The Abel Tasman Coast Track is roughly 60km long, winding its way from Mārahau in the south up to Wainui in the north.
The track can be loosely divided into sections between the different bays or the six Coastal Access Points (CAPs) where water taxis are permitted to drop and pick up passengers. The idea of these CAPs is to provide visitors with options to complete a small section of the track by taking a water taxi to one bay before walking through to the next bay to be collected and dropped back at your original departure point. Another option is for walkers to either get dropped at a CAP and then walk back to Mārahau, or alternatively, people can start their walk in Mārahau and then get picked up wherever they chose to end their walk, whether that’s a three-hour walk to Anchorage or a three-day walk to Tōtaranui.
The track sections between the bays are all different distances, have a variety of terrain profiles and their own unique characteristics, views and highlights. This all makes it perfect for a great number of half-day, full-day and multi-day adventures, depending on your energy level and specific interests. However, it does mean visitors need to choose between the gazillion options available and this is enough to furrow the brow of even the hardiest of souls accustomed to making a good choice when presented with an array of options.
Adding another layer of complexity are the various sections of the Coast Track where there are both low and high tide routes with the low tide routes typically being shorter than the high tide options, so this impacts walk distances/times. It should be noted that by necessity, the walking times below and on the DOC signs through the Abel Tasman can be indicative only, as they depend entirely on your walking speed and your propensity to stop and take in the sights. In my personal experience the world can be loosely divided types of walkers: The head down, “let’s get this done” walker who thinks of the destination and then attempts to break the current record getting there; and the “stop and smell the roses” walker who wants to whip down to every bay, to feel the sand on their feet, ensure they can identify each subvariety of fauna at that bay and maybe even have a little sit down.
Luckily for you, dear reader, we have finally succeeded in designing and building a supercomputer here at AbelTasman.com Global Headquarters on which we are running possibly the world’s most sophisticated multivariable-regression-analysis-model to create this: THE definitive walking and location guide for the Abel Tasman. We’ve done all the heavy lifting so you can easily pick the perfect walk for you. You’re welcome.
Mārahau
The village of Mārahau is located at the southern entrance to the Abel Tasman National Park. For any visitor travelling into Mārahau, the charm and tranquillity of the place will probably hit as soon as the road begins to wind past the Otūwhero Inlet. The view across the expansive tidal estuary, and then out to Tasman Bay as the islands in the Astrolabe Roadstead come into view is breathtaking. Having witnessed this grand ‘unveiling’ you could be excused for thinking you’re about to turn the corner and encounter a built-up, highly developed tourism hotspot. But this is where Mārahau and the Abel Tasman differ from many of the other locations in Aotearoa where visitors flock to. Despite its increase in popularity and visitor numbers over many years, Mārahau is still an unpretentious, authentic seaside village. Although Mārahau is indeed the gateway to New Zealand’s most visited national park, which hosts as many as 300,000 visitors a year, it has not sold its soul. You may see people in bare feet, walking or swimming with their free-ranging dogs and acting in a friendly, carefree manner that suggests it is still 1980.
The Mārahau waterfront is lined with a mix of permanent and holiday homes, all of which are modest buildings that are in keeping with the environment around them. There is a lovely walkway along the waterfront, a wide, grassy road-reserve along the main access road, Sandy Bay – Mārahau Road, and an abundance of open space, particularly when the tide is out and the foreshore stretches for hundreds of metres.
Mārahau is the location where the majority of the commercial operators servicing the Abel Tasman have their bases and where kayaking and water taxi trips depart from and return to. The village is also well serviced with a variety of accommodation options, a general store plus two café/restaurants, a couple of containerised style food/coffee/ice cream carts and pretty much anything else you might need. But all of this ‘infrastructure’ is very much Mārahau style, and the whole vibe of the place swings between a sleepy seaside village during the winter to higher, but still pretty chilled-out, energy levels in the summer months.
While all of the activities operators in Mārahau have ample parking for their customers, there is also a large public car park right at the entrance to the Abel Tasman Coast Track.
