Accomdation:  Harbor View Motel - This place is near perfect! Nicely remodeled with kitchens and balconies with great views.

www.harbourviewpicton.co.nz

30 Waikawa Road
Picton 7220, Marlborough, New Zealand
(03) 573 6259

Dining - All the places in the book were gone! We winged it and ended up at these two, but primarily self-catered this leg

Cafe Cortado - Nice menu options with a lot of seafood, good views also.

Le Cafe - We had breakfast which was good, also great views.

Picton is my favorite stop from this trip. Tucked away in what seems to be it's own micro-climate it has great weather and is the doorstep to the Queen Charlotte track. I REALLY liked the QC track. Not quite like Abel Tasman and way less crowded. You can hike the entire track in about four days OR do what we did and use the water taxis to drop off & pick up.



Slightly different than the water taxis on Able Tasman, these have only a couple departures per day and you need to book them rather than just sit & wait on a beach. We slept in and missed all the a.m. departures but Cougar Line had an afternoon drop off & evening pick up that saved the day. After the ride out, I understand why there are limited options, first is the distance you go. QC track is out there! Second, from what I could tell by our boat captain on the way back, the tides in QC Sound are pretty fast so if your timing were off, you could be looking at a very long boat ride.



The track itself is incredible as is most of the country. Endless panoramic views peak out of dense semi-tropical forest. Some of the wildlife is still unafraid ( we had a Weka walk right up to us). There are several options for overnight stays at resorts only accessible by boat...next time maybe.