Wilderness Guides is owned and operated by Marlborough Tour Company, the largest and longest-running touring company in the top of New Zealand’s South Island. In 2019 we celebrated 20 years of arranging memorable visits for active travellers to the Marlborough Sounds. This is where your adventure begins.

 

Based in Picton (the gateway to the South Island and the Marlborough Sounds), Wilderness Guides offers hiking, biking and sea kayaking tours from just a few hours to multiple days. Now internationally regarded for its fine wines, this Marlborough region is in the centre of a wilderness playground from the sheltered waters of the Marlborough Sounds to the north to the alpine grandeur of Nelson Lakes National Park and Kahurangi National Park to the west.

Originally formed in 1982 as Action In Marlborough, Wilderness Guides continues a proud tradition associated with the wilderness regions of the top of the South Island of New Zealand. The majority of Wilderness Guides' tours are focused on the adventure playground of the Marlborough Sounds.

Our Mission 

"To consistently exceed client expectations in the delivery of a quality outdoor experience with an emphasis on discerning product and service, education and environmental sustainability".

 

The Wilderness Guides Experience

Wilderness Guides can introduce you to the New Zealand outdoors in comfort. Guided and independent walk options offer quality hotel-style accommodation with own facilities, a la carte restaurant dining, fine wines and the necessity to only carry a small daypack. This is New Zealand walking at its most comfortable and civilized!

All our guided walks have at least one guide (we work on a 1:12 guide to client ratio) to offer knowledge of the area and the flora and fauna as well as companionship. All are qualified in first aid and carry an extensive first aid kit and phones/radios for emergency communications.

Our kayaking tours are about good times, relaxation, exploration and lots of great local food while experiencing in safety the natural environment of the Marlborough Sounds landscape with guides who have a passion for this area.

Our Commitment To You

Wilderness Guides undertakes to provide you with excellent customer service and to go that extra mile to ensure comfort, safety and enjoyment.

Our Commitment To The Environment

We're environmentally aware - it's just part of what we do each day and by joining our trips, you are also contributing towards the local conservation causes and projects we support each year.

We are committed to sustainable tourism under the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association and we have pledged our support to Tourism New Zealand's Tiaki promise.

For the past 10 years, we have been an annual sponsor of the Kaipupu Point Mainland Island project as a Kohekohe sponsor. This fantastic community project has protected a small peninsula right here in Picton Harbour with a predator-proof fence and volunteers have eradicated the pests, to bring birdsong back into the Queen Charlotte Sound and Picton.

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