RTW Trip Day #86: Exploring Abel Tasman National Park

23 December 2025

Steps: 30,147

This morning we woke up to wonderful sunshine, which was a little unexpected after several days of rain showing on the weather apps. Of all the days in New Zealand, this was the one we were really hoping for good weather, so we felt very lucky.

Abel Tasman National Park

We jumped onto the boat at the pickup point, which was attached to a tractor. The tractor drove us down to the jetty, and before long we were out on the water heading toward our drop off point at Anchorage, in Abel Tasman National Park.

The ride was fun, and it was exciting to arrive at such a pristine golden beach. Along the way we passed Split Apple Rock, which very clearly lives up to its name.

We spent some time relaxing on the beach and playing in the sand before wandering further along and spotting a hidden little beach tucked around the rocks.

With the tide in, we had to wade and swim around to reach it, but we all managed and ended up with the entire cove to ourselves. There was a small cave to explore and a rock we could swim out to and sit on. The water was cold but incredibly refreshing.

We sat on the sand and ate our pre made baguettes that we had ordered the day before from Scotty’s Baguettes. It was such a good decision, as trying to make sandwiches on the beach always seems to result in sand getting everywhere no matter how careful you are!

After lunch, we started our roughly 12.4 km hike back to our accommodation in Marahau, planning to break up the walk with stops at other beaches along the way.

The trail up from the beach was a steep climb and fairly exposed to the sun, and we really felt the heat on the way up. At the top, though, the views over the ocean, beaches, and nearby islands made it well worth the effort.

From there the track dropped down into the trees, which felt like a completely different environment and much more like a rainforest. We saw lots of native plants, including silver ferns, which appear on the All Blacks emblem, and spotted birds such as weka and tui along the way.

Did you know that legend says Māui scattered glowing silver ferns across the forest floor to guide his people through the darkness.

After around two hours of walking, we reached Stillwell Bay. It was another beautiful beach, this time with a freshwater stream and pools flowing down to the sand. We spent about 30 minutes relaxing here before continuing along the trail.

The final beach we stopped at was Coquille Bay. There was only one other person on the entire beach. The sand was beautiful, but with it being later in the day, the sandflies were starting to come out, so we didn’t linger too long. We also needed to be back in town by 8 pm, as that’s when all the restaurants close.

For dinner, we headed to the Park Café in Marahau, where the food was much better than the night before. The fish of the day and the pizzas were both really good, but the apple crumble was incredible!

We were all exhausted by the end of the day, but it was a perfect way to finish such a memorable experience.

Previous Day #85: The Pancakes Rocks and the Drive to Abel Tasman

Next Day #87: Off Grid Stay in Paradise Bay in the Pelorus Sounds

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