Abel Tasman Coast Track

This is the full Abel Tasman Coast Track: a 60 km (37.3 mi) point-to-point Great Walk from Mārahau north to Wainui. The published walking stages add up to about 20 hours on foot, usually spread over 3–5 days. The route switches between coastal forest, granite headlands, tidal inlets and long sandy bays, with some steep, rough or muddy sections mixed into a well-marked track. Most people walk one direction. The all-tide route around Torrent Bay is longer than the low-tide beach crossing, and the northern finish makes transport part of the plan.

Awaroa Inlet is the one compulsory tidal crossing: there is no bypass on the through route. Cross only in daylight, from 1 hour 30 minutes before low tide until 2 hours after. Check the tide table for the day you will reach it before choosing huts, campsites or boat transfers. Torrent Bay has an all-tide route around the estuary as well as a shorter low-tide crossing; Bark Bay also has a short all-tide path around its estuary. The mapped route follows the longer Torrent Bay option and the Bark Bay detour.

The track has four huts and 18 campsites, and every stay needs an advance booking year-round. Huts have no gas cooking or lighting, so bring a stove and fuel plus a light. Water at huts and campsites is untreated; boil it before drinking. Dogs are not allowed. Start at the Mārahau car park and finish at the Wainui road end; arrange a shuttle or another vehicle before you leave. Water taxis operate as far north as Tōtaranui, not Wainui, and the last 2 km of the Wainui access road is unsealed. The track is open year-round, though winter’s shorter daylight leaves less room for delays; October through April is the busiest period.

The first stage is 12.4 km (4 hours) from Mārahau to Anchorage. Cross the causeway, then leave open country for beech forest and large kānuka trees. The path rolls through small gullies before the forest opens onto Anchorage Bay and drops to its hut and campsite. From there, the all-tide route to Bark Bay is 11.5 km (4 hours), compared with 8.4 km and about 3 hours across Torrent Bay’s estuary near low tide. The longer route winds through coastal forest and crosses the Falls River on a 47 m suspension bridge before returning to the sand at Bark Bay. Cleopatra’s Pool is a separate, steep 2-hour-return side trip from near Anchorage, not part of the through-route distance.

Allow 13.5 km (about 4.5 hours) from Bark Bay to Awaroa Hut. The all-tide route circles Bark Bay’s estuary; a low-tide crossing is shorter. Beyond the water, a steep climb through mānuka brings you back toward the coast at Tonga Quarry, then to Onetahuti’s long beach. From there the track climbs the forested Tonga Saddle, passes a junction, and descends by Venture Creek and a lookout over Awaroa Bay to the hut and campsite. Stay on the through-track at the junction; a separate beach path drops away from the mapped Great Walk route. On Onetahuti, the open beach gives the clearest view toward Tonga Island offshore.

The 7.1 km (2 hours 20 minutes) from Awaroa Hut to Tōtaranui includes the mandatory inlet crossing. After the tidal flats, the scenery alternates between beaches and rocky headlands covered in regenerating kānuka. Tōtaranui is a road and water-taxi access point, but the taxi route ends here. The next stage to Whariwharangi Hut is 9.8 km (3 hours 15 minutes), following the northern bays and saddles; the hut is a former homestead built around 1896. The last 5.7 km (2 hours) follows a stream, climbs a low saddle overlooking Wainui Inlet, then descends to the Wainui car park. This is a point-to-point walk, so do not leave the final transfer until you reach the north end.

Māori communities have lived along this coast for more than 600 years, often seasonally, gathering kaimoana and growing kūmara where the land allowed. Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rārua and Te Ātiawa continue their relationship with the park as kaitiaki and conservation partners. Later settlers logged and cleared sections of forest and quarried granite. A 1941 fire at Torrent Bay helped renew the push for protection, and the national park opened in 1942. The old homestead at Whariwharangi is one visible reminder that these coves have long been places people lived and worked, not empty wilderness.

Fur seals are among the animals you may spot along the rocky shore; give them room and watch from the track. Weka and other native birds are also part of the walk, especially around forest edges and beaches. Tonga Island sits offshore beside the Tonga Island Marine Reserve, where fishing is prohibited. The small headlands, island and bright water make Onetahuti a rewarding place to pause; the island sits low across the bay with forested slopes framing the beach.