Hiking in Abel Tasman National Park: What It's Really Like
21st February 2026 - New Experience Number 7.
Hiking wasn’t a new experience, but exploring somewhere I’d never been before was, and Abel Tasman is now up there as one of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever walked.
During our New Zealand travels, we stopped off in the north west of the South Island for a spectacular leg stretch in one of the country’s smaller national parks.
Claiming this exceptional trail as one of my 52 new things in the year, there are many reasons why I absolutely loved the experience.
Why I Loved Hiking In Abel Tasman National Park - The Trail
One of the things I loved about New Zealand was just how easy it was to be outdoors.
Not just because of the weather, (which can be tempermental), but because the tracks and trails were so obvious and easy to follow.
This might sound like a very British thing to get excited about, but there is something enormously reassuring about a path that actually looks like a path.
No clambering over rocks trying to work out whether the faint patch of flattened grass ahead is the route (or evidence that someone else has made exactly the same wrong decision!).
Abel Tasman was another example of this. With ample parking near the starting section and clear signposts throughout, we were soon crossing boardwalks over marshy areas and following the obvious trail along with many others who were enjoying a beautiful day for a walk.
The path was constantly visible and easy to follow, and plenty wide enough for different paced walkers. Whilst it’s always advisable to have a map on a hike, I will say that we barely had to look at it during our visit.
The Scenery
We slalomed through trees into little bays where beautiful clear blue waters lapped at the shoreline, and walked uphill to amazing vantage points over hidden coves. We strolled through dense trees where it wasn’t uncommon to see a weka bird strutting along the path too.
Whether it was a view across the gorgeous turquoise of the Abel Tasman sea with the North Island just visible as a shadow in the distance, or looking across a huge expanse of lush green leaves and tendrils of ferns. Or the dappled shade on the trail as we walked through the trees, or the clean stones on the shore as we emerged from the forest to a previously hidden bay. It was like visiting an unspoilt part of the planet and I loved being immersed in it.
The greenery was amazing, it looked exactly like you would expect a tropical rainforest to look, with huge ferns, and large pointed leaves spiking off palm trees. But, it didn’t have the tropical humidity to go with it. It was a perfect temperature for walking.
There was something almost unfair about how pretty it was. Every time we came around a corner, there seemed to be another view that looked as though someone had turned the saturation up a few notches.
I kept thinking, surely this is the best bit now.
And then we’d walk another few hundred metres and New Zealand would basically say, “Oh, you liked that? Take a look at this!”
Why I Loved Hiking In Abel Tasman National Park - No Nasty Creepy Crawlies
I am a massive wuss when it comes to insects and creepy crawlies. Hiking in the UK is therefore nice and easy, but head out into the wilderness in other countries, and I instantly feel on my guard.
Every rustling leaf, every flickering shadow, and any movement caught in the corner of my eye puts me on edge.
The fact my brother-in-law took us on a hike in Hong Kong through some undergrowth which felt as though it was held together by giant webs with horrific looking spiders in the middle of them hasn’t helped matters. On that walk, I ducked every time we had to walk under a web, or clung on to my other half if there was the faintest chance an arachnid was nearby. I don’t think I have every perspired so much on a walk before. It wasn’t exertion, and it wasn’t humidity. It was the sheer fear of the situation.
So as much as I love getting out in nature and exploring when we are travelling, there is always a little part of me that is keeping an eye out for bugs.
Which is why Abel Tasman was such an absolute joy. I could walk and I could admire the scenery.
I could look at the trees. I could take in the views. And I could do all of this without constantly wondering whether something with eight legs was about to drop out of a tree and onto my head.
Absolute bliss. It made for a very relaxing walk.
New Zealand has a rather wonderful reputation for wildlife that generally isn’t interested in killing you. Except, of course, for the sandflies, who have an appetite for humans. There is always one, isn’t there?!here?!
Wonderful Weather
Our visit to Abel Tasman National Park was towards the end of the New Zealand summer in February. It was such a good time to go. The temperature was perfect, not unbearably hot, and not humid either, which made it lovely for a hike.
We had that wonderful feeling of being warm but not hot, and the sunshine pouring down made everything look technicolour.
The sea looked a vivid, clean blue, a bit like those synthetic raspberry-flavoured drinks you can get that absolutely do not occur in nature, and the vegetation was a rich, intense green.
It was almost aggressively colourful.
Many other people were out on a hike and there were many hellos as we walked through the sunshine on our own collective adventures.
That’s something I always like about hiking. For a few hours, you can be complete strangers, heading in completely different directions, but everyone is quietly united by the fact that they’ve decided walking up a hill is a good way to spend their day.
Our Route
The route in Abel Tasman is over 60miles long, which we didn’t have time to do, but we knew we wanted to experience some of this amazing national park that had been recommended to us by many people when we had told them we were visiting New Zealand.