Mārahau to Tinline
Distance: 3km
Walk Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
This southern entrance to the park is marked with an intricately carved waharoa (entranceway) which leads to a long raised wooden boardwalk over the tidal inlet. Depending on the tidal conditions when you walk under the waharoa and then across the raised walkway, you’ll either have water on either side of you, or be surrounded by sand with the sea out to your right several hundred metres. Either way, it’s a nice way to begin, or end your walk in the Abel Tasman.
The bush on the inland side of the track in this most southern part of the park has improved markedly in recent times after the wonderful volunteers of the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust took it upon themselves to eradicate much of the bracken and scrubby stuff and then replant the area in natives.
After a bit over 1km, there is a sign to Stu’s Lookout, a high point located on a side track a few metres on the sea side of the track, providing perhaps the best views back towards Mārahau and also the beginning of the Astrolabe Roadstead to the north. The Astrolabe is the stretch of water between the mainland and the Fisherman and Adele Islands. A roadstead is an old nautical term for a body of water sheltered from ocean swells where ships can sail reasonably safely. The Astrolabe was named by Frenchman Jules Dumont d’Urville during his visit to the area in January 1827. D’Urville named the area after his vessel, the one previously called La Coquille, Adele Island after his wife and Fisherman Island after observing Māori fishing there.
The first campsite you’ll come to is Tinline Bay. If you are trying to book a campsite or hut in the park during the summer peak season you might find that Tinline is the only location with any availability showing on the DOC booking site. Firstly, Tinline is only a short walk from the entrance to the park so, for just about anybody setting off from the south, not far enough into the Coast Track to stop for the night. For anyone walking from the north, Tinline is agonisingly close to Mārahau where the coffee will be hot and the beer suitably cold. The Tinline campsite is also one of the few in the park not located right on the beach, being situated instead, up the track a bit. But it is still an ideal camping spot for families with young children, being only a short walk from the Mārahau trailhead but still with some nice views along the way. It also has a nice little nature walk perfect for the wee ones, another area that has recently been vastly improved by those good buggars at the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust. The campsites are located on a gently sloping grassy area with room for 30 people.
Tinline was named after John Tinline, a local man who acquired a block of land from Mārahau to the stream in 1857. Tinline, a much respected local figure who devoted his life to government service, farming and philanthropy, was commonly known as ‘Old Fizzlebilly’ because of his flowing beard. John Tinline learned to speak te reo Māori which led him to the position of interpreter for the Nelson magistrate in 1844. The prominent point above Tinline is the site of a former pā that was occupied when Jules Dumont d’Urville visited the area in 1827.*
*Source: Down The Bay, Philip Simpson
Mārahau to Coquille Bay
Distance: 3.5km
Walk Time: 1-1.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
After a short 10-minute uphill walk from Tinline you’ll find yourself looking down at a little beach called Coquille Bay, the first of the park’s classic, Abel Tasman-esque, crescent-shaped, golden-sand beaches. Coquille is fringed with native bush including some punga ferns so it looks rather magical from the lookout on the track above. It is also the first beach in the Abel Tasman that has deep water during all tidal conditions. The Coquille Bay campsites are right beside the beach with room for 12 people. The bay is named after d’Urville’s vessel La Coquille, the original name for what was to be renamed the Astrolabe.
Mārahau to Apple Tree Bay
Distance: 6km
Walk Time: 2-2.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Just north of Coquille you’ll find a newer section of track that deviates inland a short way, up a steep but short rise before it rejoins the older track. This is one of a few new deviations you will encounter along the length of the Coast Track, all of which were put in when a weather event caused sections of the track to slip and become unstable. The track is still well-formed and pleasant to walk on, but these unexpected climbs, even if they are short, can be sharper than what you may have been expecting moments before you encounter them.
Apple Tree Bay is the first of the longer beaches in the park that has a tidal estuary behind it. This means you can camp on the beach with water on both sides of your tent. This is also the first bay in the park with a privately owned bach. You’ll find either single baches or collections of them further north as you travel through the park. These small parcels of land were privately owned before the Abel Tasman became a national park in 1946 so were not handed over to the Crown. Apple Tree has campsites to accommodate 30 people. Originally named La Grande Plage by d’Urville, the name was changed to Apple Tree Bay presumably around 1928 when Lionel (Leo) Manoy bought four acres of land there for his family to camp for a few weeks every year before they built a bach*.
