Apart from walking and tramping, there are 10 Great Walks ranging from native forests, lakes and rivers to rugged mountain peaks, deep gorges and vast valleys in New Zealand. Great Walks usually take at least 3 days to finish the entire track.
It’s our first time to go for a great walk, hence, we decided to go for the easiest track, as suggested by a friend, Abel Tasman Coast Walk. My travel mate and I took the 5 days self-guided walk as suggested by the Department of Conservation.
As Abel Tasman is easily accessible by boats, you can opt to shorten the trail by booking water taxis. Or you can have the water taxis to bring you to the most popular sections of the track and pick you up on the same day. If paddle power is your preference, you can take the kayak tour as well.
One important thing to keep a note on before you start the trail is the tide time. This is because there are several spots only accessible during low tide, especially from Awaroa Hut to Waiharakeke Bay. One minor mistake we did was that our shoes got wet while crossing Torrent Bay at the beginning of the second day of the walk. It totally spoils our mood to go to side trip as we wanted to keep our shoes dry as fast as possible.
The weather starts turning good on our third-day walks. After setting up our camp, we enjoy our picnic meals and the beach near the campsite. We’re even able to see the milky way at night with our naked eyes. It was my best starry night so far as there is zero sound and light pollution!
Although it was pretty cold sleeping in camp at night, we were embraced by the warm sunrise once we’re awake! It’s a wonderful way to starts the day with such good weather.
Time passes in a blink of an eye. Even though it’s quite tough for a beginner like us to carry a big heavy backpack throughout the 5 days walk, we enjoy the journey a lot! It’s a great getaway activity in Abel Tasman as it brings you a step closer to the mother nature, and most importantly, there’s no phone signal, you won’t be disturbed by any phone call duty!
Do you know?
Whariwharingi Hut is a two-storey house built around 1896. It was abandoned in 1926 as farming was never successful. This historic hut was restored in 1980 and is now available as a tramping hut.
Rating
Experience ★★★★
Cost $$
Service ★★★★
