• Banks Peninsula
• Fiordland
• Greymouth
• Invercargill
• Kaikoura
• Mackenzie Country
• Nelson
• Oamaru
• Picton
• Queenstown
• South Island Towns
• Wanaka

Picton

Situated at the head of Charlotte Sound, the pretty township of Picton is the northern gateway to New Zealand's South Island. Picton is the ideal place to spend a night either before you catch the interisland ferry to Wellington, or if you've just arrived on the ferry.

With a population of less than 3,000, Picton provides tourists with excellent accommodation and the chance to use it as a base for touring the Marlborough Sounds and surrounding areas.

Outdoor activities

The area is well known for its fishing, walking, tramping, cycling and kayaking activities. Campers can choose from a range of Department of Conservation parks, all with fine views of the sounds or bush. Keen trampers should check out the New Zealand Track.

The Marlborough Sounds include about 20% of New Zealand's entire coastline and visitors can admire bird and marine life amidst stunning scenery, abundant with flora and fauna.

Diving

The Sounds are a diver's paradise and a popular attraction is the shipwrecked Russian cruise liner MS Mikhail Lermontov, which lies at Port Gore, 37 metres underwater, having capsized in the 1980s.

Marlborough Sounds - World Famous Wines and Vineyards

No visit to Marlborough would be complete with a tour of the region's wineries. More than 100 are situated within half an hour's drive of Picton, making some of the world's best white wines.