Skip to content

E-Ko

Best Day Trips to Do in Picton

Kumatoto Bay Reserve Wharf

Journey Back to Another Era with Day Trips from Picton

Picton is a magical part of the world, a place where you can truly feel in touch with nature and with the world as it was before explorers from the northern hemisphere arrived. As great and sophisticated as our country is today, here you can feel the real New Zealand and immerse yourself in an atmosphere of primaeval energy. Picton day trips take you into a landscape that Maoris from many generations ago would still recognise. At E-Ko Tours – short for Ethical Konservation Organisation - this is the world we inhabit and have done ever since our founder, Paul Keating, feeling at one with his surroundings, decided to devote his life to nature and a spiritual outlook.

whale-watching-tour

This is our seasonal whale watching tour to watch the great Humpback Migration. Join us for a fascinating Whale Watching and History Cruise! We cruise through the historic Perano Whaling Station through the calm, beautiful and majestic Queen Charlotte Sound to the Tory Channel, seeing a variety of marine wildlife on the way.

  • No Seasickness Guarantee
  • Travel with E-Ko and Support local Conservation efforts
  • NZ’s Only Marine Mammal Sanctuary
  • Learn How to Spot Whales with Binoculars
  • NZ Fur Seals and Dolphin sightings possible
  • Albatross and Seabirds
  • Complimentary Hot Drinks , Biscuits
  • Fully Guided by Experienced Experts
motuara-island-sanctuary-dolphin-watching-tour-600

Our Motuara Island Sanctuary and Dolphin Watching Tour is our most popular tour. On this adventure you'll see more wild life than almost anywhere else.

We'll be looking for:

  • Wild Dolphins - Hectors, Bottlenose and more.
  • Little Blue Penguins
  • Fluttering Shearwaters
  • White Fronted Turn
  • The rare (endangered King Shag)
  • Australasian Gannets
  • New Zealand Fur Seals
  • Bellbird
  • New Zealand Wood Pigeon
  • Rowi Kiwi
  • and more!

Eye-opening Picton Day Tours

If you’re looking for day tours in Picton, look no further. Our Marlborough Sounds Activities will get you out of the humdrum 21st century life and put the whole thing into perspective. Paul’s connection with nature set the tone for the company and lives on through our current accredited guides, who will introduce you to wonders of nature you may have never appreciated before. Conservation is hugely important to us, and we are particularly invested in the preservation of the King Shag and the Dolphin – two characters that form part of the E-Ko Tours story.

Introducing Hector and the King

The King Shag (AKA Marlborough Sounds shag or Cook Strait cormorant) is an endangered member of that family of diving seabirds that are so fascinating as, looking for fish, they plummet head-first from the sky and spend implausible amounts of time underwater before emerging some distance away from where you last saw them. They have existed solely in this area for a couple of centuries and we feel a real responsibility to them.

Hector’s Dolphin is one of the smallest of the cetaceans: the family that includes dolphins, porpoises and whales. The population has long been in decline, largely falling victim to fishing nets set up to catch other species. Like all dolphins, they are fun creatures and, like the King Shag, give endless pleasure to human observers.

Those two, of course, are to be found at sea, but our day trips from Picton can take you through rich countryside and forest, with a host of equally fascinating wildlife to see. It all makes for an idyllic, relaxing day, but can also be a sobering experience as tourists are made aware of all the species we share the planet with but rarely consider.

Picture This: Take Your Picton Trip Home on Your Phone

Most people who come on our nature tours in NZ take still pictures or videos on their phones, and this is the effortless modern way of preserving memories. With video you can also take home the audio side of the experience: the idyllic stillness and silence broken only by the sounds of moving water and the creatures who live here, calling to one another to report who-knows-what.

Whether you opt for a luxury walking tour in NZ or a Marlborough Sounds boat trip on the calm sea, sheltered and safe (with a money-back no-seasickness guarantee), on all our amazing tours from Picton you will be in touch with nature and emerge refreshed and invigorated.

Grey Reef heron

The Queen Charlotte Day Track is the best coastal track in New Zealand. The best part of the Track is from Ship Cove to Schoolhouse bay.

This location has a pristine natural forest that has been protected both by Maori and Europeans. At E-ko we only supply the BEST possible local Tours so we have created a series of tours based around this location

  • CHEAPEST Transport to Ship Cove
  • Fully Guided Transport with Wildlife and Dolphin stops
  • Experience Marlborough Sounds Wildlife and scenery
  • For Track Walkers only and your Packs
  • Pick Up available at Ships Cove at 1615
  • and more!
rob pine photo (284)

On this Wildlife photography tour, you get the BEST 2-hour Cruise in Marlborough. Breathtaking scenery, wildlife, water, a beautiful beach, pristine native bush, easy fun activities and samples of local wine!

  • Cruise Calm Sheltered Waters of Queen Charlotte Sound
  • Personalised Small Fully Guided Group Tour
  • FREE use of Binoculars and Species ID Cards
  • Amazing Photo opportunities so close you only need a phone
  • FREE High-Quality Wildlife Photos available on request
  • Family Friendly Boats with Children Toys and education
  • Complimentary Local Wine Sample
  • Kumutoto Beach, Bay and Bush
  • and more!

Contact us to Book Your Picton Day Trip

You can contact us by filling in the online form, sending us an email or calling us on the phone. We’ll give you all the information you need about options, prices and so on. So, get in touch and let’s get you back to nature.

E-Ko_icon

The Best Experience

✓ Exclusive No SeaSickness Guarantee
✓ Experience Wild Dolphins
✓ Free Wi-Fi
✓ 5 minute walk from the ferry terminal
✓ Perfect for families - the kids will love it!
✓ Fully Guided - we don't leave you on your own

E-Ko_icon_orange

Free Wi-Fi

We are located just minutes from the Interislander ferry terminal, and when you are at our shop, you can use our free Wi-Fi (it's fast!) and you can grab a coffee or tea from our shop to chill out while you're relaxing on our deck, overlooking the water.

E-Ko Tours lets you experience Picton/Marlborough better than the rest!

Digital Marketing by King Kong