Overview
About The Park Cafe
Why stop
- Wood-fired oven, courtyard seating, and a long local history.
Heads up
- Food quality and service can be uneven.
Map
Where it is
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Abel Tasman Tour Guide
Your drive to The Park Cafe, 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 place
Mārahau and Te Waharoa“You're approaching Mārahau's Coast Track entrance, marked by the carved gateway called Te Waharoa. Stop for a look even if you're not planning a long walk, and go around to see both faces.”
Plays as you drive up to The Park Cafe in the Parkwolf Abel Tasman Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Abel Tasman Centre
- A Fern's Hidden Generation
- The Duet at Dusk
- Water Inside Tākaka Hill
- 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 The Park Cafe
Stop before or after the trackThe Park Cafe is a family-run café and restaurant in Mārahau, right by the Abel Tasman Coast…
The Park Cafe is a family-run café and restaurant in Mārahau, right by the Abel Tasman Coast Track gateway. It’s a convenient place to sit down for a meal before setting out or after a walk, with wood-fired pizza as the signature. I’d stop if you’re already passing through; the food and service can be uneven, so it’s not a sure bet for a special detour.
The wood-fired ovenPizza is the main draw, but the oven also turns out bread, burger buns, and slow-cooked or…
Pizza is the main draw, but the oven also turns out bread, burger buns, and slow-cooked or smoked meats. The cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with indoor dining and a planted outdoor courtyard. The specific menu changes, so check ahead if you have a particular dish in mind.
From a roadside wagon to a restaurantJane and Yirka Ritschny started the cafe in 1986 with a purpose-built wagon and a shaded…
Jane and Yirka Ritschny started the cafe in 1986 with a purpose-built wagon and a shaded veranda at the end of the gravel road. It gave walkers a place to rest and eat when they reached Mārahau. The cafe moved into permanent premises in November 1992, and has grown into a family-run gathering place at the park’s eastern gateway.
The garden and Garden RoomThe courtyard is planted with New Zealand natives, and the Garden Room looks through harakeke…
The courtyard is planted with New Zealand natives, and the Garden Room looks through harakeke toward Adele and Fisherman Islands. Local artists’ carvings and artwork are part of the setting, and the room has a stage for live music. It works as a relaxed sit-down stop as well as a meal before or after the walk.
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
526 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.
