Abel Tasman Coastal Track

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Abel Tasman Coastal Track

The Abel Tasman Coastal Track is a beautiful walk across a series of beaches and high bluffs and through lush forests, along the clear, blue waters of the Tasman Sea. This walk is best done at a relaxing pace, to appreciate all of the wonderful beaches along the way. Huts are available, but this is a much better track for camping. The huts are mostly located in rather crowded areas, where many boats congregate, but there is a fine choice of wonderful beachfront campsites. The site at Onetahuti Beach was particularly memorable.

The Abel Tasman Track is not exactly a wilderness walk. In contrast to many of the other tracks, this one never strays too far from roads and has a number of possible access points, including by water taxi. It also passes through a couple of coastal resort communities. The sound of motor-boats and water skiers is never far away. The one major constraint on walking the track is the need to cross one bay during low tide. This area gets very large tidal variations, and there are other parts of the track as well where the route can depend on the tides.

A popular option at Abel Tasman National Park is to rent sea kayaks. Instead of walking between the campsites, you can kayak, and visit the off-shore islands to see the seals and penguins. I did not try this. You must reserve a kayak at least a week in advance during the busy season, and they won't rent to just one person. It looked like fun, though. There are guided kayak tours also, that go down the shore like a bunch of baby ducks.

I found the Tasman Sea very refreshing, perhaps a bit invigorating, for swims on the hot summer days. Some fresh water swimming holes are available also, but it is hard to spend much time in them without turning blue.

The tracks are mostly very well maintained and easy to walk on, and the hills are much easier than on the mountain tracks, so heavy boots are not really needed. I did the walk in two nights, going up to Separation Point, a very scenic part of the track, as a day hike. However, you can start or end inland, and stay a third night near Separation Point. You can also extend the walk as long as you want by stopping at more of the beaches.

I used Nelson as a base for this walk. Good van service is available here to both ends of the track, and any necessary camping equipment can be rented here. The hostel where I stayed, Tasman Towers (highly recommended), rents tents and stoves, if needed. I carried my own bivy sack and a propane stove on this track.

There is a DOC web page for the Abel Tasman Coastal Track.

Each small picture is linked to a larger version with a caption.


Mutton Cove	Separation Point	Anapai Bay


Onetahuti	Fern trees

Next: Tongariro Northern Circuit Up: Tramping in New Zealand Previous: Routeburn Track

Journal: January 4 - 6