Parking
Use the DOC car park at the Mārahau road end on Harvey Road; the Coast Track starts beside it.
Overview
About Mārahau to Observation Beach
Why go
- A varied Coast Track day with bush, bay views and a beach destination.
- Stu’s Lookout adds a view back toward Mārahau and Astrolabe Roadstead.
Heads up
- Reaching the beach takes about 18.3 km of walking round trip.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Abel Tasman map
Full mapElevation2–107 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Abel Tasman Tour Guide
Your drive to Mārahau to Observation Beach, 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 Observation Beach
The walkThis is an 18.3 km out-and-back from Mārahau to Observation Beach, following roughly 9.
This is an 18.3 km out-and-back from Mārahau to Observation Beach, following roughly 9.1 km each way on the Coast Track and its longer beach spur. Allow about 5½ hours of walking, plus a stop at the water. It suits you if you want a full day on the Coast Track with a beach at the end; the standard outing turns back along the same route.
Along the coastThe track crosses the Mārahau inlet causeway, then moves from open country and low scrub into…
The track crosses the Mārahau inlet causeway, then moves from open country and low scrub into native bush. A short bridge brings you to Tinline Bay's grassy campsite clearing. North of Tinline, the path climbs to a view down into Coquille Bay, then winds through taller bush past Apple Tree, Stillwell and Akersten bays before branching down to Observation Beach.
A short side track at Stu's Lookout near Mārahau adds a view back toward the settlement and across the start of Astrolabe Roadstead. It's a worthwhile detour, but it isn't in the mapped 18.3 km.
At Observation BeachThe beach faces Adele Island and has a Department of Conservation campsite with six tent sites.
The beach faces Adele Island and has a Department of Conservation campsite with six tent sites. Overnight stays need a booking. This walk reaches the beach as its destination, then returns along the same Coast Track.
Make it shorterApple Tree Bay is on the same approach, well before the beach spur.
Apple Tree Bay is on the same approach, well before the beach spur. Turning back there gives you an earlier out-and-back if the full beach walk is too much.
Practical detailsStart from the DOC car park at the Mārahau road end, beside the track start on Harvey Road.
Start from the DOC car park at the Mārahau road end, beside the track start on Harvey Road. Dogs are prohibited along the Coast Track and at the campsite. Expect repeated climbs between bays and plan enough time for the return.
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.
