Planning your Abel Tasman Coast Track walk
By Lisa & Richard: 9 July, 2024
Embarking on the Abel Tasman Coast Track promises a relaxing journey along stunning golden beaches. To ensure your hike is smooth and enjoyable, read on for practical information on planning and navigating the track.
Distances and Walking Times
The Abel Tasman Coast Track is 60 kilometers long and can be walked in 3-5 days, depending on your pace. To plan your itinerary, the best resource is the Department of Conservation Track Guide and their Trip Information Sheet. This has a handy map of the Abel Tasman showing times, distances and elevations between all the key points along the track.
Once you have worked out how many days you want to spend, check out our blog on how get to and from the Abel Tasman Coast Track.
Accommodation in the Abel Tasman
The track offers four main Department of Conservation (DOC) huts and many campsites. There is also private accommodation available in the Park with all the mod-cons.
You can book DOC huts and campsites online and booking in advance is recommended except for the less popular winter period.
Campsites have water taps while the DOC huts have running water in the indoor kitchen areas. DOC advises treating water before drinking, either by boiling or using water purification tablets. You will need to bring your own cooker and gas, cooking equipment, utensils and food. All huts have wood fire heating, with wood provided. Open fires are generally prohibited in the Park, except at designated fire pits in campsites, but check with latest DOC notices as there is often a complete fire ban in effect. All huts have bunk beds with squab mattresses (no pillows provided) and you need to bring your own sleeping bag or quilt. Anchorage and Bark Bay Huts have solar powered lighting, but you will need a candle or torch for other huts.
Unless you stay at private accommodation (see below) there are no hot showers. However, there is an outdoor shower at Anchorage about 100 meters along the beach to the west of the hut below the warden’s hut and also one near Awaroa Hut and campsite. At Tōtaranui there are cold showers in the camping ablution blocks.
Toilets are available at all huts, campsites and carparks, and at Goat Bay, Pound Gully, Medlands and Stilwell Bay. At the smaller campsites these are composting ‘long-drops’ but the huts and larger campsites have flush toilets. All toilets should have toilet paper supplied but pack some emergency toilet paper just in case!
There is no rubbish collection in the Park so bring a bag to pack out all of your rubbish with you.
What to pack for your Abel Tasman adventure? Check out our blogs What gear to pack on the Heaphy and Abel Tasman Coast Tracks, Tips to save weight on the Heaphy and Abel Tasman and Top 10 walking tips for the Heaphy and Abel Tasman Coast Tracks.
Huts and private accommodation
Anchorage Hut: This hut is a 4 hour (12.4 km) walk from Mārahau. It has a charging station, washing lines, and a large kitchen, with large windows looking out on the beautiful sheltered bay. The bunk beds are split into a series of rooms each with their own outlook
Torrent Bay private accommodation: It takes about an hour to walk from Anchorage across Torrent Bay estuary at low tide (2 hours via high tide route) or you can catch the morning sea shuttles in before noon. Sea shuttles are not allowed to land at Torrent Bay after midday. If you want hot showers and a full kitchen and can stay a couple of nights, book a holiday house at Torrent Bay (check bookabach.co.nz). If you book a multi-day tour with Wilsons, you can also stay at their Torrent Bay Lodge
Bark Bay Hut: Set back from Bark Bay Beach 3 hours (8.4km) from Anchorage via low tide route across Torrent Bay Estuary or 4 hours (11.5km) via high tide route
Awaroa Hut: Accessible by sea shuttle (Awaroa Beach) or hiking. Allow 4.5 hours (13.5 km) walk from Bark Bay. With lovely views over the ever-changing estuary
Awaroa private accommodation: For a touch of luxury, Awaroa Lodge is a wonderful option with luxurious rooms, garden bar and delicious food. Their Pizzeria & Garden bar is a great stop for passing walkers even if you are not staying at the lodge. Awaroa Glamping also offers pizza and other goodies. If you book a multi-day tour with Wilsons you can also stay at their Meadowbank Homestead at Awaroa. Like Torrent Bay, Awaroa also has private holiday accommodation, zoom into the Awaroa Bay area on Airbnb for the most listings
Tōtaranui: Got a large group? Did you know you can book Tōtaranui Education Centre Ngarata Homestead. The house sleeps 40 in bunk rooms and has a dining room, toilets and showers, drying room and kitchen and a gas barbeque
Whariwharangi Hut: The oldest hut in Abel Tasman National Park, an original farm homestead said to be haunted by a friendly ghost! It is around 6 hours or 17km from Awaroa Hut. From Whariwharangi is an easy 1.5 hours to walk out to Wainui carpark
Camp sites
If you have the gear, camping is a wonderful option when walking the Abel Tasman. Make it feel more like a summer holiday. There are 18 campsites along the coast so you have plenty to choose from. If you are looking for perfect site by the beach, here are our favourites. For some of these you do need to take a short detour off the beaten track but they are worth it!
