We are driving our motorhome around New Zealand’s South Island, and after a great drive along Tasman Bay, we arrived in Marahau, gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. We were doing a three-day walk on the Abel Tasman Park Track, which is one of New Zealand’s 10 great walks, promising native bush, birds, and seascapes.
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| Te Pukatea Bay, Abel Tasman National Park, NZ |
Once in Marahau, we parked our motorhome for the tree days of the walk, and checked into the Abel Tasman Lodge. We had bought the walk online and accommodation and meals, plus luggage and water taxi transfers, were all part of the package. We were really looking forward to it.
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| Split Apple Rock, Abel Tasman National Park, NZ |
The next morning, we were on a water taxi heading to the beginning of the walk, when the taxi paused at a giant round rock. It was the 120-million-year-old Split Apple Rock, thought to have been split as a result of water entering its crevices then freezing, causing it to split.
However, Māori legend says that it was split when two feuding gods fought over it. To decide who would win it, they split it in half and named it Toka Ngawhā which means “burst open rock”.
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| Us as Anchorage Bay, Abel Tasman National Park, NZ |
Leaving Split Apple, we were dropped at the golden stretch of beach called Anchorage Bay. We then began our walk which was from Anchorage back to Marahau that day. It was fabulous, taking us though beautiful native bush, and past many beaches and bays.
We descended from the track to visit several of the golden-sand beaches before arriving back in Marahau in the late afternoon, tired but satisfied with our 20-km walk. After a spa, a lovely meal out, and a good sleep, the next day we were back on the water again in another water taxi.
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| Lovely bush shade on a hot walk along the Abel Tasman Track, NZ |
This time we were dropped at Bark Bay, further north in the Abel Tasman National Park. Leaving the water taxi drop-off point, we laboured up a very steep and drawn-out hill to the path above the bay, and were rewarded with a shady canopy of trees.
Walking through the shady canopy was wonderful as it was a very hot day. Our next reward was a view of lovely Mosquito Bay, a stretch of golden sand and aqua water that is only accessible by boat.
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| Tonga Quarry Bay, Mosquito Bay, Kārearea and waterfall seen along the Abel Tasman Track, NZ |
The next bay was Tonga Quarry. Contrary to its 'Quarry' name, it was a lovely beach and we stopped there and enjoyed a picnic lunch. After that, we reached Onetahuti Beach, then headed inland.
The next few hours were a wonderful part of the walk, deep into the forest with mature native trees. We saw many birds and were privileged to see a Kārearea, the NZ native falcon, and a few small waterfalls.
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| Marg and a weka on the Abel Tasman Track, NZ |
Throughout the trip, we had seen many native birds, but the flightless wekas (Māori for hen or woodhen), really captured our interest. These inquisitive birds steal stuff from your bag, or grab your lunch and run away with it – we saw them everywhere along the walk.
Our objective for this leg of the walk was to reach Awaroa. Around 15 kilometres later coming out of the forest, we eventually arrived at the Awaroa Lodge where we were to spend the night. Our bags had arrived before we did, so after a refreshing shower, we changed and headed to the bar for a well-earned beer.
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| The beach at Awaroa, NZ |
We went for a walk down to the pristine beach later, and tested the water temperature. While it looked very inviting in the sunny weather, the water was too cold for us to swim.
The Lodge is surrounded by pristine waterways and native forest, and can only be reached via a walking track or boat. That evening, we dined at the Lodge Restaurant and enjoyed the company of the several other guests who had also trekked there or arrived by yacht.
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| Awaroa Inlet, Abel Tasman National Park, NZ |
The next morning, our walk was to take us from Awaroa to Totaranui. The first part was really challenging as we had to cross Awaroa Inlet before high tide. This called for an early start and a one-kilometre walk across a vast expanse of shelly sand, interspersed with tidal rivulets.
We were slowed by constantly wading through knee-high water. However, on the other side, the walk through the forest was lovely, with virgin beech and rata trees, clinging to the sides of the walking path and cliffs.
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| Approaching Totaranui, NZ |
After around 12 km, we reached the beautiful Totaranui beach, and found a shady spot to eat a late lunch before catching our water taxi back to Marahau. Driving out of Marahau later, we felt that we’d had a great walk. It was well organised by Abel Tasman Guides and Aquataxis, and the accommodation and meals were great.
Our next stop will be along the Ruby Bay coast of this Nelson Tasman area, but you can read about that in the next blog.
This is part of a bigger blog on our travels around the South Island of New Zealand. The first blog is called NZ's South Island in a motorhome.