Qualla: Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park: Introduction

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0. The beach appears around a headland, a crescent of golden sand backed by forest that looks like it's never been touched. The water is turquoise, absurdly so, the color that travel brochures exaggerate but that here exists without enhancement. You've walked three hours from the last beach, or paddled across the bay in a sea kayak, or arrived by water taxi that dropped you on the sand and motored away, leaving you in a silence broken only by birdsong and the gentle lap of wavelets on shore. This is Abel Tasman National Park - New Zealand's smallest national park at 22,000 hectares, but perhaps its most perfect. No roads enter the park. No cars disturb the trails. The Coast Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks, a 51-kilometer traverse from Marahau to Wainui Bay that can be done in three to five days, camping or hutting at beaches that look like postcards come to life. The park was created on December 18, 1942 - exactly 300 years after Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer for whom it's named, first anchored in the bay and encountered the Maori people who would drive him away.

Image: Krzysztof Golik | CC BY-SA 4.0

Abel Tasman National Park: Cleopatra's Pool

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Akos Kokai, CC BY 2.0. About an hour's walk inland from the coast, hidden in the forest where few casual visitors venture, Cleopatra's Pool offers one of the park's stranger delights: a natural waterslide carved by centuries of running water over smooth rock. The pool at the bottom is deep enough for s...

Image: Akos Kokai | CC BY 2.0

Abel Tasman National Park: The Anniversary Park

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 3.0. Abel Tasman sailed into these waters on December 18, 1642, the first European to reach New Zealand. His encounter with the Maori was brief and violent - four of his crew were killed before he could land, and he sailed on without setting foot on shore. The bay where the encounter ...

Image: Oren Rozen | CC BY-SA 3.0

Abel Tasman National Park: The Golden Coast

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Robert (Bic) Bicknell, CC BY-SA 4.0. The beaches of Abel Tasman are not white but gold - a warm, honey-colored sand derived from the granite that underlies the park. Torrent Bay, Anchorage, Bark Bay, Onetahuti, Awaroa - each name marks a crescent of that golden sand, each accessible only by the track that links them...

Image: Robert (Bic) Bicknell | CC BY-SA 4.0

Abel Tasman National Park: The Tidal Crossings

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Robert (Bic) Bicknell, CC BY-SA 4.0. Twice on the Coast Track, the trail disappears into tidal estuaries that can only be crossed near low tide. At Torrent Bay, the shortcut across the estuary takes 25 minutes; the high-tide track around takes nearly two hours. At Awaroa, the crossing is unavoidable - there is no hi...

Image: Robert (Bic) Bicknell | CC BY-SA 4.0

Abel Tasman National Park: The Water Taxi Economy

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Robert (Bic) Bicknell, CC BY-SA 4.0. No roads means no cars, but it doesn't mean isolation. A fleet of water taxis operates from Marahau and Kaiteriteri, running schedules as reliable as any bus service. Want to walk just the northern section? The water taxi drops you at Bark Bay and picks you up at Totaranui. Want ...

Image: Robert (Bic) Bicknell | CC BY-SA 4.0