Abel Tasman National Park - Part 1

The most popular activities to do in Abel Tasman are hikes, trekking on the multi-day Coast Track, and kayaking along the beautiful coastline. Since we are so close to the park, it would be a shame if we didn’t do one of those activities.

We opted to do a combination boat trip along the coast with a hike on some of the more scenic hiking trails. Wilsons Abel Tasman is the main tour company operating in the park and we chose their Boat/Hike Trip #6, one that had been recommended by a few people and not too expensive. It did include a 12 km hike and a swinging bridge over the Falls River, but we were up for it. We booked it online - 9:20 a.m. start and back at 4:30 p.m.

Our cruise started in the touristy town of Kaiteriteri, located at the south end of the park about a 40 minute drive away from where we are staying. For one hour, we cruised north along the coastline, enjoying the calm waters, the scenery and the bright, sunny day.

After the cruise, we were dropped off at Medland’s Beach. From the beach, we walked on our own, south along the coast, back towards Kaiteriteri. A boat from Wilsons would be ready to pick us up in the afternoon at Anchorage.

According to Wilsons, the trail between Medland’s Beach and Anchorage is the most varied of the Coast Track with Torrent Bay being the highlight.

For most of the time we hiked through a temperate rainforest. The ferns and the sounds of the birds and the bugs made us feel like we were on the set for Jurassic Park. We rarely met anyone on our walk. There was one other couple though hat we kept meeting and they did the whole trail In flip flops. Crazy kiwis.

There were several opportunities to take short detours to small beaches. It was a pretty hot day so we opted to stay on the shady trails and leisurely enjoy what we were seeing.

About two hours into our walk we arrived in Torrent Bay. A part of Torrent Bay is an estuary that is covered with water during high tide and almost completely dry during low tide. We arrived during high tide so were not able to take the short cut directly across the estuary. The longer walk around the bay added about 3 m, but it was a pleasant walk.

Our 12 km hike concluded at Anchorage where there is a wide, quiet beach. The minute that we arrived, we changed from our sweaty clothes into our bathing suits and immediately jumped into the refreshing ocean water. Ahhhh. The beach is similar to and about the same size as Chacala’s beach in Mexico without the restaurants or houses. What a great way to end a long hike!

From Anchorage, we were transported by boat back to Kaiteriteri. A good day with a little Vitamin I help. Haha.Read more