Abel Tasman’s coastal track meanders past some of our most beautiful bays and beaches

Abel Tasman’s coastal track meanders past some of our most beautiful bays and beaches, writes Neville Peat for The NZ Herald.

Fancy a glorious day out tramping through the heart of a national park with only sunscreen and a water bottle on your back, and a taxi service doing the hard yards?

That’s Abel Tasman National Park for you.

Our smallest national park is also our most accessible. It has just 54km of coastal track, which ties together a series of beaches and estuaries that are conveniently spaced out. You are never more than a couple of hours’ walk from putting your toe in the sea.

And that’s where the taxi service comes in – water taxis. Motor launches, small and large, and sturdy double-decker catamarans operate a timetable service from Marahau and Kaiteriteri. They stop at half a dozen bays and beaches inside the national park – Anchorage, Torrent Bay, Onetahuti, Bark Bay, Awaroa and Totaranui.

Read the full article.