*Reference: Abel Tasman Area History by Dawn Smith – DOC
Stillwell Bay, Akersten Bay, Cyathea and Watering Cove
All of these delightful beaches are an easy walk further along the Coast Track from Apple Tree Bay and all have a variation of the magnificent view across the Astrolabe Roadstead to the islands. The Adele and Fisherman islands provide some protection from the ocean currents and also a rather wonderful backdrop as you gaze out to sea. In the summer, these beaches do receive a good amount of day visitors on kayaking trips from Mārahau, others walking this southern end of the Coast Track or locals having boated in to spend the day in the park with their friends and family. Of these five beaches, only three have campsites and toilets: Akersten has room for six campers, Observation has spots for 12 and Watering Cove has facilities for 10 people. These bays are among the most picturesque in the entire park and a great spot to camp if you’re travelling by kayak.
Stilwell is named after Welby Stilwell who purchased 2 acres there in 1926 and had camping holidays there before building a cottage. Stilwell took visitors on excursions along the coast in his launch Terepa around the same time that Newt Nalder was doing the same in the Kotare. Akersten Bay was presumably named after William Akersten who came to the Nelson area in 1855 where he set up a ship chandlery and built wharves which include what is, in present day, Nelson’s Main Wharf. Durmont d’Urville named Cyathea Cove because he found an abundance of the gully fern trees there. The bay is now more famous as part of the area leased by Pérrine Moncreiff, who played a crucial role in the establishment of the the Abel Tasman as a national park in 1942*. The bach built by the Moncreiffs is located in the Moncrieff Private Scenic Reserve. D’Urville also named Observation Beach, where an observatory was set up to view the transit of Venus across the sun, as well as Watering Cove where his crew replenished their fresh water supplies.
*Sources: Abel Tasman Area History by Dawn Smith – DOC, http://www.theprow.org.nz/places/streets-and-quays-of-port-nelson/ and Down The Bay, Philip Simpson.
Mārahau to The Anchorage
Distance: 12.4km
Walk Time: 3-4 hours
Difficulty: Medium
The first major Coastal Access Point for water taxis in the park is The Anchorage, or just Anchorage to the locals. It is also the first of the larger campsites with room for 100 campers, and also the first DOC hut with bunks for 34 trampers. Located 12.4km from Mārahau, Anchorage is often where people walking the entire Coast Track spend their first night. The campsites are situated among trees and are mostly on grass. This is also the first campsite in the Abel Tasman where you can have an outdoor fire, surely one of the highlights of any overnight camping trip. Another highlight for anybody staying the night at Anchorage should be a visit to the caves at the northern end of the beach to see the glowworms. Just be warned that along with glowworms you will also need to be mindful of the small but still scary looking cave weta.
As the first major Coastal Access Point in the park, Anchorage is the Abel Tasman’s most popular beach for people doing day trips. The most economical, yet still quite wonderful day trip in the Abel Tasman involves parking your car in Mārahau, catching a morning water taxi to Anchorage and then taking the rest of the day to walk back to Mārahau, stopping off at any of the beaches that take your fancy along the way.
Anchorage is well protected from the weather so is where a lot of boaties anchor up their sailboats and launches, hence the name. During the Christmas period there will be a flotilla of boats in the bay of all shapes and varieties.
Side Trip: Pitt Head Loop and Te Pukatea
Anchorage – Te Pukatea – Pitt Head – Anchorage
Distance: 3.4km
Walk Time: 1 – 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Pitt Head
For anybody who doesn’t fancy a longer walk, but still wants some wonderful elevated views and to get in among nice native bush, the Pitt Head loop track is ideal. The idea is to catch a morning water taxi from Mārahau to Anchorage, to spend the day meandering around the loop track, perhaps picnicking at Te Pukatea on the way back to Anchorage for a swim before returning on an afternoon water taxi. This is the ideal Abel Tasman adventure for families with small children or anybody who wants to spend a day at the beach, rather than the day walking.
The whole Pitt Head area has been extensively trapped for predators by the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust so features some of the best birdsong in the park. The elevated views looking across the bay to Torrent Bay and back to Anchorage are stunning.
