Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand
Great Walks by the Sea
March, 2016
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We arrived at Marahau, more or less the end of the road
on the east side of
Abel Tasman National Park,
late in the day.
Evening was well on its way and we got one of the last campsites
in the crowded campground.
We made a reservation for a water-taxi the next morning to take us up to Anchorage Bay for a hike.
We'd take the boat ride up the coast,
then hike back to where we had camped.
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| Tidal Flat at Marahau |
The coast by Abel Tasman has a very gradual shallow bottom,
and consequently a large tidal flat.
The result is that the water-taxis at Marahau are quite an operation.
The boats are sitting on trailers, towed by 4WD tractors.
Sometimes the passengers get in while the boats are still on the trailer,
and sometimes they walk out on the tidal flat before getting in.
The tractor drives out into the water until the boat can be launched,
turns the boat loose, and churns its way back.
If it gets stuck, there are others around to haul it out.
The water-taxis carry both passengers and kayaks,
for people who are getting dropped off up the coast and kayaking back.
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| Boat Launch |
Before heading up the coast our boat went over to a spit of land with a lighthouse on it
to give everyone a distant look at a small seal colony basking on the rocks below.
A far cry from the closer encounters we had a few days before down by Charleston,
but I guess if you're on a quick tour it may be all you get.
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Photo by Dona |
| Seal Colony |
There were kayakers everywhere.
Dona had done one of the kayak trips some years before when she was living and working in Wellington.
It looks like a great way to explore the coast,
but it also is so popular it looks to be a bit of a zoo.
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| Kayakers |
The drop off points for the water taxis generally don't have docks,
so you need to wear your high-water pants.
They drop a bow anchor,
then back up to set it and kill the engine.
The captain steps off the boat and assists passengers down a ladder
and they wade to shore from there.
Depending on how shallow it is,
the walk can be short,
as in the picture below,
or much longer, as it was on the stop before ours.
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| Going Ashore |
Anchorage beach, where we went ashore, is a pleasant spot; there were a lot of bellbirds singing.
The trail from there back to Marahau is 12.5 km.
It is a nice sheltered bay,
and there were a lot of boats making use of it.
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| Anchorage Beach |
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| The Anchorage |
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| Bellbird (Korimako) (Anthornis Melanura) |
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| Torrent Bay |
The trail climbs up off the shore until you are a fair ways above the water,
and then winds along the coast.
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Tree Fern
Photo by Dona |
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| Photo by Dona |
| Torrent Bay |
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Photo by Dona |
For much of the trail you are walking under the forest canopy,
with only occasional glimpses of the water.
Periodically we would cross a small creek.
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| Flower Xxx Rata |
Rimu
Photo by Dona |
Tree Xxx
Photo by Dona |
Shrub Xxx Red Flower
Photo by Dona |
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View Back To Marahau
Photo by Dona |
From the trail you could see inviting sandy beaches and coves all along the shore.
There were trails down to many of them.
We could see kayakers pulled up everywhere enjoying the sun, sand and water.
Some were on day paddles;
others were on multi-day adventures.
It would be a fun park to explore by boat,
but it is pretty crowded;
not much of a wilderness experience.
We didn't see a lot of birds on our hike,
but when we dropped down to the water we found some Red-Billed Gulls and Pied Shags.
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| Red Billed Gull (Larus Novaeholiandiae Scopulinus) |
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| White Faced Heron (Ardea Novaehollandiae) |
In due time we made it back to our starting point, where
we grabbed an ice-cream cone before
heading up and over Takaka Hill to
Golden Bay
just to see what was there.
Golden Bay is on the east side of Cape Farewell on the northernmost part of the South Island
and is less traveled;
Kahurangi National Park
is probably more fun to explore.
The road is long and winding,
fun with great scenery.
As the
Golden Bay Visitor's Center says,
"Unless you're a migrating whale,
you don't go past Golden Bay on your way to anywhere."
I would have liked to have more time to hike and explore.
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| Looking down on the Takaka valley and Golden Bay from Takaka Hill |
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Takaka Valley
Photo by Dona |
We found a campground a few km past the Mussel Inn,
and enjoyed a quiet evening.
It was our last night on the South Island;
the next morning we drove to Nelson,
turned in our rental car,
and hopped over the strait to
Wellington
and the North Island.
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| Evening at our Campground on Golden Bay |
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Abel Tasman Interior from the Plane
Photo by Dona |
