Picton

Picton sits at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound on New Zealand's South Island. The town is small, with a waterfront lined with cafés and a few shops. Ships dock at Waitohi Wharf or anchor and tender in. Picton is the terminus for the Interislander ferry from Wellington, so it's a natural transit point between the two islands. The Queen Charlotte Track is the main walking attraction, a 70km trail along ridges above the sounds, though shorter sections can be done as a day walk with water taxi transport. The Edwin Fox, one of the oldest surviving wooden ships in the world, is preserved in a museum near the waterfront. Marlborough's wine region, centred on Blenheim about 30 minutes south, produces some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world. Havelock, nearby, calls itself the green-lipped mussel capital of New Zealand. The NZ dollar is the currency.