Te Pukatea
Te Pukatea is a short, 20-minute walk from the southern end of Anchorage. It is your classic Abel Tasman-esqe bay; golden-sanded, crescent-shaped bay with rocky headlands at either end. It’s off the main track but is well worth the little side trip if you are either staying at Anchorage or walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track. There is a viewing platform located a short climb up the track to the north of the beach which makes the perfect place for a photo. Te Pukatea is an excellent place to camp with capacity for 14 people. Like many of the beachside campsites in the park, if you pitch your tent just right you’ll open the door flap in the morning to get the sunrise straight in your face.
The Anchorage to Torrent Bay
Low tide route walk time: 20 min
Distance: 0.9km
High tide route walk time: 1-1.5 hours
Distance: 4km
Difficulty: Moderate
The low tide route to Torrent Bay scoots directly across the estuary from the northern end of the Anchorage beach. It’s only 900m but is only crossable, without the necessity to swim, during low tides. This is the shortest, most efficient way to continue north, but the walk around the Torrent Bay estuary on any tide is worth the extra walk-time.
The high tide track climbs out of Anchorage, either via the track that starts in the middle of the beach, or up to the ridgeline on a different track that starts at the northern end of the beach. Either way, once you’ve done the climbing, the track drops down to a winding track beside the Torrent Bay river and estuary. The track around the estuary is rocky in parts but only rugged enough to be vaguely adventurous for just about anybody.
Side Trip: Cleopatra’s Pool
Located about halfway between Anchorage and Torrent Bay is a short side track that takes you to Cleopatra’s Pool, an incredible fresh water swimming hole with a natural waterslide that runs between smooth rocks. This is another great option for a day trip by taking a morning AquaTaxi to Torrent Bay, a 30-minute walk around the estuary to Cleopatra’s Pool for a leisurely freshwater swim and waterslide, then another 30-minute walk back around to Anchorage to meet your afternoon water taxi back to Mārahau.
Side Trip: Cascade Falls
Further around the estuary towards Torrent Bay you will find a track off to the left that leads up to Cascade Falls. This track is longer than the one to Cleopatra’s Pool, and a whole lot steeper, so it doesn’t get nearly as many visitors. The 45 minute walk, each way, is well worth it though, particularly if you’re after a refreshing freshwater dunk.
Mārahau to Torrent Bay
Low tide route walk time: 3.5 to 4.5 hours
Distance: 13.3km
High tide route walk time: 4 to 5.5 hours
Distance: 16.4km
Difficulty: Medium
Torrent Bay features the largest collection of privately owned holiday homes in the park. Water taxis are only permitted to drop off passengers until noon each day and no pickups are allowed unless those passengers are bach owners or the guests of those owners. This was the deal local authorities negotiated with the local landowners in return for allowing the public to walk through their little slice of paradise. Some of the baches here are available for rent at certain times of the year and Torrent makes an absolutely wonderful place for a family holiday. The Torrent Bay Estuary is magical on a full tide and the perfect place to sail, paddle board, kayak or just for a swim. There is also a small, 20-person capacity campsite at the southern end of the village. The campsite is quite shaded by trees and the sites are mostly set back a little from the estuary, but it does provide some protection from the sun and the sea breeze.
Originally owned by Dr Ralph Richardson of Nelson, who bought some 800 acres in the area between 1854 and 1857, granite was quarried from the area in the 1870s. There was also once a tramline up the valley to haul out posts and firewood. Torrent Bay was one of the first places people from the area headed to for recreational trips in the early 1900s. Back in those days a New Year sailing regatta was held each year as well as activities on shore such as running races, sack and three-legged races. The races and other festivities are still held on New Year’s Day each year at the public park located on a grassed area in the middle of the village, adjacent to the waterfront.
