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Abel Tasman Coast Track
Like many others we were drawn to the Abel Tasman Coast because of its wildlife and beautiful scenery. Unlike most visitors, we wanted a full immersion and opted for the five-day hike along the whole track. Since we had to carry our own food and gas we opted to stay at the official huts. Even though they were more expensive than the campgrounds, it meant less to carry and a warm shelter in case of bad weather. The track can be walked in both directions with either a water taxi transport on the first or the last day. To be a bit more flexible and less stressed we opted to take the water taxi all the way to the North (or as far as it would go) and then walk down.
This meant that on the first day the water taxi should have brought us up to Totaranui, from where we would have walked past Gibbs Hill to Wharawharangi, the first hut on the track. However, a visit by Prince Harry and Meghan meant that the whole bay was completely off limits. Fortunately, the water taxi took us to Mutton Cove, the next bay (where they normally don’t stop).
From Mutton Cove the path led past Separation Point, the Northwesternmost corner of the National Park. It is well known for its small New Zealand Fur Seal Colony and we were lucky enough to see a couple on the rocks and in the water. Another interesting fact is that they are trying to establish a new Gannet Colony, for this purpose they placed fake birds and installed a loud speaker with Gannet noises to attract others to settle here. When we were there, we only saw the fake ones.
At Whariwharangi Hut we discovered that there were only five of us, so we had a lot of space and a room to ourselves! The hut dates to 1896 and was originally used by a farmer and his family. It was in a derelict state before it was taken over and restored by the DOC in 1980. Now it is a very charming place to stay.
We were warned of the Kea, a very intelligent parrot who is known to steal things that hikers leave lying around. However, no one warned us about the Weka and so it was with dismay that I discovered that a Weka stole our washing sponge!
The second day started off with mixed weather. After initial rain the sun came out and we used this for a long stroll along the beach.
The reason for our delayed departure was a river crossing that waited for us at the end of the day and this is only possible within 1.5 hours before to 2 hours after low tide. Unfortunately, for us, low tide was scheduled for 8:12pm. To prevent waiting for the tide for hours we didn’t start hiking until 1:30pm.
Climbing up Gibbs Hill it started to rain a bit but got better after a while. Once we were on the summit, however, it really started to rain and didn’t stop till we arrived. We were so glad for our rain gear!
The river crossing was an adventure, but fortunately our timing was good, and water only reached up to our knees. Once at Awaroa Hut we first got into some dry clothes before making a well-earned dinner.
The third day started with nice and dry weather and around noon even the sun made an appearance. That was a much more pleasant way to walk.
At Onetahuti beach we had a real highlight. We encountered a Weka with three chicks nearby. Since we were on a walkway a bit above the beach, we could observe them without them getting disturbed.
Our walk ended at Bark Bay. A very nice bay with a waterfall and lots of birds (Shags and Seagulls) and a Cache on a small island in the middle of the bay! At low tide it was supposed to be possible to walk there, but again, low tide was too late, so I did a bit of wading and finally found the right approach to get onto the island and to the Cache. Another real highlight.
The fourth day took us from Bark Bay to Anchorage, probably the most walked part of the track and we encountered many day tourists throughout the day.
At Torrent Bay we disregarded the low tide shortcut, because we wanted to take a detour to Cleopatras Pool. A beautiful little spot which in summer is probably overcrowded by bathing tourists, but we had it almost to ourselves.
Once we had settled in Anchorage Hut, the most modern of all the huts (it even had a USB charging station), we went for another walk to Pitt Head, where we had a nice view back into the bay.
The last day brought us back to Marahau. Shortly after leaving Anchorage we spotted another Weka with a couple of chicks (unfortunately they were too fast for our camera). However, after many false starts we finally did catch a Silvereye on camera.
The first part of the walk was very nice, leading along the edges of the hills, covered in trees with great views down to the beaches.
The last part was less interesting. It was much wider than most of the track and there was not too much to see.
Once we were back in Marahau, we headed directly to The Fat Tui for a well-earned big and delicious burger.
In summary, we did about 60 kilometers in five days, one was extremely wet, one was a bit wet and the other three were nice. We were very glad that the weather got better and so we got to see some of the famous views and could really enjoy the walk.Labels: geocaching, hiking, new zealand, pictures, traveling
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