Abel Tasman National Park lies at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand.   It is not a large park, but it follows the coastline for 60 kilometers.   The Abel Tasman Track brings hikers from all over the world to hike and camp along the golden beaches, granite headlands, and lush forests of the Park.   We were originally booked into huts along the track and planned to spend 4-5 days, but we had found the huts to be very crowded, so we changed our plans and hiked most of it without staying overnight in the huts.   We camped stayed at Motueka then drove to Marahau for a ride in a water taxi to the beach at Bark Bay.   The hike from Bark Bay back to our vehicle was 25 km, but we added some side trips down to beaches, up to Cleopatra’s Pool, and down to viewpoints so we actually covered about 27-28 km that day.   From the outset, we were stunned by the golden beaches all along the route.   We hiked at high tide, so there were no low tide crossings for us, but we enjoyed the trails so much, there were no complaints about the distances.

When the tide came in, all the estuaries filled up and we had to go around each one, but they were scenic, the weather was good, and the trail was fine.

Anyone who just hikes the trail without going down to the beaches is missing the point.   We spotted several sea arches along the way and every beach brought something new to enjoy.

We could see that some of the sheltered areas behind coastline islands would make good paddling.   There are 20 campgrounds along the Track for both hikers and paddlers.

At a few points along the track, we climbed away from the shoreline to higher viewpoints.

The very best part of the track was walking along beaches paralleling the main trail.

With a little bit of extra hiking, we were able to explore pocket beaches, estuaries, and headlands.

As we neared the end (start) of the trail near Marahau, the sand/mud flats had to be crossed, but a boardwalk provided a direct and dry route to the trailhead.

Coastal flax was blooming everywhere on the north side of the South Island.

In the forest, fern trees and many other types of ferns bordered the track.   Granite cliffs, headlands, and boulders added to the scenery along the route.

This was a long day of hiking, but the track was so good and the scenery so appealing that we enjoyed every step and we would happily do the whole thing again.

We chose to hike the other end of the track too, so we spent the next day driving over to Golden Bay, another adventure on the Abel Tasman Track (with another article to follow).