*Source: Abel Tasman Area History by Dawn Smith – DOC
Torrent Bay to Bark Bay
Walk Time: 2 to 3 hours
Distance: 7.8km
Difficulty: Moderate
On the way: Sandfly Bay and Medlands Bay
The 7.8km track from Torrent Bay to Bark Bay is another popular section of the Coast Track for day visitors. As the track is mostly along a ridgeline there are wonderful views looking down to bays along the coast, particularly Frenchman Bay with its picturesque lagoon below. If you’re walking or even running this section of the track in the summer, Halfway Pool, a small creek located – you guessed it – halfway between Torrent and Bark Bay, is a great spot for a fresh water dunk in the small swimming hole next to the track. From here the trail drops down to another of the major attractions, the newly upgraded Falls River Swingbridge from which there are magnificent views down the river and out to the open sea. A short distance after the swingbridge is a side track that takes you down to Sandfly Bay, a narrow beach and large tidal estuary from which Falls River flows to the sea. The outlet of the river has a habit of switching from one end of the beach to the other, depending on where the tide and weather conditions shift the sand to. There is a little bit of rock-hopping required to get right down to Sandfly, but it’s worth it. Don’t let the name put you off, there is no evidence that anybody has ever been eaten alive by the sandflies from which it takes its name.
Medlands is the next beach viewable from the track after Sandfly Bay. Meddy’s is another natural, dark green marvel lined with native bush and another great place for a picnic. The trail from here also provides elevated views across to Bark Bay which is only a few hundred metres further along the track.
Bark Bay
Bark Bay has both a 80-person capacity campsite and the second of the DOC huts in the park with bunk-beds for 34 trampers. The campsites line the main beach and the hut is set back around the estuary a short distance. Bark Bay is a mid-sized, sweeping bay with the inlet behind it which can make it feel like you are camping on a tropical island. The walk around the estuary and further to the north is one of the most underrated sections of the track, particularly on a full tide. Bark Bay is also where Project Janszoon, in partnership with DOC, have introduced kākā back into the park. If you wander out on the estuary at the right time you might spot kākā returning for a feed at the aviary where they were first housed when relocated to the park.
Bark Bay was originally owned by the Huffam family who settled there in 1870 before they moved away in 1890. The Huffams engaged in subsistence farming as well as milling timber for firewood, hop poles and shipbuilding. The gathering of bark from the black beech trees by the Huffam brothers, used in the tanning process, gave Bark Bay its name. The Huffams also sold smoked-cured barracouta and hunted pigs.
The Māori name for Bark Bay is Wairima. Wai means water and rima signifies either five or hand. Small streams flow into the estuary so this is presumably the original of the name.
*Sources: Abel Tasman Area History by Dawn Smith – DOC and Down The Bay, Philip Simpson
Bark Bay to Onetahuti
Walk time: 2 hours
Distance: 6.1km
Difficulty: Medium
The low tide track from Bark Bay takes you directly across the estuary to the north in a few minutes while the high tide track takes you around the back of the picturesque inlet. To me, the high tide track is a short but wonderful highlight of the walk regardless of whether the tide is high, with water lapping the edges of the track, or not.
The track from Bark Bay through to Onetahuti is sometimes gently and sometimes not so gently undulating. Before you know it though, you’ll descend and pop out at Tonga Quarry. As the name suggests, this little area was once the site of a quarry, the remains of which can still be found today. This includes the winch block, discarded granite blocks and the remains of the old wharf from the early 1900s. Building-grade stones were cut from both ends of the beach and were shipped by scow to Wellington for the old parliament building and to Nelson for the steps that lead up the Cathedral. It’s a pleasant little beach and perfect for a rest before you press on with your walk. Once a DOC campsite, this is now only a picnic spot after a weather event damaged the campsite a few years back.
After another short climb and walk along a ridgeline, the long crescent-shaped Onetahuti Beach comes into view. As you descend into Onetathuti, stop for a moment and take in the view. With the punga ferns in the foreground, and the curve of the beach in the background, this is also an ideal photo op.
Onetahuti
Tonga Island sits proudly and prominently directly out from Onetahuti beach, and who doesn’t love gazing out from a wonderful beach at a tropical island? Onetahuti has 20 campsites, all located at the northern end of the beach.
