Parking
Use the Abel Tasman DOC car park at 2 Harvey Road, about 1 km beyond Mārahau’s beachfront. Toilets and an information kiosk are at the access; the large lot can fill in summer.
Overview
About Mārahau to Apple Tree Bay
Why go
- Finishes at a broad sandy beach with views to Adele and Fisherman Islands
- Coquille Bay offers a second beach stop along the way
Heads up
- The return follows the same coastal track and hills back to Mārahau
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Abel Tasman map
Full mapElevation2–82 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Abel Tasman Tour Guide
Your drive to Mārahau to Apple Tree 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 trailhead
Mārahau and Te Waharoa0:00 / 0:33
“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 this trailhead 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Mārahau to Apple Tree Bay
The out-and-backThis is a 10.4 km (6.
This is a 10.4 km (6.46 mi) return walk on the Abel Tasman Coast Track from Mārahau to Apple Tree Bay and back. Allow about 3½ hours of walking, plus time to enjoy the beach. The route is rated moderate: it follows the coastal hills through native bush, with a long sandy bay and views toward Adele and Fisherman Islands at the far end. Water taxis can make this a one-way outing, but confirm a pickup at Apple Tree Bay before relying on it.
From the causeway to CoquilleStart by crossing the Mārahau estuary on its causeway, then walk through open ground to Tinline…
Start by crossing the Mārahau estuary on its causeway, then walk through open ground to Tinline Bay. Past the campsite and Inland Track junction, the Coast Track climbs gently and contours along the forested hillside above the water. About 50 minutes from Mārahau, a signed turnoff drops to Coquille Bay’s beach; allow time to climb back to the main track if you stop there.
Simonet Creek and the beachBeyond Coquille Bay, the path winds through damp gullies with occasional openings to the sea.
Beyond Coquille Bay, the path winds through damp gullies with occasional openings to the sea. It crosses Simonet Creek on a bridge before reaching the Apple Tree Bay turnoff. The destination is a long sandy beach facing the Astrolabe Roadstead, with Adele and Fisherman Islands offshore. The campsite has a toilet, picnic table and untreated water; book ahead if you plan to stay overnight, and treat the water before drinking. No food stop was found along the route.
A name with a storyApple trees from an early private settlement gave the bay its name.
Apple trees from an early private settlement gave the bay its name. French explorer Dumont d’Urville called it La Grande Plage and visited on 20 January 1827. The tide covered rocks he had planned to use for his return walk, forcing a strenuous scramble to Observation Beach instead. Keep that episode as a story from the past: it is not a route instruction for this walk.
Dogs are prohibited in Abel Tasman National Park.
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.
