Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park may be New Zealand's smallest national park, but it's also one of the most beautiful places in the country. Home to one of New Zealand's Great Walks, the national park boasts white sand, secluded coves and the occasional waterfall, all nestled in lush, green bush.Many of the park's visitors are here for day trips, spending their time doing a short section of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track or just relaxing at a tiny bay. However, there's also a range of accommodation options available if you want to stay longer or overnight. There's also a variety of outdoor activities to keep you busy, including kayaking between the bays and swimming in the clear water.Being so close to nature is a peaceful experience and the scenery at the park is truly stunning. On a sunny day, the water in the little bays is so clear you can see down to the sandy bottom. Whatever you do at the park, your adventures at Abel Tasman National Park will be one of the highlights of your travels in New Zealand.Most visitors to the national park will be driving (Nelson Airport is about a hour's drive from the park), although there are some tours available from Nelson. However, cars are not allowed inside Abel Tasman National Park. That means that if you're driving, you'll have to park your car and access the bays or tracks by water taxi, kayaking or walking. While there are a number of entrances into Abel Tasman National Park, be sure to pick one that works with your mode of transport.KaiteriteriKaiteriteri is a beautiful beach 61km from Nelson and you can kayak or catch a water taxi into the park from here. It's a lovely way to approach the national park and is very popular with visitors, especially those doing a day trip. However, this is not a point you want to walk from, as it's a 7km from Kaiteriteri to the closest walking track entrance.MarahauIf you want to walk into the park, start in Marahau, the southern entrance. There's a DOC car park here where you can leave your car or campervan. It's 67km from Nelson and is the only entrance where you can walk directly into the park.WainuiIf you're coming from Takaka, the northern entrance, Wainui is probably the most convenient. There is a carpark here as well. Just keep in mind that the last 2km of road is unsealed and you'll have to walk for that bit of the journey.Water taxisWater taxis are available all year round and have a fairly regular schedule. You do have to book these in advance, but the day before or morning of your visit is usually fine. The scheduled water taxi pickup locations are Apple Tree Bay, Anchorage, Medlands Bay, Bark Bay, Tonga Quarry, Onetahuti, Awaroa and Totaranui.Some of the water taxi and kayak companies will have a shuttle bus to pick you up from your accommodation and take you to one of the park entrances.With relatively mild winters across most of the region, you can visit the Abel Tasman National Park at any time. Go between November and May to make the most of the your time outdoors hiking, kayaking and camping in the bush. If you want to spend most of your time on the beach, keep your trip for the summer. As well as swimming in the secluded coves at Abel Tasman National Park, you can also swim and sunbathe at beautiful Golden Bay on the other side of the mountain range.If you're visiting the national park in winter, and also enjoy snow sports , include nearby St Arnaud in your itinerary. The Rainbow Ski Field offers skiing and snowboarding options for all abilities. The Nelson Lakes National Park is also stunning in winter so enjoy those spectacular, snowy views.One of New Zealand's Great Walks, the Abel Tasman Coastal track follows the coast through the Abel Tasman National Park. The walk takes 3-5 days along a shady track surrounded by native bush. There are multiple huts and camp sites along the track, usually at one of the tiny bays which are scalloped into the coastline.

Recommend you to do the Kayak.The able tasman track is very long (5 days) and most of the view is very similar .By taking a Kayak tour you see every thing, get a guide about the nature and get to walk 45 to have some experience of the track and go back with water taxi

Great drive through, beautiful place to visit. Thank you Dept of Conservation for all your hard work

Very nice track, every day there are climbs and declines so it's pretty neat. There are beautiful views all over, also going through low rides road was pretty cool. The big downer was that there is no water taxi back from wainui Bay (the official end of the track) so we ended up turning park to totaranui instead of finishing it. The water taxi was also a big blast, seeing the beaches we walked to and even dolphins!

We go there every year!!! We’ve done the whole track, and many day walks! Great camp sites, awesome huts and the beaches to die for!

Beautiful park, a little bit on the overrated side but gorgeous nonetheless. I can imagine the summer months to be really busy here. Unfortunately the main coastal track is slowly eroding due to storms, foot traffic. It's soft limestone so over time, it will inevitably collapse. Surprised people are still building homes high on the edge overlooking the water. I credit the DOC for keeping the park nice and pristine but a fresh water fill up station (or filter on tap) at any Hut or designated area will do so much to help hikers along the path. Kind of odd that this basic necessity is overlooked. I packed plenty of water for my hike and still ended up on empty 4 km or so from my destination.

One of national park in NZ, it’s very chill and comfortable to walk along the coast line, the track is not difficult at all, most of them are flat, but it’s not the most beautiful park in New Zealand, there might be more tourists during the peak season.

We took the boat (I think both companies Wilson and Abel Tasman sea tours offer similar services) to Awaroa and walked the almost 11k back to Medlands via a well maintained walking trail. Then we took the boat back. Beautiful beaches and sea in different colors of blue and green. Some sandflies are present.

This natural Park is simply wonderful. You can walk on it's multiple tracks and camp in it's campsites or go for just one day with a taxi boat. You can also enjoy kayaking or simply swim, the turquoise waters welcome you. We just loved it!

Absolutly gorgeous!Take some days off and come to enjoy 4 days hike around the coast!The huts are great, clean and tidy, the scenaries are just amazing, a lot of little creeks, rivers, beaches to have a swim, a lunch or just relax...Such a beautiful National Park!