There is much speculation as to the meaning of Onetahuti. The name has been analysed to mean “to run hurriedly (tahuti) along the beach (one)”. However, it seems more likely to be a composite of one-tahu-ti. Tahu means to burn or cook, and ‘ti’ is the cabbage tree. One of the potential meanings is that cabbage trees were burnt on the beach as signals or as food. However, the problem is that there are no cabbage trees (ti kouka) present anywhere in the eastern part of the park.*
Source: Down The Bay, Philip Simpson
Onetahuti to Awaroa
Walk Time: 2.5 hours
Distance: 7.1km
Difficultly: Medium
It takes about 15 minutes to get from the southern end of Onetahuti to the walkway that takes you over the wetlands and on to the north. Years ago, getting to the Coast Track to the north involved an estuary crossing so was only doable at low tides. However, a raised wooden track was constructed a few years back so the track north is now passage on any tide. Having said this, depending on the status of the tide when you are walking along the beach you may have to either wade through Venture Creek or revisit your days as the Junior Long Jump Champ of your youth.
Once you’re across the wonderful little walkway and bridge there is a short climb up to the ridgeline. Make sure you don’t just blast this out without stopping along the way to look back over your shoulder at the beach below. If this little climb does make you a bit custardy-tired, there is a seat towards the top for a rest. Once you’re on top of the ridgeline however, it’s an easy walk to Awaroa and before long you’ll get a great view of the Awaroa Lodge when you do pop out of the bush.
Shag Harbour
Located between Awaroa and Bark Bay is a narrow, rocky opening that leads to a shallow tidal, bush-lined, inlet. Unless you already knew it was there, you could easily miss it as you sped past it in a boat or were even paddling past in a kayak. Shag Harbour is only accessible in a kayak or in a small boat, so you won’t find any of the bigger ferry style water taxis in there. It’s a seal nursery so the curious seal pups will come up to investigate your arrival at certain times of the year, before they grow up and become more wary of strangers. They are clearly visible in the clear, shallow water of the inlet as they zoom around at amazing speeds.
Awaroa
Once the sight of a farm, a small community and even a school house, Awaroa is the second area of the park with a concentration of privately owned holiday homes. These baches are located beside the Awaroa Estuary, the largest tidal inlet in the whole Abel Tasman. It is also home to Awaroa Lodge, a spalling luxury lodge with a nice outdoor dining area. It has a second more casual outdoor eatery where you can eat gourmet pizza and drink fantastic locally brewed craft beer while sitting on a soft grassy lawn. Located a short walk from the front beach, the lodge is only open during the summer months.
To the north of the main beach is the area that made headlines all over the world in 2016 when a couple of Kiwis decided to mount a crowdfunding campaign to buy a stretch of Awaroa beach that was put up for sale by its private owner. The fear was that any new owners could deny access to the beach for the New Zealand public. In a major triumph for people power, the New Zealand public donated over $2 million, purchased the beach and ceded it into the national park.
Awaroa has a 36-person campsite and 26-person hut, both of which are located a surprisingly long walk around the estuary from the main beach. Many people are caught out when they arrive by water taxi at Awaroa’s front beach only to find they are still a brisk 20-minute walk from where they are staying. If you keep walking past the campsite and hut you will eventually come to an old steam engine and the other remains of the old farm and milling operation that was once on the site. The Hadfield family were the first to farm sheep and cattle here from 1863.
Awaroa to Tōtaranui
Walk time: 2.5 – 3 hours
Distance: 7.1km
Difficulty: Medium
On the way: Waiharakeke Bay
Directly across the estuary from the Awaroa DOC hut and campsite, signalled by a round orange track marker, is where the track continues north. The walk across the estuary is only possible 1.5 to 2 hours either side of low tide and there is no way to cross the estuary outside of this timing unless you have a boat at your disposal.
The section of track on the Tōtaranui side of the estuary starts with a wonderful section through wetlands featuring large ferns and other light green foliage. The Waiharakeke Bay campsite located a little along the track is one of the most underrated spots in the entire park so worth a look around, even if you are not staying there. Waiharakeke has room for 20 campers.
On the way: Goat Bay
Goat Bay is another lesser-known and under-rated beach in the northern part of the park. It makes a pleasant destination for a walk from Awaroa to the south and Tōtaranui from the north. The track from the north once siddled pleasantly around the coast but this was destroyed over 10 years ago and was replaced with a route that goes up and over the hill instead. This is perhaps one of the steepest sections of the whole track and it has been known to surprise some walkers with its intensity, but when you do eventually descend on the other side of the hill you’ll get incredible views along the wide expanse of beach that is Tōtaranui.
