Stretching 71 km from Ship Cove to Anakiwa

The Queen Charlotte Track (QCT) is a unique New Zealand partnership between the Department of Conservation, Marlborough District Council and 11 private landowners, including a Maori Trust.

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Purchase Pass

Purchase your 1 Day, Multi-Day, or Season Pass for the QCT here. School children walk free.

Sponsor Promotions

Thank you to our generous sponsors for these awesome deals!

Track Enhancements

See how QCTLC uses pass fees to improve the track year after year.

Track History

Explore the discovery and development of the Queen Charlotte Track.

About Us

For over 20 years, private landowners have made their land available for the Queen Charlotte Track. The Queen Charlotte Track Land Cooperative (QCTLC) was formed in 2010 to help ensure the sustainability of the 70 kilometer track.

Today, 10 private landowners make their land available for your hiking and biking enjoyment for a small fee. Proceeds help with maintenance, improvements, and access.

Support The Native Tree Planting Programme!

With future generations in mind, we are planting New Zealand native trees that once inhabited this land in abundance. Enhancement efforts include rimu, totara, cabbage trees, nikau palms, and others. Your valuable contribution will greatly assist in these efforts.

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Support tree planting

Support our tree planting programme financially to reforest areas that have been cleared in the past.

Support our volunteers

Our work is voluntary

Your donation will provide support for our volunteers work!

Department of Conservation (DOC)

Learn more about hiking or biking the QCT from DOC, including campground locations and fitness requirements.

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Destination Marlborough

Learn more about Marlborough and the Queen Charlotte Track.

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History of the Queen Charlotte Track

Māori arrive in New Zealand and inhabit Marlborough Sounds area

Māori have inhabited the Marlborough Sounds for hundreds of years. Three iwi - Rangitane, Ngati Kuia and Ngati Apa - trace their descent from the Kurahaupo waka, and can be termed 'Kurahaupo iwi'. They have been in the Marlborough Sounds since the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, settling it from Nukutaurua in the North Island.

Captain James Cook arrives at Ship Cove.

The first known European to visit the Marlborough Sounds was the English explorer, Captain James Cook, on the HMS Endeavour.

Cook sailed into Ship Cove, which is now the start of the Queen Charlotte Track, on January 17, 1770. During his three world voyages, he made this small cove his South Pacific base for the next seven years. It was here the first social interaction between South Island Māori and Europeans took place.

"Queen Charlotte” was the name he gave the Sound, after the Queen Consort of King George III of England. The Māori name is “Totaranui”, reflecting the Totara trees growing there.

Partial track closure due to funding loss.

Track maintenance continued, until government restructuring meant funding disappeared. As a result, the Portage to Punga Cove section closed. Together with friends and family, landowner Rod Eatwell continued to mow Kenepuru Ridge and keep possum and pig numbers down. Cattle grazed on the track from Kenepuru Saddle to Black Rock Station.

"Whenever Your Troubles Get To Be Too Much, Walk To The Top Of A Mountain."

-Rod Eatwell (1928-2018), QCTLC member

Our FAQ's

Purchase a Pass on our App

The app contains information about the history, plants and wildlife you will see on the track and pictures to help you identify them. Download the app from your app store. You can purchase the pass in the app using apple pay or google pay. The pass will be displayed in the app.

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