Watering Cove: Turn off the track just before you get to Anchorage. A tiny campsite with a clear water stream that runs down to a picture perfect beach and interesting rocks
Te Pukatea Bay: When you see photos of gold sand crescent beaches in Abel Tasman, chances are you are looking at a photo of Te Pukatea Bay about 20 minutes walk from Anchorage. Only 7 campsites so be in early
Anchorage: This large campsite that is more like a holiday camp. With an under-cover camp kitchen, washing lines for your clothes, solar-powered charging station for your devices, flushing toilets and fire pits for roasting marshmellows it is great fun. Spend two nights here to cover the wide variety of side trips from Anchorage, swim out to the diving platform, or just chill on the perfectly fine sand beach
Onetahuti Bay: Campsites here overlook a lovely wide-open curving bay with views out to Tonga Island and if you feel like a treat, Awaroa Lodge's outdoor Pizzaria and Bar is about an hour and a half walk north
Anapai Bay: We love this bay, just one hour walk from Totaranui, but way less frequented
Mutton Cove: Comfortable size campsite and perfect beach, but slighlty more exposed to the weather
Whariwharangi: Lovely sheltered campsite short walk from your own private beach
Abel Tasman water transport
Scheduled water transport allows access to points all along the track from Kaiteriteri and Mārahau through to Tōtaranui (but not beyond). The schedules for each are Abel Tasman AquaTaxi, Abel Tasman Sea Shuttles and Wilsons Abel Tasman.
If you want to skip a section of the walk, catching a boast is an excellent way to make the best use of your time in the park if limited. It is advisable to book water transport in advance to secure your preferred departure especially during peak times.
If you book water transport for part of your journey, operators will transport your gear from one point to the next, for a fee. This allows you to walk sections of the track without carrying your full pack. This service needs to be arranged in advance.
Tides
Torrent Bay and Awaroa Inlet can only be crossed around low tide. Torrent Bay has an alternate high-water route. If you want to stop at Cleopatras Pools, you will need to walk this way. Otherwise cross within 2 hours either side of low tide.
At Awaroa there is no high tide route, you should wait till 1.5 hours before or up to 2 hours after low tide to cross. If the tides do not work for you, you can book water transport.
Check tide timetables provided by DOC or local operators to plan crossings safely. Crossing times vary daily, so plan your schedule accordingly
Cellphone Reception and Wi-Fi access
Cellphone reception along the Abel Tasman Coast Track is limited and unreliable. We suggest you conserve the battery on your phone by putting it into airplane mode unless needing to communicate. Try texting if coverage is weak.
Project Janzoon offers pay-per-use internet access on private land at Torrent Bay and Awaroa. Proceeds go towards the Project’s ecological work with the Park. Project Janzoon also offers the Abel Tasman App which is packed full of up-to-date information on weather, tides, points of interest, history, plants, wildlife and walking times in the Abel Tasman National Park. It also has geo-location so you always know where you are (and how far you have to go). There are 12 solar powered Wi-Fi hotspots in the park where you can download and receive updated data to the app.
Awaroa Lodge and Awaroa Glamping also have Wi-Fi available for guests.
Device Charging
Solar powered device charging is available at Anchorage camp and hut. We suggest you bring a portable charging bank to ensure your devices stay charged throughout your hike. You don’t want to miss out on that perfect photo!
More Information...
Check out our blog Abel Tasman and Golden Bay must-dos for suggestions to experience remote waterfalls and fresh water swimming pools, glow worm grottos, snorkelling, native bird spotting and adventure activities like canyoning, kayaking, sailing and waka trips.
Make sure you get to the northern part of the Abel Tasman walking to or from Wainui Bay. The sea shuttles do not venture past Tōtaranui so you will get to experience some of the Park’s best, yet less-frequented beaches. Golden Bay Air can also provide transport from Wainui Bay back to Mārahau and Nelson.
Lisa Sheppard and Richard Molloy are Takaka-based owners of Golden Bay Air who have walked most Great Walks and many back-country tracks including the Heaphy and Abel Tasman Coast Tracks.