Mosquito Bay
Mosquito Bay is another place only accessible by water, making it the perfect camping spot when you’re doing a multi-day kayaking trip. The campsite itself is rather wonderful and the bay has a rocky little islet in the middle which makes a lovely backdrop and also offers some protection from the sea breeze. The area up behind the beach has a freshwater creek with water that is the perfect temperature to cool your beer, or a nice bottle of rosé.
Tōtaranui
Like Awaroa, Tōtaranui encompasses a reasonably large geographical area and was once a farm. Tōtaranui is another long, golden-sand beach, and the only part of the Abel Tasman Coast Track that is accessible by road. There are tent sites on the beach side of the gravel road dedicated to the use of people walking the Coast Track, with enough capacity for 40 people. But the much, much larger part of Tōtaranui is the enormous 250-site, 850-person capacity campground which attracts thousands of campers every year, particularly around Christmas.
In 1856, William Gibbs purchased 1,000 acres of land between Tōtaranui and Wainui where he built a house and two cottages for his large family and visiting friends. The majestic tree lined avenue that leads into Tōtaranui was planted with alternating plane and macrocarpa trees by William Gibbs’ daughter, Hannah, and Jimmy Perrot in 1856. The Pratt family purchased land from Gibbs in 1892 to farm the area and built the Ngarata homestead in 1914 from locally milled timber. In the 1920s Charles Pestall Harries and then John Cameron attempted to farm the area but a bunch of factors including difficult access and poor soil quality combined to make farming at Tōtaranui a marginal proposition. The property was sold to the government in 1948 to be incorporated into the national park.*
The old homestead at Tōtaranui, Ngarata, has been converted into accommodation suitable for large groups for events like school camps and groups of friends. It’s a fantastic facility with a variety of bunk rooms, a large communal space and a big kitchen. Ngarata is also extremely well priced for groups and large family events.
One of the main appeals of Tōtaranui as a camping spot is its proximity to fantastic walks both to the south and to the north. A great full-day walk of around 21km is the loop track which goes up Gibbs Hill, around to Whawharangi and then back to Tōtaranui along the Coast Track.
*Reference: Abel Tasman Area History by Dawn Smith – DOC
Tōtaranui to Whariwharangi
Walk time: 3.15 hours
Distance: 9.8km
Difficulty: Medium
For anybody looking for some more remote places to camp or for a picnic, then the bays in the very north of the park are the places to head. As part of the DOC concessions for water transport, commercial operators are only permitted to run scheduled services as far north as Tōtaranui. This reduces the number of visitors to those beaches so even in the height of the summer season, you will be sharing the beaches with only a handful of people. The weather in this northern part of the park tends to be a bit harsher too so all of these factors combine to give beaches like Anapai and Mutton Cove a remote, west-coast type of vibe.
Tōtaranui to Anapai
Walk time: 1.5 hours
Distance: 3.5km
Difficulty: Medium
The roadway that leads along the tree-lined gravel road into Tōtaranui also turns off at the northern end where the walking track starts off through some grassy flat land. The initial climb after the grassy bit is steep but mercifully short before the track descends into a gully which drops gently down to the beach.
Anapai is a mid-size crescent-shaped beach with rocky headlands at either end. At the northern end you’ll find some interesting granite boulders sticking vertically out of the sand, one of which, if viewed from the side, looks like a human face. The campsite, located in the middle of the beach, has a 12-person capacity. Like many of the bays at the northern end of the park, the Coast Track goes along the beach before ducking back into the bush at the other end. There is another climb here so the track offers elevated views of Anapai back to the south and then across to Mutton Cove once you are around the corner to the north.
Anapai to Mutton Cove
Walk Time:1.15 hours
Distance: 2.5km
Difficulty: Medium
After a scramble over some rocks you’ll find yourself at Mutton Cove, another wonderfully remote and often windswept beach. The campsite here is larger, with room for 40 people. Mutton Cove is thought to have been named from the practice of vessels carrying mutton sheltering in westerly weather when the area was farmed in the early 1900s.
As you continue north towards Whariwharangi you will find the track splits at the top of a short climb and you can either walk directly through to Whariwharangi or take a loop track to check out Separation Point. The extra distance to Separation Point is well worth it.
