here are many walkways through the sounds and these can be explored using Picton as a base. If you are short of time, then you should spend a bit of time at the Pelorus Bridge Reserve which is 19 kilometres from Havelock along State Highway 6 to Nelson. It is well signposted.

Three longer walks are the Nydia Track, the Anakiwa Track, and the Endeavour to Resolution Track.

The Nydia Track is reached by crossing the Pelorus River about 2.5 kilometres past Canvastown on State Highway 6. Across the bridge turn hard right and take the gravel road to Kaiuma Bay about 15 kilometres distant. The track itself runs from Kaiuma Farm to Tennyson Inlet and takes about eight to nine hours. From high points on the track good views can be had south to the Kaikoura Ranges and Mt Tapuaenuku and north to Nydia Bay. There was once thick forest all throughout this area, but logging has removed all the larger trees from the accessible areas between Kaiuma Farm and Nydia Bay. From Nydia Bay to Tennyson Inlet the track, after running through considerable areas of scrub and regenerating forest, passes through some good stands of large rimu, kahikatea, pukatea and mahoe, along with flourishing growths of nikau. There is also a fine variety of ferns.

The track from Anakiwa to Portage is about 19 kilometres long and takes about six to seven hours. It starts from Anakiwa Bay, past the Outward Bound School, which is reached by turning off the Picton to Havelock road just past Okiwa Bay, some 18 kilometres from Picton. An early visitor, Colonel William Wakefield, noted the magnificent forest here, but almost 100 years of milling has put paid to that. (At one time, almost 10,000 feet of timber was being milled daily by four mills in this area.) The track to Davies Bay takes you through small patches of forest, but more extensive areas are found along the track above Bottle Bay, Puroa and Hou Hou Points, which also give splendid views of Queen Charlotte Sound. Around Te Mahia the bush starts to thin out again, giving way to scrub and pasture, with only occasional stands of trees, mostly around the gullies.

The Endeavour to Resolution Track is best reached by boat from Picton but can also be reached from the Titirangi Bay Road which turns off the Picton to Havelock road about one kilometre past Linkwater. Some 30 kilometres down this unsealed road at Kenepuru Saddle a track of 11 kilometres and some seven hours' tramping will take you to Ship Cove. This track passes through attractive stands of bush on its descent to the coast and from Camp Bay it follows the coast through stands of manuka and tree fem to Big Bay, which still has much of its original bush cover. From here to the head of Endeavour Inlet, you pass through regenerating bush with some small-holdings. In the hills behind the bay there was once a thriving community working the antimony deposits in the surrounding area. Moving on from the inlet takes you through coastal bush and after crossing over a small river you arrive at Howden Bush, a fine stand of mixed podocarp-beech forest. From here you turn inland to Tawa Bay and Ship Cove.

From Picton, several launch trips are available to the sounds and travelling among the maze of hills and islands rising steeply from the bluegreen waters is fascinating. There are numerous settlements and small farms around Picton, many accessible only by boat. Perhaps no other area in the whole country has been so mistreated by bad farming. Continual firing of scrub, little or no fencing or fertiliser, and the browsing of trees and shrubs by goats and other stock all contribute to its scrubby appearance. There are also extensive patches of exotic and native bush, but much of the latter is light and supports few native birds.