Place

Meretoto / Ship Cove

Cook's anchorage on all three voyages, New Zealand's first historic reserve, and the start of the Queen Charlotte Track.

Photo: Avenue / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

A DOC-managed cove in the outer sound with monuments to Cook and pouwhenua for Kupe and local iwi. No road in — water taxi or cruise from Picton.

History
On the water
Views
Day trip

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At a glance

Cost: Water-taxi or cruise fare
Getting there: By sea only — water taxi or scenic cruise from Picton
History: Cook anchored here on all three voyages in the 1770s and spent more than half his total time in New Zealand at this cove (DOC); made New Zealand's first historic reserve in 1896

The Cook memorial at Meretoto / Ship Cove, including its anchor and historic cannon. — The Cook memorial at Meretoto / Ship Cove, including its anchor and historic cannon. Avenue / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

About Meretoto / Ship Cove

Ship Cove is the one place in New Zealand Captain Cook returned to on every voyage, and by DOC's reckoning he spent more than half his total time in the country anchored in this cove. It became New Zealand's first historic reserve in 1896 and holds monuments to Cook and pouwhenua representing Kupe and the local iwi. Most people see it as the drop-off for the Queen Charlotte Track, or as a stop on a cruise that also calls at Motuara Island across the water.

Know before you go

No road access at all.

Photographs

Close view of the carved face of Kupe on the pouwhenua at Meretoto / Ship Cove. — Close view of the carved face of Kupe on the pouwhenua at Meretoto / Ship Cove. Sid Mosdell (SidPix) / www.flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Meretoto / Ship Cove, the northern end of the Queen Charlotte Track, a quiet bay with bush-covered hills — Meretoto / Ship Cove, the northern trailhead of the Queen Charlotte Track. Avenue / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Small waves breaking on a shingle shore at sunset — Last light at Meretoto / Ship Cove. A J Butler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

A fragment of oak and copper sheathing displayed in a museum case — A piece of one of Cook's gun carriages, from the January 1770 landing at Ship Cove. Daderot / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Sources for this page

Location: OpenStreetMap contributors via Nominatim (Meretoto / Ship Cove; feature).

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Something wrong or out of date?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 Meretoto / Ship Cove.

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-day0 km away

Wooden summit lookout steps above Motuara's native bush, with Queen Charlotte Sound beyond.

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 boatKids2.5 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

Wooden summit lookout steps above Motuara's native bush, with Queen Charlotte Sound beyond.

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 Taxis launch underway on Queen Charlotte Sound, with the operator name visible on the cabin.

Water taxis

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

15 min – 2 hrsWalk from town