Link Pathway which, once completed in 2020, will ‘link’ the Queen Charlotte Track with Picton and Havelock.

Queen Charlotte Track

www.qctrack.co.nz

ADD-ON HEARTLAND TRAIL

Queen Charlotte Drive: 40km/2–4 hours - This spectacular, winding path links Picton to Havelock. The Anakiwa end of the Queen Charlotte Track is just 4km away from Linkwater, found halfway along this route.

Bike autumn

Marlbourgh Tourism

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRAIL

• With water in every shade of inviting blue, dismounting your bike for a quick dip is a moreish thing to do.

• The pristine landscape lends itself to kayaking, walking, beach picnics and wildlife cruises.

• Using interpretation panels, Ship Cove details significant historic events in the Sounds.

• Wonderful waterside lodgings offer the perfect place to start (and end) your day.

• Mistletoe Bay is a well-run eco-village with clean amenities and a laid-back vibe.

• The track between Mistletoe Bay and Anakiwa boasts a handful of picturesque picnic spots.

• You may come across fantails and weka, among other charming ‘locals’ such as dolphins and seals.

• The boat back to Picton from Anakiwa takes approximately 30 minutes: grab an ice cream from the Green Caravan Café before you leave.

• Adding the optional section to ride on to Picton will lead you to one of New Zealand’s finest harbours. Picton sits in a pretty horseshoe curve and is a great base for seeing more of the Sounds.

7 reasons to love the Marlborough Sounds

The Marlborough Sounds are a collection of sunken river valleys that succumbed to rising sea levels over 10,000 years ago. The pull of what lies beneath and above this vast expanse of water have always attracted people. Here are our seven top picks:

Those with access to four wheels as well as two can find many beautiful places by car. An example is the drive from Rai Valley to Okiwi Bay which leads to a quieter corner of the Sounds.

2. French Pass Whirlpools

For views of the outer Sounds, the French Pass Rd cannot be beaten. Venture to a view of D’Urville Island, looking for naturally forming whirlpools. You may see fish haplessly struggling against all the commotion.

3. Leisurely Cruises

Boats grant access to every watery reach. Sail into Queen Charlotte or Kenepuru Sounds or help deliver mail to the remotest pockets of the Marlborough Sounds on board the Mail Boat Cruise.

The Mail Boat, Marlborough Sounds

Marlborough Tourism

4. Taxi Boats

Water taxis and boat services mostly operate out of Picton, notably for the Queen Charlotte Sound, but some depart from Havelock for Kenepuru Sound as well as Pelorus Sound.

5. Ship Cove

By visiting Queen Charlotte Sound, you will be following in the footsteps of both Kupe, the renowned Māori voyager, and Captain James Cook – the first European to land on New Zealand soil. Hence, the area is referred to by both its English moniker, Ship Cove, and its original Māori name, Meretoto. Today, there are sculptures, memorials and interpretation panels detailing fascinating stories of both men.

6. Dolphin Swimming

Bottlenose dolphins are regularly spotted here. They’re famously curious, so taking a tour with local operators puts you in a good position for a dolphin encounter, including swims.

Bottlenose dolphins

Marlborough Tourism

7. Fishing and Diving

Fishing charters scour the water for salmon and blue cod. To meet the sealife, rather than devour it, the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov, a Russian cruise ship offers spectacular diving.

The Marlborough Sounds are a maze of mirror-calm channels, deep coves and secluded bays with songbird-filled forest that tickles the water’s edge. Māori mythology suggests that the Sounds are the prows of the sunken waka (canoes) of Aoraki.