Abel Tasman National Park

A very special National Park located along the ocean front. There are several treks along the ocean ranging from 1 to 3 day long and taxi boat from most of the beaches so you can either go by boat a come back walking or the other way round. Many campsites and very well maintained walking paths along the treks.

Took the water taxi from Mārahau to Anchorage and walked back along the Abel Tasman Coast Trail. We lucked out with a gorgeous sunny day and the views were spectacular! Would definitely recommend!

Very beatiful place, ideal for hiking and swimming. The colors are amazing... while you are hiking, you'll see wonderful views, the tracks are well maintained and the air that you breathe is so pure

Would absolutely recommend this hike! We did 3 nights/ 4 days and managed to visit Mārahau, Ankorage, Bark Bay and Awaroa. Rain, hail or shine this place is absolutely stunning!!

Trees galore! Plenty of birds, spectacular views. We were not there for the hiking, but the trails are very easy to follow, and you can make use of the water taxis and sea shuttles to plan your days. Lots of information available online and at the visitor centres to make the best of your time in the park.

One of the most glorious places on the globe. Do the inland lowkey it’s awesome. Beaches are lush and don’t forget to skip cleopatras pools!

Beautiful, expansive golden sand beaches and a pleasant walk to the first campsite at Tinlines. We only had time for a short walk but it was well worth it. The birds were such a pleasure to see and hear.

A beautiful park with a lot of beaches that you can go down to when walking. We walked about 5km to a beach and then back. The walk is quite easy just a few short, steep hills. The beach was amazing with super clear water.

Abel Tasman is beautiful! If lush green rainforest and sparkling turquoise waters appeal to you (and I mean, why wouldn't it?) then by all means do the trek through Abel Tasman. Abel Tasman is one of New Zealand's "great walks" which means the trails are super well maintained, and there are luxurious huts (by trekking standards) to stay in so you don't even have to camp! You can hike from hut to hut and do anything from 2 days to 5 (or even just 1 day if you're wimpy) - you don't have to finish the entire trek as there are water taxis at various points that will take you back to the car park/trailhead in Marahau. The huts are equipped with mattresses, flush toilets, drinking water, and a kitchen area. In the common area there are also wood stoves, so if someone takes the initiative, you can have heating too. You do need to bring a sleeping bag and cooking equipment (and food of course) but all in all it makes for a much lighter pack than if you were straight out camping. For those who prefer to rough it, there are also various campgrounds along the trail. For both the huts and the camps you have to book ahead of time on the DOC website, and for the huts I believe it's something like $34 NZ per person per night. A bit pricey but you also have to consider there's no fee to enter the park, so that's all you'll pay. We planned our trip starting in Marahau and then staying in Anchorage Hut the first night. That meant our first day of hiking was relatively short (8 miles) and we found ourselves with most of the day at the hut. It's on a nice beach with a few shorter walks you can explore, but unluckily for us it rained most of the afternoon and we huddled in the hut rather than sunning on the beach. The next night we hiked all the way to Awaroa Hut, which was quite the trek - 16 miles I believe. You certainly don't have to do that all in one day, as it seems like most people just hike to Bark Bay, approximately half the journey. At Awaroa there's a tidal inlet and you can only continue on during low tide. The tides were not in our favor, which meant we would have had to wait until noon to cross the next day. Instead we chose to hike out a few miles to Awaroa Lodge (very fancy) and catch the water taxi back to Marahau. I do suggest reserving a water taxi trip ahead of time as they seem to fill up! The water taxi took about 1.5 hours to get us back, with several pick up/drop off stops along the way. It was fun to see all the places we'd hiked through from the water - a new perspective!

Just when I thought it was beautiful enough, it got even more beautiful. Great scenic views and beaches. Trails are well paved. Great camping sites. You can take the water taxi in straight from Nelson and just camp for a couple days if you wanted to. Don't have to do it for a few days. But it's amazing if you do. Will come back here again for sure.