1 active Abel Tasman alert
- ClosureRoad resealing closures near Kaiteriteri, 29–30 OctoberExpect rolling closures on roads near Kaiteriteri from 6am to 8pm on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October while crews reseal the roads.Official details
Overview
About Goat Bay
Why stop
- A pale sandy cove framed by native bush and clear water.
Heads up
- Large tides can cut off the beach access.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Abel Tasman map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Abel Tasman Tour Guide
Your drive to Goat Bay, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Abel Tasman National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
The Tide Sets the Walking Day0:00 / 0:32
“If your walk includes Awaroa Inlet, choose the crossing time before you choose the start time. There's no all-tide track around it.”
Plays on the road 1.6 km from Goat Bay in the Parkwolf Abel Tasman Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Tōtaranui Beach and Campground
- The Coughs in the Birdsong
- A Fur Seal's Night Shift
- Pigeon Saddle and Awapoto Hut
- 23 audio storiesacross Abel Tasman’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, New Zealand Fur Seal, Little Penguin, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 43 trails, 65 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Goat Bay
A beach stop on the northern trackGoat Bay is a sandy cove on the northern Abel Tasman Coast Track, between Awaroa and Tōtaranui.
Goat Bay is a sandy cove on the northern Abel Tasman Coast Track, between Awaroa and Tōtaranui. The track drops through coastal bush onto pale sand beside clear blue water. This is a walk-in beach stop, not a road-access destination.
Check the tide firstLarge tides can cut off part of the beach access.
Large tides can cut off part of the beach access. Wait for the water to recede before continuing, and plan around the tide rather than assuming the path stays open. From Tōtaranui, allow roughly an hour on foot each way; leave some slack for your pace and the tide.
Where the old route wentStorm damage destroyed the former coast-hugging track section, so the route toward Awaroa was…
Storm damage destroyed the former coast-hugging track section, so the route toward Awaroa was rerouted inland over the hill. You still walk along the beach at Goat Bay, but don't expect the track to hug the shore all the way.
Look across the bay from Skinner PointA short detour to Skinner Point gives a broader view of Goat Bay, Tōtaranui Beach and the…
A short detour to Skinner Point gives a broader view of Goat Bay, Tōtaranui Beach and the forested coast. For a photo that shows the cove's shape, frame the pale beach with both water and the tree-covered slope behind it.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Abel Tasman
10 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
54 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
20 sightingsLittle PenguinMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
21 sightingsSouth Island KākāMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
527 sightingsWekaMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
16 sightingsTūīMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Abel Tasman. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