Mutton Cove to Separation Point
Walk Time: 1 hour
Distance: 2.2km
Difficulty: Medium
So named because it marks the geographical boundary between Tasman and Golden Bays, Separation Point is a place of rugged, steep-cliffed beauty. From the track once you reach the point, you look down on a rocky outcrop where seals and seabirds hang out. A few years back one international visitor decided, against some good advice, to go for a swim at Separation Point with some of the local seals. His reward was a nasty bite on the backside from a bull seal which is potentially the best example of the saying that your own silly decisions can bite you on the bum.
Separation Point to Whariwharangi
Walk time: 1 hour
Distance: 2.4km
Difficulty: Medium
Whariwharangi is the site of another farming effort in the Park with the old homestead having been converted to a DOC hut with room for 20 trampers. There is also a lovely grassed area around the hut with room for 40 people to camp.
John Handcock built the house at Whariwharangi about 1897 and farmed there for 15 years before the land was bought by George Manson in 1914 . Whariwharangi continued to be farmed until 1972, but the homestead was unoccupied after 1926. After being used as a stockman’s hut, it became derelict, but was restored to become the DOC hut in 1980.*
The Abel Tasman’s northern roadhead is the Wainui Car Park located at the rather remote and wonderful Wainui Bay.
*Reference: Abel Tasman Area History by Dawn Smith – DOC
Whariwharangi to Wainui
Walk time: 2 hours Disatance: 5.7km
Difficulty: Medium
From Whariwharangi Hut you’ll follow a small stream, then climb out of the bay and on to a saddle overlooking the large and stunning Wainui Inlet. At a junction you can either continue your walk down to the Wainui car park or hook a left to take you onto the Gibbs Hill Track which will take you back to Tōtaranui. There is no scheduled transport out of Wainui so you either need to have arranged something in advance or you can walk back to Tōtaranui to get a water taxi back to Mārahau.
Other Noteworthy Locations
Almost every visitor to the Abel Tasman spends all of their time on the coast, and for very good reason. After all, the beaches and granite coastline are the features that make the Abel Tasman so special and different from New Zealand’s other national parks. As one of DOC’s Great Walks, the Coast Track must meet certain standards such as being 1.2m wide and graded in a way that makes it accessible to anybody with a halfway reasonable level of fitness. The Inland Track, by comparison, is a genuine backcountry tramping track. It’s a well-marked and well-formed track rather than the type of more difficult marked-trail you’ll find in our remote backcountry areas, but it will still raise a seasoned tramper’s heart rate and has tree roots and some steep-ish uphill sections to navigate. The huts are also genuine backcountry huts rather than the ones on the Coast Track, which again, must meet Great Walk standards. There are two wonderful, totally charming backcountry huts, Castle Rock and Awapoto and two shelters, Holyoake Clearing and Moa Park. Access to the Inland track is via Mārahau and then a couple points along the Coast Track, as well as via the trailheads at Canaan Downs at the top of Tākākā Hill and Pigeon Saddle at the northern end of the Abel Tasman in Golden Bay.
Adele Island
Firstly, let’s get the important housekeeping stuff out of the way: If you are going to land on Adele Island then please make sure your vessel is rodent free. Adele is a predator-free offshore haven and it needs to stay that way for our native birds like the South Island Saddleback/Tīeke to continue to thrive there. Adele is the larger of the two islands in the Astrolabe at the southern end of the Abel Tasman. During low tide conditions a wonderful sandspit forms on the inland/west side of Adele. There is a seal colony at the northern tip of the island, and nice little beaches on both the eastern and southern sides of the island.
The ideal way to enjoy Adele Island is to paddle around it in a kayak, checking out the seals at the northern end – with at least 20 metres between your kayak and the seals to avoid breaking the marine mammal viewing rules – and then continuing slowly along the coastline, listening to the amazing birdsong on the island.
Words by Brendan Alborn (Owner Operator)
Images: Stan Mariette and Brendan Alborn
Brendan has a long association with the Abel Tasman, visiting it for the first time when his parents moved to Marahau in 1997. After spending much of his life overseas, Brendan and his family moved to the area at the end of 2010. When Brendan is not spending his time in the outdoors he seems to spend much of his time creating even flimsier justifications for spending more time in the outdoors.