Queen Charlotte Track – Ultimate 1 Day Walk – Motuara Island and Kupes Trail
Features:
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- Cruise calm sheltered waters of the Queen Charlotte Sound
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Tour info in brief
| 9.5 hours | |
| Daily Departures: |
8.00 AM |
| Pricing: | Adult: $199 (16+ years) Child: $155 (5 – 15 years) Infant: $40 (0 – 4 years) |
| Location: | 1 Wellington Street Picton |
| Briefing: | 7.45 AM |
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About the Tour
Ultimate Queen Charlotte Track – 1 Day Walk – Kupes Trail
After your visit to Motuara Island, New Zealand highest producing Predator FREE Sanctuary the tour takes you to gorgeous Ships Cove / Meretoto. Then you can Walk the BEST of Queen Charlotte Track, an easy 6km return walk through Virgin bush back to Meretoto or Ship Cove or go to the amazing local waterfall or do both- lots of Choice.
This trail is the only section of the original native bush up to 40m tall and has the only remaining stand of True Native Forest. Kupe arrived in Meretoto 1200 years ago and used to forage for food on this trail, stopping to pay his respects to the forest giants that still stand there today.
What to expect
The Experience Begins
The tour begins with a fully guided Wildlife boat experience. You will witness many species of sea birds, dolphins, and seals on your way to Motuara Island, New Zealand’s Premier Predator-Free island. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to take a one-hour guided walk on this Department of Conservation breeding reserve, where rare and endangered species (Taonga) are bred and then translocated to other locations in New Zealand. This is also the location of Kupes decedents, the Ngtai Kuia Maori tribe, who met Captain James Cook 1000 years after their Pacific explorer ancestor Kupe arrived. New Zealand’s first Maori/ European relations thrived, with Cook spending 170 days locally with the friendly Ngtai Kua Tribe based at Ship Cove / Meretoto.
Welcome to Motuara Island
Motuara Island is 100% predator-free and is home to some rare species, such as the yellow-crowned Parakeet and Saddleback. Explore the island on your own or go with our knowledgeable World Cetacean Alliance Qualified Marine Guide, who will point out and describe the resident blue penguins, rare saddleback, melodic bellbirds, cheeky robins, native pigeons and yellow-crowned parakeets (kakariki). If it’s a clear day, you can also spot the North Island in the distance. The view from the Cook Strait lookout is spectacular!
Friendly Birds
The birds on this predator-free island are fearless, plentiful and very vocal, and many are still rare or Endangered Species. It’s not unusual for you to be able to get very close to these fantastic creatures – there’ll be plenty of photo opportunities. Our expert Queen Charlotte Track guides will be with you all the way. Our team is passionate about the local environment and loves sharing its unique aspects with our small groups.
Historical Significance
Motuara Island was significant for Maori. At the southern tip of Motuara Island is the smaller Hippa Island, which was the site of a pre-European Maori Pa. The adjacent Ship Cove, Meretoto, was where Maori first met pakeha sustainably – our guides will show you exactly where. Motuara Island was where, in 1770, Captain Cook proclaimed British sovereignty over the South Island.
Refreshments before Queen Charlotte Track
After returning to the boat, please sit back and relax with a hot drink and cookies before making our way back to Ships Cove / Meretoto for the second part of your Adventure for your Soul 🙂
Ultimate Queen Charlotte Track Walk – 6kms – Kupes Trail
After you visit Motuara Island, the tour takes you to Ship Cove, where you can enjoy an easy 6km loop walk through Virgin bush back to Meretoto or Ship Cove. This trail is the only section of the original native bush up to 40m tall, serving on the Queen Charlotte Track. Kupe arrived in Meretoto 1200 years ago and used to forage for food on this trail, stopping to pay his respects to the forest giants that still exist today.
Walking through the Best part of the Queen Charlotte Track up to Motuara Island Lookout for the Best coastal View on the track.
Ships Cove / Meretoto Experience
At Ships Cove / Meretoto, there are even more incredible experiences waiting for you. You can wade into the beach where Cook pulled his ship ashore and enjoy the company of young stingrays. It’s a unique opportunity to interact with these fascinating creatures up close. You can rent a mask and wetsuit before you depart if you also want to snorkel.
If you’re feeling thirsty, you can drink water from the stream, which provided water to the Nagtai Kuia Tribe, who were Kupes’ descendants for over 1200 years. With Cook’s arrival, this creek nurtured the first vegetable patch in New Zealand, which he used to nurse his men back to health. It then made the first beer in New Zealand, adding to the history and culture of this location.
Legends and Facts on Display at Meretoto
The stories and history of Meretoto are displayed in Department of Conservation interpretation signs and toilets. There is a sheltered eating area, a long pier for swimming access and boats, and a short waterfall trail for your pleasure. Alternatively, you can use the custom-made seats to enjoy the lunch you brought with you, soak in the Mana, and replenish your Soul’s Mauri (life force).
This area we call Kupe’s home ground encompasses around 6 km from Meretoto/Ship Cove and was occupied by this charismatic explorer originally 1000 years ago. His wife even named our country Ao Tearoa. He based himself here to hunt and kill the legendary octopus Wheke in Raukakkawa (Cook Strait). The father of Maori in New Zealand, a wise ocean navigator, and a fisherman who the local Ngati Kuia Tribe can directly trace back to their ancestors. This is the tribe that met Captain Cook in 1771 and formed a healthy beneficial relationship over a nine-year period.
