PictonNZWaitohi · Marlborough Sounds
Elevated view across Anakiwa settlement, shoreline, jetties and the head of Queen Charlotte Sound/Tōtaranui.

Place

Anakiwa

The road-accessible southern end of the Queen Charlotte Track, with a car park, shelter and toilets.

Photo: Samuel J Arnold / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

A small settlement at the head of the sound where the track finishes (or starts). Bus services link it with Picton; the Link Pathway has a spur here.

  • On the water
  • Views
  • Native bush
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At a glance

Cost
Free to visit
Getting there
By road via Queen Charlotte Drive (about 15 minutes beyond Momorangi Bay), or by bus from Picton (DOC: regular and on-demand services)
Facilities
Car park, shelter and toilets (DOC)
Visitors and a passenger boat at Anakiwa jetty, a transport point at the southern end of the Queen Charlotte Track.
Visitors and a passenger boat at Anakiwa jetty, a transport point at the southern end of the Queen Charlotte Track. Sid Mosdell (SidPix) / www.flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

About Anakiwa

Anakiwa is the one end of the Queen Charlotte Track you can drive to. DOC provides a car park, shelter and toilets, and notes regular and on-demand bus services between Anakiwa and Picton — which is what makes a one-day section walk possible without a car: bus out, walk Mistletoe Bay to Anakiwa (12.5 km) or the reverse, water taxi or bus back. Nearby Okiwa Bay, in the Grove Arm, is the turquoise bay with the old boathouses in the photographs.

Know before you go

  • Queen Charlotte Drive was closed between Grove Jetty and Picton by slips in the 7–8 July 2026 storm. We have not found a dated official notice of its current status, so check NZTA and Marlborough District Council road alerts before you drive it.
  • Bus services are described by DOC in general terms only — check current operators and times before relying on them.

Photographs

Anakiwa's long white waterfront jetty and sheltered bay in low morning mist.
Anakiwa's long white waterfront jetty and sheltered bay in low morning mist. Kiwi-Wings / www.flickr.com, CC BY 2.0
The settlement of Anakiwa on the water at the head of the sound
Anakiwa, the southern end of the Queen Charlotte Track. Samuel J Arnold / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sheltered water and green hills at Okiwa Bay in the Grove Arm
The Grove Arm of Queen Charlotte Sound, at Okiwa Bay. Oren Rozen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Old timber boathouses on the shore at Okiwa Bay
Boathouses at Okiwa Bay, in the Grove Arm. grumpylumixuser / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Facts on this page were checked against the sources listed on 5 September 2026.

Something wrong or out of date? Tell us.

Nearby

Straight-line distances from Anakiwa.

Momorangi Bay Camp entrance, grassy sites, beachfront, boats and the forested bay beyond.

Momorangi Bay

A fully serviced DOC campsite on Queen Charlotte Drive, 25 minutes from Picton, with a playground on the reserve.

1 hr – half a dayDriveKids2.6 km away
Ngakuta Bay's curved beach, calm water, moored yachts and bush-clad shoreline.

Ngakuta Bay

A calm, bush-fringed bay with a beach on Queen Charlotte Drive, on the Link Pathway.

30 min – half a dayDriveFree4.5 km away

Related

A walker on a narrow Queen Charlotte Track section through dense native bush and tree ferns.

Queen Charlotte Track

73.5 km of ridgeline and bay from Meretoto / Ship Cove to Anakiwa — walked in 3–5 days, ridden in 2–3, or sampled in a day by water taxi.

Half a day – multi-dayMulti-day
Momorangi Bay Camp entrance, grassy sites, beachfront, boats and the forested bay beyond.

Momorangi Bay

A fully serviced DOC campsite on Queen Charlotte Drive, 25 minutes from Picton, with a playground on the reserve.

1 hr – half a dayDriveKids
View back over Picton harbour, marina and town from Queen Charlotte Drive.

Queen Charlotte Drive

The slow, scenic road from Picton toward Havelock and Nelson, with lookouts over the Grove Arm.

30 min – half a dayDriveFree