PictonNZWaitohi · Marlborough Sounds
A New Zealand fantail with its tail fanned, perched on a twig

Wildlife

Kaipūpū Sanctuary

A fenced, predator-controlled peninsula ten minutes from the foreshore by water taxi, with a 2.7 km loop track.

Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

The closest wildlife sanctuary to town: a fenced and actively trapped peninsula in Shakespeare Bay, a 10–15 minute water taxi from Picton, with a loop walk of about 1.5–2 hours.

  • Wildlife
  • Native bush
  • On the water
Show on the Picton map Open in OpenStreetMap Directions

At a glance

Distance
10–15 minutes by water taxi from the Picton foreshore
Cost
Water-taxi fare (see operators)
Getting there
Water taxi only
Track
2.7 km loop, about 1.5–2 hours
A New Zealand fantail with its tail fanned, perched on a twig
A pīwakawaka / fantail, the small bird that follows walkers along bush tracks. Bernard Spragg. NZ / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

About Kaipūpū Sanctuary

Kaipūpū is the peninsula on the far side of Shakespeare Bay, directly across the water from the ferry terminals. It is fenced and trapped as a community-run sanctuary, with a 2.7 km loop track through regenerating bush that takes around an hour and a half to two hours. Because it is so close — a ten-to-fifteen-minute water taxi — it is the most practical way to get a sanctuary experience into a half day in Picton.

Know before you go

  • Boat access only; arrange the water taxi and the pick-up time before you go.

Photographs

A tūī, a dark iridescent honeyeater with a white throat tuft
A tūī — a nectar feeder you are more likely to hear than see. Bernard Spragg. NZ / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Sources for this page

Location: OpenStreetMap contributors via Nominatim (Kaipūpū Point; feature).

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

Nearby

Straight-line distances from Kaipūpū Point.

A small bush-fringed bay reached by a walking track near Picton

Lower Bob's Bay Track

Half an hour along the cliffs from Shelly Beach to a bush-fringed bay.

1–1.5 hrsModerateFree0.7 km away
A small bush-fringed bay reached by a walking track near Picton

Upper Bob's Bay Track

The high route into Bob's Bay from Victoria Domain Loop Road.

1–1.5 hrsModerateFree0.7 km away
A small bush-fringed bay reached by a walking track near Picton

Bob's Bay

A bush-fringed bay you can only walk to — half an hour from Shelly Beach.

1.5–2.5 hrsWalk from townFree0.7 km away
View over the Grove Arm from a bend on Queen Charlotte Drive

The Link Pathway

A 42 km walk-or-bike pathway from Picton to Havelock through the inner Sounds — or just its easy first section.

40 min – half a dayEasyFree1 km away

Related

Looking out over Queen Charlotte Sound from Motuara Island's summit platform

Motuara Island

A predator-free bird sanctuary in the outer sound — saddleback, robin and kākāriki — with a lookout tower on its 128 m summit.

Half a day – a dayBy boatKids
A Picton water taxi launch underway in the Marlborough Sounds

Water taxis

Everyday transport in the Sounds — to the track, to the lodges, to bays with no road.

15 min – 2 hrsWalk from town
An Interislander ferry underway in the sheltered water of the sound

Scenic and wildlife cruises

Out into Queen Charlotte Sound by boat — the mail run, Motuara Island, dolphins and seals.

1.5 hrs – a dayWalk from townKids