Mārahau to Anchorage

Mārahau to Anchorage is a 7.7-mile (12.4 km) point-to-point walk on the Abel Tasman Coast Track. Allow about four hours of walking, plus time for beaches and viewpoints. It is not a loop: book a water-taxi pickup at Anchorage before you set out, or plan to walk the same route back. The track is a good choice if you want a full coastal day without carrying an overnight pack, but the transport plan is part of the hike.

The signed route starts across Mārahau estuary on a causeway, then leaves open country for coastal bush. Just over a kilometre in, a short side path leads to Stu's Lookout. Stop for the view south to Mārahau and north across Astrolabe Roadstead to Adele and Fisherman islands; this is one of the clearest places to see how the coast is laid out. Tinline Bay is the first campsite, set back from the beach, with a short nature walk behind it.

From Tinline, a brief climb opens a view down to Coquille Bay, a small crescent of golden sand tucked under bush and ponga ferns. North of the bay the track makes a short, steep inland rise on a realigned section built after slips damaged the old line. It is a sharp effort, but brief. The route then rounds Guilbert Point to Apple Tree Bay, where a long beach sits below coastal forest and a tidal estuary lies behind the sand. Gaps in the trees look across the roadstead to Adele and Fisherman islands; at Coquille, the higher viewpoint frames the crescent-shaped beach especially well.

After Yellow Point, the main track turns inland and winds through small gullies before opening toward Rākauroa, or Torrent Bay. Near Observation Beach it passes the Observation Creek gully; later clearings give north-facing views across the coast. The Watering Cove turnoff is a useful landmark, but Anchorage is the finish. The path descends toward its lagoon and beach, then reaches the hut tucked among trees just behind the sand, with the campsite beside it. The route stays on the main coast track rather than adding beach detours.

French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville visited in 1827 and named the sheltered water Astrolabe Roadstead after his ship. Adele Island carries his wife's name; he called Fisherman Island after seeing Māori fishing there. From the lookouts and beach openings, those names connect to actual islands in view rather than a distant bit of park history.

DOC describes the Coast Track as intermediate and says sections can be steep, rough, or muddy. There is no compulsory low-tide crossing on this Mārahau–Anchorage leg; tide changes the estuary and beach views, while the well-known tidal crossings are farther north. Dogs are not allowed. Toilets are available at campsites and huts. There is no food service for day walkers, so bring enough food and drinking water. If you stay overnight, book the hut or campsite in advance; all site water is untreated and must be boiled. Bellbirds, fantails, kererū, and shags are among the birds DOC lists along the Coast Track; treat wildlife as a possibility, not a promised sighting.