Easy walk

The Link Pathway / Te Ara Tuhono

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

Photo: Daniel Vorndran (DXR) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

From Picton, Section I runs 2.5 km to Shakespeare Bay at Grade 2 (Easy). The full pathway continues around the bays to Havelock, with a side track to a WW2 lookout at Wedge Point.

Free
Bikes allowed
Views
Native bush
No car needed

Show on the Picton map Open in OpenStreetMap Directions

The track at a glance

Distance: Picton to Shakespeare Bay: 2.5 km (Section I). Full pathway: 42 km headline figure; the nine listed sections sum to 37.5 km
Grade: Section I is Grade 2, Easy. Other sections range from Grade 1 (Easy) to Grade 3.5 (Intermediate/Advanced) on the Trust's own scale
Route: One way, Picton – Shakespeare Bay – Ngakuta Bay – Momorangi – Linkwater – Havelock
Starts: Picton / Waitohi end, toward Shakespeare Bay
Dogs: Not stated by the Link Pathway Trust
Bikes: Walk or bike throughout
Cost: Free
Current status: The Trust reported the pathway reopened throughout on 24 July 2026 after storm damage, with some sections still muddy and narrow — check linkpathway.nz before relying on it

A calm bush-fringed bay with a beach at Ngakuta, Marlborough Sounds — Ngakuta Bay — one of the sheltered bays on the road out toward Anakiwa. DXR / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

About The Link Pathway

The Link Pathway is a community-built walking and cycling route between Picton and Havelock through the inner Marlborough Sounds, part of it following a bridle path built in 1862 and rediscovered after more than 130 years. The Trust that built it gives the whole route as 42 km.

For a visitor in Picton, the useful bit is Section I: Shakespeare Bay to Picton, 2.5 km, graded Easy. Beyond that the sections climb to Wedge Point Ridge (with a side track to the remains of a WW2 lookout and signal station) and drop to Ngakuta Bay and Momorangi Bay, both on Queen Charlotte Drive, before the long flat run through Linkwater to Havelock.

Sections from the Trust's own table: Havelock estuary 2 km (Easy); Mahakipawa Hill 6.5 km (Intermediate); Lower Mahakipawa 4 km (Intermediate); Linkwater 7.5 km (Easy); The Grove to Momorangi 2.5 km (Intermediate); Momorangi to Ngakuta Bay 3.5 km (Intermediate); Ngakuta Bay to Wedge Point Ridge 5.5 km (Intermediate/Advanced); Wedge Point Ridge to Shakespeare Bay 3.5 km (Intermediate); Shakespeare Bay to Picton 2.5 km (Easy).

Know before you go

Storm-damaged sections were reported reopened but muddy and narrow as of 24 July 2026.
Momorangi Bay's DOC campsite connects to the pathway if you want to break the trip.