Gateway to the Northern Island
Picton is a town at the northern tip of the South Island near the head of Queen Charlotte Sound which is part of the extensive Marlborough Sounds which cover around 4,000 km² of sounds, islands, and peninsulas. The city is a major hub in New Zealand's transport network, connecting the South Island with ferries across Cook Strait to Wellington and the North Island.
One of my favorite places in New Zealand
Many tourists use Picton only as a transit station to take the ferry to Wellington. For me Picton was one of the most beautiful and underrated places in New Zealand. A cute little village, which is also surrounded by beautiful nature. And it is not as commercial and touristic as Queenstown, where you have to pay a lot for almost everything. Also my hostel was very cool. It even had a swimming pool, billiard table etc. and a great atmosphere, even if the name "Tombstone Backpackers" promised rather gothic atmosphere.
Beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound
At my hostel I could rent a bike for free, which was great even if they were not in a very good condition. In New Zealand it is the rule to always ride a bike with a helmet, otherwise you get a penalty. Strange that the brake on the front wheel was on the right side and not on the left like in Germany (maybe because of left hand traffic).
Together with a US-American man and a French girl I cycled to the little peninsula The Snout, which is covered in a mixture of native and exotic bush. You can enjoy a great view to the Queen Charlotte Sound. The weather was great and the hills of the Sound were also much greener here than at Milford Sound, the most visited fjord in the country. To get back we needed much more time, because the brakes failed on the mountain bike of the Frenchwoman.
A bench above the city
The second day in Picton I went on a hike again and walked together with the Frenchwoman to a viewpoint, the Tirohanga Track, where you can overlook the city and the fjord from a wooden bench. Later we hiked on a great new hiking trail where we spotted ferns that were as big as trees and had meter thick trunks. The (silver) fern is the symbol of New Zealand and can be found on their coat of arms. At lunch we were surrounded by ducks, and one of them actually came so close to my sandwich that it took a big bite of it haha
After 2 nights in the tranquil Picton I took the ferry to the North Island.
