Queen Charlotte Sound Mail Boat Cruise from Picton

Picton, gateway to the Marlborough Sounds

Picton is a small harbour town at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound, at the top of the South Island. It is where the inter-island ferries from Wellington arrive after crossing Cook Strait, and its waterfront of cafés, gardens and marinas is the starting point for boat trips into the Sounds. Blenheim and the wider Marlborough region lie about 30 minutes' drive to the south.

Your cruise leaves from the Picton waterfront in the early afternoon, so it fits easily on the day you arrive on the ferry or before you drive on. Check in at the cruise office 30 minutes before departure. Many travellers looking for things to do in Picton choose the mail boat because it combines a scenic cruise with a glimpse of real life in the Sounds, something a standard sightseeing trip cannot offer. The boat returns to the same waterfront about four hours later.

Queen Charlotte Sound (Tōtaranui)

Queen Charlotte Sound, Tōtaranui in Māori, is one of the main waterways of the Marlborough Sounds, a maze of sea-filled valleys that were drowned as the land slowly sank and the sea rose after the last ice age. The result is a coastline of steep, bush-clad ridges, sheltered coves and narrow passages, with calm water on most days.

Along its shores runs the Queen Charlotte Track, a famous walking and biking trail of about 70 kilometres, and scattered across the coves are lodges, farms and holiday cottages reached only by water. From the boat you see how people live with the sea as their road. A Queen Charlotte Sound cruise is also one of the best ways to understand the scale of the Sounds: every headland reveals another arm of water stretching between the hills, and the light changes constantly through the afternoon.

The mail run: a working boat with a long history

Mail has been delivered by boat in Queen Charlotte Sound for more than a century and a half, and this boat is the only officially licensed rural post delivery service by water in the Sound. On mail day the skipper drops rural post bags, groceries, newspapers and freight at private jetties, often greeted by residents and their dogs waiting at the water's edge.

Because the deliveries depend on who needs post that day, the route changes daily and covers a different part of the Sound each time, so no two cruises are the same. The boat used also varies with the number of passengers, from a small single-hulled boat to a large two-deck catamaran. Feel free to ask the skipper questions; the commentary covers the history of the Sounds, the early settlers and the people who live here today. It is a relaxed, genuine experience rather than a scripted tour.

Wildlife of the Marlborough Sounds

The calm, food-rich waters of the Marlborough Sounds attract plenty of wildlife, so keep your camera handy throughout the cruise. Several species of dolphins visit the Sounds, including bottlenose and dusky dolphins and the small Hector's dolphin, found only in New Zealand waters. New Zealand fur seals rest on rocky points, and little blue penguins may be seen on the water.

Seabirds are everywhere: gannets diving for fish, shearwaters skimming the surface and the rare king shag, a seabird found nowhere else in the world but the Marlborough Sounds. Sightings depend on the day and are never guaranteed, but the skipper slows down whenever wildlife appears. The best time to visit Queen Charlotte Sound for warm, settled weather is from November to April, though the mail runs all year, and winter days are often clear and calm.