Originally Totara was used by Kupe’s descendants to make Waka (canoe) for over 800 years, yet they did not take the forest giants from a 3 km radius from Meretoto or Ship Cove in respect of Kupe.
For Māori and our local community, the totara tree is very special. It was brought into being by Tane Mahuta, the Atua of the forest. Symbolically, this very important tree can be viewed as representing everything that roots us, anchors us, identifies us, and locates us in the Māori world and our local community environment. Hence, the name Totaranui.
Maori made Waka from them for 800+ years by hand until Captain Cook arrived, and they traded metal tools to allow them to cut down and carve out by hand these impressive and sturdy sailing canoes. Originally, the local Waka builders observed Captain Cook fell a tree, make boards, and drag his ship ashore for repairs, all in a matter of weeks using metal tools, whereas the local Maori used rock chisels and shear hard back-breaking work to fell the trees. Cook traded axes, saws, and chisels and gifted nails to the local community of the Ngati Kuia.
This location is where Cook spent 170 days, had a great relationship with the local Maori, and they nurtured each other and grew together by inter-marriage in the 1800s to form the local community.
You have many choices here you can relax, walk to a waterfall, go snorkeling, walk on the beach, play with local stingrays, read the information panels, go for a swim, and take in the mana and mauri (life force) of this amazing location. Be careful of the cheeky gang of Weka – they will try and take your kai (food).
The day finishes with a cruise back down the Sound to arrive back in Picton fulfilled, empowered, and spiritually richer for walking in Kupes’ footsteps.
Why Book Queen Charlotte Track in Picton with E-Ko Tours?
If you want to find an operator which offers Queen Charlotte track packages in NZ, look no further than E-Ko Tours. We offer a very reasonably priced transfer over to the start of the trail at ship cove but include a couple of extra stops which mainstream ferry providers do not offer. On board our expertly skippered catamaran, we have a knowledgeable wildlife team who will point out seabirds and mammals of interest.
Your Guide to Our Queen Charlotte Tour
With two departures a day at 8am (safety briefings 15 mins before departure) and pick up back at Ship Cove at 4.15pm, visitors can enjoy the flexibility of a full day .
Tour Times ⏰
- Briefing: 7.45 AM,
- Departure: 8.00 AM
- Duration: 9.5 hours
What to bring
- Sunhat
- Your Lunch
- Sunblock
- Good walking shoes
- Water
- Raincoat
- Daybag
- Phone for Audio Book to Download
Where are we?
We are located conveniently on Picton’s main waterfront with car parking close by and only a 1-minute walk from the main street.
Just look for the Dusky Dolphin outside our shop.
Before your tour starts feel free to take a seat inside the shop or outside on our sun drenched deck and enjoy the stunning views.
Customers can also get online with our free WiFi, and purchase a tea or coffee to enjoy on the deck.
You will Never Miss your Ferry
Our tour schedules are integrated with the Interislander – so there is no chance that you’ll miss your ferry.
What people are saying about us
“Quality Wildlife Tour”
Trip Advisor – 5 STAR ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – 23 May 2017 We were lucky enough to head out with e-Ko Tours recently on a perfect late autumn day with not a cloud in the sky. We’d considered carefully which cruise company to go with and were not disappointed… The boat was well appointed and comfortable with space for everyone to move around easily. Paul, the skipper, was friendly and fun to chat to and Tristram, our guide, was superbly knowledgeable about everything we saw during our 4 hour trip to Motuara Island and back. Also much appreciated were the thoughtful hands up and down from boat to jetty, myself being not the agilest. Little things that make a big difference. We saw a wealth of wildlife whilst on our trip – 2 species of dolphin, the Hector’s were absolutely delightful as they played right around the boat, rolling to look up at us! And fur seals, rare shags, petrels, gannets, moon jellyfish, and on the island – Saddlebacks, Black Robins, Bellbirds, Wax-eyes, Fantails, and Kakariki. I advise sitting quietly by the “bird bath” – water source where the birdlife comes to bathe and drink – for best viewing of birds. It was incredible to listen to the birdsong in the bush, something that is sadly a thing of the past in so many places. Thank goodness for predator-free sanctuaries such as this. It was a most memorable day and I thoroughly recommend E-Ko Tours.
“Great team of people”
FACEBOOK – 5 Star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sam Fox reviewed E-Ko Tours – May 22 · Great team of people – who all worked hard to make sure we enjoyed a fab day out. The boat is really comfortable and well set up, the commentary by Tristram was really well delivered and interesting, further enhancing our experience. We were lucky enough to see many rare bird species both at sea and on Motuara Island, plus NZ Fur Seals and both Hectors and Dusky Dolphins which was just amazing. Paul, the captain, went out of his way to find the Hectors Dolphins – which capped our day off beautifully! If you are looking for a quality wildlife experience these are your guys!
“Awesome tour!”
FACEBOOK – 5 Star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Laura Keereweer reviewed E-Ko Tours – December 11, Awesome tour! Nice boat, great skipper, and guide. Both know a lot about the area and about the wildlife. Enthusiastic and fun! Spotted dolphins within the first 20 minutes and was a great experience! ? Thanks so much, guys, would definitely recommend you to all people visiting NZ!