2 - 3 hour return | 8km return | Marlborough
Like a few others that weekend, I found myself gaining a few extra days in Picton after the weather caused multiple ferry cancellations at the end of my holiday. Not one to turn down the opportunity for a bit of additional exploration I looked up short tracks in the area and the first to appear was the Snout Track, so off I went. As you can see from the photo's it was another beautiful day and so I was incredibly lucky to be able to make the most of it.
The track can be walked from Picton directly, in which case add another hour on to the times listed here. I decided to drive up to the car park in the Victoria Domain and started the track from here. The drive itself is worth it, with multiple viewpoints along the one way road to the car park.
Th track begins as a wide four wheel drive track which is shared use with some mountain bike tracks that connect on and off at various points. Most of the time you don't really get too much of a view out onto the water, but every now and again there are clearings where you get good glimpses out.
The track follows the ridgeline with gentle, rolling hills, but nothing particularly strenuous. After around ten minutes I reached the turn off for the main track. The four wheel drive style road, changes into a narrower path through forest. The shade was very welcome, but also meant the ground was muddy underfoot and gradually the steepness increased as well.
With more undulation, you pick your way along the side of the ridge towards Snout Point. There are plenty of openings to see the water and the multiple boats travelling up and down from Picton. The bice thing about this track, is that you are never really going uphill for too long before it levels out or goes down, so whilst it isn't a flat, easy walk, it is relaxing.
After around 30 minutes I arrived at the first major viewpoint, the Queen Charlotte Lookout, which offers great views back over towards the Queen Charlotte Reserve. You will also find a toilet here in case needed!
From here the track drops down towards Snout Point. The sign suggests 40 minutes from here, but for me it was around another 30 minutes. This part of the track is a little steeper and downhill (which of course means the return is mainly uphill!). With some switchbacks you make your way down closer towards the water before traversing the side of the ridge, crossing a mountain bike track before then linking up with that same track later on. The final 10 minutes of so are a shared use track.
I arrived at the Snout Point lookout approximately one hour after starting. There is a bench and plenty of space to enjoy the view up into the Sounds and it is also possible to venture down to the water's edge, but that is a steep drop so not for everyone. From here you get great views back towards Waikawa Bay and out to Karaka Bay.
The return is via the same track and takes approximately the same length of time given that the first section back to the Queen Charlotte lookout is largely uphill and then from there you have a good portion of downhill.
Parking: There is a purpose built car park in the Victoria Domain or the track can be started from Picton town (walk out over the archway bridge towards the Marina and then up towards the Victoria Domain. This adds around one hour each way).
Overnight Options: There are no overnight options on this track.
