Of Aotearoa’s 10 Great Walks, the Abel Tasman Coast Track is known as a year-round wonder.

It’s located in the Abel Tasman National Park at the north-west tip of the South Island and is populated with golden and white sandy shores. Enjoy deserted beaches in spring, cool off in the bays during a leisurely summer hike, or make the most of the mild weather in autumn.

If you’re staying along the way, you need to book huts or campsites in advance. Before you do, check out the track’s DOC website page for tidal crossings, which need to be planned around low tide.

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These determine your direction to hike – from north to south or vice versa. You can also do sections of the track as day walks, and explore the area by helicopter, kayak or other sea transport.

Get to the main track from three entry points. Its southern entry, Mārahau, is about an hour’s drive from Nelson. Wainui, the track’s northern head, is reachable by road from Tākaka, with shuttle transport also available.

We were doing it over five days and started at Tōtaranui; it’s a 32-kilometre drive from Tākaka or a water taxi from Mārahau where we left our car. The water taxi takes roughly 80 minutes, ferrying day walkers to various bays along the way. It’s more affordable than a shuttle from Tākaka to Wainui but adds around 10 kilometres of walking to reach the track’s northern end.

Day one
We headed up to Whariwharangi Hut, north of Wainui at the very tip of the national park via the inland Gibbs Hill Track. It’s a steep ascent (slippery in wet weather) off the Abel Tasman just after Ngarata Homestead. Intermittent views of Wainui Bay were a watercolour panorama, a tree-dotted sandspit separating the Tasman Sea from the bay’s glassy inlet.

We reached Whariwharangi Hut within three hours; it’s a two-storey, tiny wooden homestead built around 1896. Dim inside, it’s not hard to imagine living there back then. You’d be surprised to find outdoor flushing toilets and a cold shower. The fire warmed us while weka squealed like children into the night.

Day two
A late afternoon low tide at Awaroa Inlet meant a lazy start for a 16.9-kilometre day, heading south. We passed driftwood-strewn Whariwharangi Bay five minutes in, before a long ascent among trees creaking in the wind. There are stunning views down to the aquamarine sea, where it meets green bush-covered coastline.

Mutton Cove’s long, sweeping beach and campsite is an idyllic lunch stop before you tackle the journey out. All the coastal views are spectacular, and the trail flattens among kānuka trees and descends into beautiful, sandy Anapai Bay.

Passing through Tōtaranui, the flattish, bush-lined track leads over a few bridged, clear water streams to Waiharakeke Bay campsite. An hour later, we reached Awaroa Inlet. Water mirrored the setting sun on the sand’s surface as we walked towards a large, orange triangular marker, one kilometre away on the far shoreline. Three quarters of the way in, we encountered a narrow, thigh-deep, strong-flowing stream heading to the sea, possibly from the previous day’s heavy rain.

A bit soaked, we made it to the 26-bed Awaroa Hut – five-and-a-half hours after first setting off. Luckily, the fire was going, a cold shower washed away salt water, and – bonus – there was free wi-fi.

Day three
A 13.5-kilometre hike today. After a short, sharp ascent to the 100-metre-high Tonga Saddle, you’ll be treated to vistas down over Awaroa Bay’s golden sand and spit.

Despite low tide at Onetahuti Bay, halfway along its shore we needed to leap across a too-wide stream before lunch at the camping shelter. When the sun’s out, with the lush vegetation and turquoise sea, the bay feels like a tropical island.

Reaching Tonga Quarry, you’ll see the remains of the 1907 Tonga Stone Works winch house foundations, with iron posts jutting from the sand. Another steep ascent follows, but if you find the tide too high to cross Bark Bay’s sand (like we did), backtrack to the high-tide trail. After five hours, we reached Bark Bay hut via the Waterfall Creek Suspension Bridge, and salt water soap left skin feeling non-salty after washing in the sea. We were then treated again to wi-fi and solar lighting.

Day four
An undulating path took us through 11.5 kilometres of bush with small bridges crossing crystal-clear streams. We reached Torrent Bay and were surprised to see baches lining a sandy lane set back from the beach. There’s also a peaceful lagoon at its southern end.

A couple of detours off the main track are well worth taking: for example, the picturesque one-hour return track to Cascade Falls, which flows over mossy rocks. You’ll climb steeply up rock that flattens out, with several stream crossings. A 10-minute side track goes to Cleopatra’s Pools – and there’s an S-shaped, natural waterslide into the pool for the brave.

This six-hour day was the easiest and most scenic of the lot. It’s a steep descent into horseshoe-shaped Anchorage Bay, where you’ll find Anchorage Hut nestled in bush at its far end.

Day five
On the final day to the walk’s finish at Mārahau, it was a flattish 12.4-kilometres traversing native and beech forest. There are several short side tracks to explore, where small campsites nestle in secluded, sandy bays. On the opposite, distant coastline, Nelson and snow-tipped mountains seem another world away.

Mārahau Estuary is a landscape of water and golden grasses, taking you to the track’s end, before 20 minutes of road walking finishes up at Mārahau. A hot shower awaits.