Hiking in Abel Tasman National Park

A one-day hike in stunning Abel Tasman National Park, South Island New Zealand

New Zealand is mind-blowing-ly beautiful, there’s no arguing with that. Scenic drives around the south island are just as enthralling as vigorous hikes, and road tripping around the glacial peaks in a camper van is basically freedom epitomised. I won’t lure you in on false pretences about my own intrepidity: I spent most of my time in New Zealand drinking cider in Queenstown and posing for ridiculous pictures in Lake Tekapo, but I did spend a few days during my stay in Nelson getting all outdoorsy. Must have been something in the Kiwi air. I’m over it now.

That bout of outdoorsiness reached its height when I went hiking in Abel Tasman National Park.

The history of Abel Tasman

Named after the first European to discover New Zealand, Abel Tasman became known when a sailor set off in 1642 to see what was happening in the relatively undiscovered southern hemisphere.

The Ngati Tumatakokiri people were going about their business on 18 December 1642 when the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman anchored his two ships at the north of what is now the national park, near Wainui in Mohua (Golden Bay). Obviously the Maori people were all, WTF, and Tasman lost four crew when the locals acted to defend their land.

Can you imagine sailing up to this, with no idea just how amazing the place you were about to discover was?

Hiking in Abel Tasman National Park

At 22,530 hectares, Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand’s smallest national park but also one of the best. Renowned all over the world for its coastal landscape, the national park offers lots of different lengths of hikes, with something to suit everyone. We felt a 1 day excursion was best suited to our fitness levels. More seasoned hikers (ahem, those who aren’t bloated from too much beer) might prefer doing the Coast track, which takes three to five days. Of course, this means carrying a lot of equipment so a higher fitness level is definitely recommended.

A one day hike

We were picked up from our Motor Lodge in Nelson bright and early, and sneakily napped in the back of the van while our driver chatted away. He told us about how Maori people lived along the Abel Tasman coast for around 500 years, gathering food from the sea, estuaries and forests.

We were dropped at Marahau beach and took a water ferry or ‘Aqua Taxi’ around Tasman Bay to the top of the park. I stupidly ate my packed lunch then, and moaned about being hungry the rest of the day.

The boat cruised past Split Apple Rock, an intriguing round rock formation which looks like an apple cut in half. Maori legend has it that two Gods were fighting over the possession of a large boulder (not sure why). To settle the matter, they used their godlike strength to break it in half – and here it is now. Why anyone would fight over that is beyond me but each to their own and all that…

It was a scenic sailing with plenty of opportunities for seal spotting and bird watching. The more common forest birds, like tui and bellbirds, can be seen along with pukeko around the estuaries and wetlands. Even on a fairly cold, blustery day; the scenery was overwhelming.

We then hiked for 4 hours down to Anchorage, feeling at one with nature as we weaved through Manuka groves, trees, trails, and secluded beaches. We mostly passed the time singing Shania Twain songs, which was pretty embarrassing when we stumbled upon some other hikers – though that wasn’t very often.

My all time favourite thing about New Zealand is that it seems to boast an abundance of strategically placed rope swings, tyre swings and cute wooden benches, making it an Instagram worthy dream to explore. Fantastic technique on the part of the Kiwi tourist board, if you ask me. We traipsed out of the bushes and came across this forlorn rope, swinging lazily in the Autumn breeze.

Here’s yet another picture of C on a strategically placed bench.

Our hike took us along a short (500 metres) side track beside a crystal forest stream to visit tranquil Cleopatra’s Pool and over a slightly scary swing bridge. At 47 m in length, Falls River Swing Bridge is not for the faint of heart.

Abel Tasman’s quiet isolation and sweeping views highlight the beauty of New Zealand’s sparse population; if I was ever on the run, this place would definitely be one of my hideouts.

Keen kayakers can also skirt around the bays, but after my kayaking disaster in Kaikoura, I didn’t fancy it. There’s something about sea kayaking that really freaks me out now.

How to see Nelson from above

From hiking around Abel Tasman, we later flew over it, but each of us did it a slightly different way. C did a skydive from 16,500 ft – so high they had to give her oxygen in the plane! She had a gorgeous clear day for it too. It isn’t really something that’s ever appealed to me but after seeing her buzz afterwards, it’s definitely on my list.

Me, I decided to fly a plane over Abel Tasman and see the trail we had hiked from above. Intrigued? Read about the time I flew a plane in New Zealand – it’s definitely another thing for the Bucket List!

If you’re planning your own backpacking trip around New Zealand, I highly recommend getting yourself the Lonely Planet Guide Book – it was our bible when we did this trip.

Find accommodation around Abel Tasman National Park

Where is your favourite place to hike? Leave a comment!

Share this post if you enjoyed it and don’t forget to like my facebook page for more travel inspiration. You can also follow me on twitter and Instagram.