3 Day Best of the New Zealand Queen Charlotte Track Walk
3-Day Best of the New Zealand Queen Charlotte Track Walk – A Pack Free Guided Walking Tour by Life’s An Adventure
Life’s An Adventure invites you to experience the stunning Queen Charlotte Track on a 3-day Pack Free guided walking tour that highlights the best sections of this iconic trail in the Marlborough Sounds, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. Spanning 70 km from historic Ship Cove to Anakiwa, the Queen Charlotte Track offers an unforgettable journey through some of New Zealand’s most beautiful coastal scenery.
This carefully curated 3-day walk takes you to the most scenic parts of the trail, with boat transfers each day to access the highlights. Walk through ancient beech forests, along fern-fringed coves, and across ridgelines that reveal breathtaking views of Queen Charlotte Sound and Kenepuru Sound. Each step offers a unique perspective on the natural beauty of the Marlborough Sounds, from tranquil bays and lush greenery to panoramic coastal vistas that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Accommodation for the tour is at the waterfront Furneaux Lodge, a charming retreat offering magnificent views and a relaxing atmosphere. Each evening, unwind in comfort while enjoying gourmet meals made with local produce and paired with superb Marlborough Sounds wines. The lodge’s idyllic location and warm hospitality provide the perfect setting to recharge after a day on the trail.
The Pack Free approach ensures a relaxed and enjoyable experience, allowing you to explore the Queen Charlotte Track without the burden of carrying a heavy pack. The itinerary is designed to showcase the trail’s most captivating sections, with boat transfers making it easy to reach the best parts of the track each day.
This 3-day Queen Charlotte Track walking tour by Life’s An Adventure is more than just a walk—it’s an exploration of one of New Zealand’s most beautiful coastal regions, where nature, comfort, and adventure come together to create a truly memorable experience. With its stunning landscapes, exceptional accommodation, and carefully planned routes, this tour offers the perfect introduction to the magic of the Marlborough Sounds.
Note: This journey can be combined with our 3-day Abel Tasman National Park walk to create a 6 day New Zealand walking experience.
A Pack-Free Walk
Carry as little as your water, camera and lunch
One of the biggest drawcards of this walk is that our guests won’t be asked to carry their clothes or overnight bags for the entire walk. This is a big advantage in you’ll avoid carrying an additional 8kg or more on your back every day. With Life’s An Adventure, carry as little as your water, camera and lunch.
Wow Amazing Inclusion
Cruising Queen Charlotte Sound by Boat
The highlight of this journey will be travelling to the start of your walks by boat. Cruising the Marlborough Sounds to the track heads each day is an amazing way to start your walk, allowing you to discover by water the intricate maze of inlets, coves and bays with their backdrop of lush forested mountain ranges.
Furneaux Lodge
2 night stay
Spend 2 nights at charming Furneaux Lodge located on the waterfront at Endeavour Inlet. Built-in the early 1900s at the foot of Mount Furneaux, the lodge is set on three acres and surrounded by native forest. After a day’s walking you can relax in the main homestead building with its bar, restaurant and superb views. Guests will stay in the newly built luxury suites with choice of king or twin beds. The Howden Room restaurant serves fresh, seasonal cuisine with local produce such as king salmon delivered daily.
Alternative Accommodation for Private Groups
Bay of Plenty Luxury Retreat
For Private Groups you also have the opportunity to upgrade to the Bay of Many Coves Resort.
This is a high priced accommodation (see pricing page for details).
They say location is everything, and the Bay of Many Coves Resort certainly delivers. Set on the waterfront in a secluded bay in the Marlborough Sounds, this idyllic retreat is a unique experience like no other. The only Five-star luxury lodge in the Marlborough Sounds, the resort features a heated pool, hot tub and award-winning restaurant featuring fine dining accompanied with Marlborough Sound world famous wines.
Apartment Configurations
Guests will stay in architecturally designed two bedroom apartments, featuring a shared lounge area, with kitchenette, dining table and balcony, with two separate bedrooms each room with its own ensuite.
Each room is twin share and features a king size bed or two twin beds with ensuite.
Take a Sneak Peek
Walk through the apartments by clicking on the link below and navigating through each room by moving the blue circle icon for 360-degree views.
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Mp7CVt6oo2v
Single Supplements
Solo travellers not wishing to share with another solo traveller can upgrade to have their own room in a 2 bedroom apartment. You will still share the apartment with two others but have your own bedroom with ensuite. Add $945.
Flexible and Personalised Tours
We have designed our walks to be flexible as we understand each person is different. Guests have the choice of longer or shorter walking days and also the freedom to opt-out of any day’s walking and enjoy free time to explore the towns we visit en-route. All tours are small and intimate with a maximum group size of 12 people. However, if you have a bigger group please contact us for details.
World Class Guides
Our World Class guides are passionate, well trained and enthusiastic with the ability to bring to life a depth of information. We have two guides on every walk to ensure we can cater for different walking abilities, with at least one guide a local to the area.
Fabulous meals featuring local produce
Each evening will be an unforgettable celebration for your taste-buds. The world-class cuisine offered each night in the resort’s fine dining restaurant is sourced from Marlborough’s land and sea using only the finest ingredients. A la carte dinners with expertly matched local wines making dinner time truly memorable.
To find out more click on any of the below links:
Why Choose Us
Tour Itinerary
Your 3-day walking holiday includes:
- Pack Free Walk – Carry as little as your water, lunch and camera
- 2 nights accommodation at Furneaux Lodge overlooking Marlborough Sounds
- Boat transfers to the trail Heads each day
- 3 delicious lunches
- A la carte dining in Restaurant every evening featuring local produce
- Fine New Zealand Marlborough Sounds wines with evening meals
- 2 x Hot and cold breakfasts
- Fresh fruit and trail mix to enjoy during your walk
- Professionally guided – Our guides which we refer to as “CEO – Chief Experience Officers” who are passionate, well trained and enthusiastic with the ability to bring to life a depth of information. We have two guides on every walk to ensure we can cater for different walking abilities, with one guide a local to the area with great local knowledge.