Our plan was to head to Apple Tree Bay where we would stop for lunch before retracing our steps back.
I had plot-a-route on my phone to follow, but to be honest, it was so well sign posted and such an obvious path, that I only checked where we were on the map a handful of times.
I knew the route was roughly 14km in total there and back, and I had my Garmin watch on too which was a helpful indicator of roughly how far we had walked.
Lunch With A View, And A Character
The bay was a perfect spot to stop. Kayakers pulled in for a break as they made their way around the park on the water, other hikers took advantage of the golden sand and picnic benches for their lunch stop, and of course, the weka birds were stalking around trying their luck around the picnic benches for any discarded crumbs.
They may seem like fairly timid birds, and may move quickly away if you get too near them, but they have absolutely no qualms about beaking through your bags if you leave them unattended.
We spotted two of them having a good old peck at someone’s rucksack, presumably conducting an important investigation into whether the owner had packed lunch.
They had the air of tiny feathered opportunists. I liked them immediately.
Looking out at the clear waters that softly rippled onto the sand, this was a beautiful place for lunch. Although we did keep an eye on our bags, because apparently the weka had already been briefed about packed lunches.
The Longer Trail
There are many opportunities for longer hikes in Abel Tasman National Park, which would take multiple days to complete.
We did pass a camp ground which looked perfect for pitching up. In fact, some tents were already up as we passed by. The grassy area, complete with picnic benches and toilet, looked like the ideal secluded spot for overnighting.
I can only begin to imagine how incredible the night sky must look from there.
Why I Loved Hiking In Abel Tasman National Park - There Were Toilets!
I was impressed by the toilets.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind having an alfresco wee, but I’ll admit I have reached the point in my life where adequate toilet provision is something I actively notice on a hike.
Often longer hikes don’t always have provisions for calls of nature, but vault toilets were dotted along the way.
These cylindrical contraptions were like a sort of glorified portaloo that had been designed to fit into the natural environment. They were always equipped with toilet paper, and occasionally an unexpected wasp that had snuck in.
It was brilliant. Sometimes it’s the little things.
You can give me turquoise water, enormous ferns and spectacular coastal views, but put a toilet with toilet paper at the appropriate interval along a 14km hike and I will also be extremely grateful.
The Name
I love the fact that Abel Tasman National Park is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman.
Although there’s a slight flaw in the story. He never actually set foot on the land. He discovered it from his boat out at sea.
Which feels a little bit like getting credit for discovering a restaurant because you saw it through the window. Still, he was looking at a pretty spectacular bit of coastline, so I can’t blame him for putting it on the map, and it’s pretty cool to have a place named after you.
Up For A Bigger Adventure
I went to Abel Tasman National Park expecting a good walk with pretty views.
I got turquoise bays, enormous ferns, ridiculously colourful scenery, a couple of opportunistic weka, excellent toilets and not a single terrifying spider web.
So, all in all, a success.
The thing that I loved most was just how easy it felt to be outside. There was no great sense of achievement required to enjoy it. We simply followed the path, walked through the trees, stopped when we fancied it and admired whatever was around the next corner, which meant frequent stops to stand and stare at yet another ridiculously glorious view.
Trying New Things
One of the things I keep discovering through trying 52 New Things is that sometimes the best experiences aren’t the ones that require you to push yourself to your absolute limit.
Sometimes they’re simply the ones that make you think, I’d quite like to do more of this.
And I definitely left Abel Tasman thinking that. There are over 60km of coastal track to explore, and I only experienced a small section of it. So if I ever get the opportunity to return to New Zealand, I think I’ll be back.
Ideally with lunch, a tent, and a very securely fastened rucksack.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- To hike in Abel Tasman National Park, you’ll need to visit New Zealand, so be sure to add it to your itinerary if you’re ever planning a visit.
- It’s on the north west of the South Island.
- We hiked through the park, but you can mix up your visit by taking a water taxi to a drop off point, or kayaking along the coastline.
- Find out more details from the New Zealand website, and visit the Department of Conservation site.
Cost Of Experience
- Simply hiking in Abel Tasman national park is completely free!
- There is a cost for the water taxi or kayaking.
- If you decide to try the overnight camping option there is also a fee.
Recommendations For Hiking In Abel Tasman National Park
- Check the forecast. Be prepared and wear weather appropriate clothing.
- Take water and snacks. Make sure you take drinks to stay hydrated, and provisions to keep you fuelled.
- Don’t forget the sunscreen. The sun can be fierce in New Zealand, and even on a cloudy day the UV can be high, so make sure you put on some SPF protection.
- Leave no trace. Whatever you take into the national park needs to be taken home again to help keep Abel Tasman beautiful for other visitors.
- Don’t forget your camera. You’ll definitely want to capture some photos of the epic scenery.