- National Park Fees
- Return transfers to and from Picton
Note: Guests will be required to arrive at Picton the day before the tour starts. Picton can be reached by flying into Wellington and then either flying from Wellington to Picton (30-minute flight) or taking the ferry from Wellington to Picton (a 3-hour cruise through the Cook Straits). Suggestions for Picton Hotels are included in our pre-departure information.
Meet your guides at 7:30am at London Quay Wharf Picton this morning. From here we join a scenic boat cruise to Ship Cove. Today we walk in the footsteps of explorer Captain James Cook. Walking through magnificent virgin rainforests, you will emerge at the ridgeline for breathtaking views of Cooks Strait and Resolution Bay before descending to the sheltered shoreline of Endeavor Inlet. From here we’ll make our way to the Furneaux Lodge where we’ll spend the next 2 nights. Enjoy time to relax in your suite soaking up the views, or take a swim in the Sound before meeting the group for a sensational a la carte dinner featuring local produce and superb Marlborough Sounds wines.
After a delicious breakfast we board the cruise again to take us to our walk from Punga Cove where we will traverse the coastline and walk back into our accommodation. Along todays walk, we’ll explore forests rich in small bird life. We start our gradual climb out of Camp Bay to Kenepuru Saddle, the track passes through native forest and traverses over low saddles offering amazing vantage points for the photographer. The last section of our walk tracks down to the water & straight back into our accommodation at the Furneaux Lodge. Enjoy time to relax in your room or simply soak up the views. Tonight, the group comes together for dinner in the restaurant served with New Zealand’s fine wines and delicious cuisine.
After breakfast, we travel by private water taxi from Furneaux Lodge to Torea Bay where where we’ll enjoy our walk to Lochmara Lodge. The track starts with a steep climb from the Torea Saddle to the highest point on the Queen Charlotte Track. The climb takes about 45 – 60 minutes. After a stop for morning tea and taking in the sensational views we’ll continue to follow the track to Lochmara Lodge. The views are magnificent, looking out over both the Kenepuru Sound and the Queen Charlotte Sound. Enjoy some time looking round the wild life centre at Lochmara Lodge before a celebratory lunch at the cafe at the Lodge. We will then join our water taxi through the Marlborough Sounds back to Picton. Arriving around 3pm
Note for those finishing the tour on this day and wanting to catch a ferry to Wellington tonight, you will have the option to take a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal.
For those wanting more walking why not add on our 3-day Abel Tasman Tour
Tour Availability
PRIVATE GROUPS:
Departure date of your choice is subjective to availability. A minimum group size of 8 required. Prices are equal to Past Travellers’ discounted rates. Based on twin share – see details about Single Supplement and upgrade extras.
Please contact us for more details on (02) 9975 4553 or email: walks@lifesanadventure.com.au
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SOLO TRAVELLERS & EXTRAS:
SOLO TRAVELLERS WILLING TO SHARE
If you are a solo traveller willing to share a room, we will attempt to match you with another solo traveller of the same gender. If we can’t find you a match of the same gender by around 12 weeks prior to the tour, you will be charged the single supplement cost. Subject to availability at time of booking.
SOLO TRAVELLERS
WANTING THEIR OWN ROOM
For those wanting to guarantee their own room, a single supplement cost will be charged at the time of booking. Subject to availability.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $495
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FlexiWalk – Cancel for Any Reason:
Purchase a FlexiWalk Add-On for normal price tickets and cancel 96 hours prior to departure for any reason. Price: $295 per person. See conditions below for full details.
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BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Before you book please read our Booking Terms and Conditions. Click here.
SALE TICKET CONDITIONS:
* Super Earlybird, Earlybird and Spot Special Sale Tickets: Must be paid in full at time of booking. Refunds or cancellations are not permitted for Sale Tickets however, transfers to another date are permitted 12 weeks or more prior to departure. We advise taking out travel insurance in case unexpected circumstances prior to the trip, prevent you from joining this tour. Early bird or Spot Special discounts cannot be used in conjunction with another offer. We have partnered with Cover-More to provide travel insurance to our guests. To get a quote or purchase travel insurance directly with them Click here. To receive these special discounts, full payment must be made at the time of initial booking. Flexiwalk Add-On option not available on these tickets.
* Those who have travelled with Life’s An Adventure previously, receive a past passenger discount of $100. This discount will automatically be deducted from future bookings when you book online using the same email address used for past bookings.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
* Prices are per person in Australian dollars and include GST.
* A deposit of $500 per person is required to secure your booking. (unless taking advantage of Earlybird or Spot Specials in which full payment is required at time of booking).
* Note: If you are booking within 120 days of your departure date – we will require full payment at the time of booking
* Prices are based on twin share of rooms. If you are travelling solo you may be required to share with someone of the same gender. If this is not suitable you can request to pay a single supplement, however, limited single rooms are available per trip so are on a request basis.
* Payments must be made online via our NAB (National Australia Bank) secure payment page via credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or over the phone.
* We advise taking our Travel Insurance to cover items such as cancellation of tour due to minimum numbers not met, or adverse weather conditions, injury, evacuation, delayed flights, illness, etc. Click here
* Credit for cancelled activities. If a tour activity has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances a credit for this missed activity can be applied to any future bookings. Click here.
* FlexiWalk Option – Cancel for any Reason Click here for full conditions on our FlexiWalk Option.
