Nelson & Abel Tasman | New Zealand

It’s been a busy few months of travel recently (check out my Instagram to see where else I’ve been!) but I’m finally getting caught up on blog posts again. After finishing up my big trip through Australia, I headed back to New Zealand for the final 3 months of my working holiday visa. Months I would be spending travelling around the South Island, including several national parks, making the most of NZ’s summer months! I spent around a week in most locations, working by day and hiking and sightseeing in evenings, weekends and extra time off. Mostly, I travelled to the next destination at the weekend, using buses and trains as much as possible. I landed back in early November, starting at the top of the island, with a week in Nelson and a couple of days exploring Abel Tasman National Park.

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Nelson

Like many towns in New Zealand, Nelson isn’t huge, so there aren’t heaps of sights to see. There’s an art gallery and museum but I missed these due to my work hours. But it was a pleasant town to spend a week wandering around after work. And again, like most towns in New Zealand, it has a very laidback, relaxed atmosphere. The days are pretty long at this time of year as well, so I had enough daylight to go out for an hour or two at least. There was a horrendous thunderstorm one day that kept my hostel-bound though!

Queen’s Gardens is a pretty park for a stroll and I walked up the main street to see the Christ Church Cathedral, which has an interesting earthquake-proof structure. The Maitai River has a scenic walking trail alongside it, which I followed all the way through Rutherford Park and to the coast one evening, since Nelson is a port city. It also stretches inland, through Hanby Park and towards farmland. It’s nice having so many options for green space in and around a town!

The Centre of New Zealand

One of the most interesting walking routes available takes you to the “centre” of New Zealand. I happened to spot this on the map and was curious. Following a steep path that curves uphill, you emerge next to a tall, needle-shaped monument on the top. It’s generally hard to agree on an exact centre of any country, since borders are irregular. But this spot was considered the centre for geographical surveys of the country back in the 1800s. It’s also a fantastic viewpoint! There’s a 360 degree panorama, overlooking Nelson and the coast to one side and the hills and farmland to the other. I lingered up here for a while, enjoying it in the sun!

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Tahuhanui Beach

Most of the coastline near Nelson’s town centre is the port and the road that hugs the ocean’s edge. But further around to the west, you can reach Tahuhanui Beach. I ended up walking there around the coast, though it is quite a long trek! The lighting was pretty as the evening wore on, casting the ocean in the golden hour glow. The beach is a wide stretch of golden sand, leading down to the deep navy blue of the Tasman Sea. The oceans around New Zealand are all pretty cold for swimming, though plenty of hardy people will! I settled for a wander and a seat on the sand for a while, before retracing my route back into town.

Hawkes Lookout, Takaka Hill

Aside from Abel Tasman, I made one other stop outside of Nelson. I hired a car for the weekend to get to Abel Tasman and back, so I took a drive up Takaka Hill one day as well. If you continue over the hill, you reach Golden Bay and Farewell Spit, which I’d heard great things about but seemed too far to drive on my own. I also heard Kahurangi National Park is an excellent less-frequented option. Anyways, I drove up Takaka Hill as far as Hawkes Lookout. It’s a steep, winding road around the hillside – definitely a test of my driving skills! The view was excellent though, looking down into the deep valley below. I could see all the way across the Tasman Bay and the towns dotted around it as well!

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Abel Tasman National Park

When looking for things to do in and around Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park will always pop up as one of the top choices! The landscapes is rugged coastline, with steep forest-clad hills and golden sandy beaches tucked between them. On a clear day, the ocean is a dazzling turquoise under the sunlight, although everything was quite overcast the weekend I visited. It’s also home to one of New Zealand’s Great Tracks, a multi-day hiking trail, which I explored a small part of. If you’re doing a multi-day trek though, remember to book the huts for your overnights in advance! I went as a day trip from Nelson instead, returning for a second day after bad weather on the first.

Hiking

On my first full day in Abel Tasman, I’d booked a hiking & kayaking day excursion with Abel Tasman Kayaks. It was an early start, to drive an hour to their base in Mārahau (there are no roads inside the park). After parking and checking in, the staff advised I was hiking in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the other half of the group would do it in reverse, trading kayaks in the middle.

The hiking portion is self-guided, with a map and instructions on where to meet the kayak guides provided. The route follows the Abel Tasman Track, which snakes up the coastline, undulating over the cliffs and hills. Much of it is shaded by the native forest throughout the park. But there are gaps in the foliage when you can see out along the coastline, including views of Adele Island. There are trails down to the beaches too, but I didn’t have time to go down and back up from every single one!

Classic photos of Abel Tasman will show you dazzling turquoise ocean and golden sandy beaches. While I did see many of these coves and beaches from above as I hiked the trail, the weather was not on my side. It was overcast all day, limiting the colour saturation. And with about an hour of my hike to go, the skies opened and it absolutely bucketed down with rain! Seriously, I was soaked to the skin before I got anywhere near a kayak and the ocean. I hiked as far as a lookout over Anchorage Bay then doubled back to our meeting point at Observation Beach.

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Kayaking

The excursion included lunch, which was served on the beach, with everyone huddled under canopies to avoid the rain! Given how drenched I was already, there seemed little point fighting my fate at this stage. Then we hopped into the double kayaks, myself sharing with one of the guides since I was solo. The kayaking journey took us back along the coast we’d just hiked but first we paddled out to Adele Island. Here you can find a large New Zealand fur seal colony basking on the rocks. It can take a moment to spot them, camouflaged as they are, but we soon sighted dozens of them scattered along the shoreline.

We then returned to the main coastline, following it along to Mārahau once more. The rain had let up, so it was a more pleasant journey than I’d been bracing myself for! However, the colours of the scenery were still muted without the sun. I left my camera tucked in the dry bag on this occasion. It was cool to get to see the coastline from the other side, though, and be down level with the beaches too. The paddle took maybe 1-1.5 hours I think. The worst part was getting out at the end, when the cold wind on the beach chilled us through our still-damp clothes! I’ve never been so grateful for the hot showers at the kayak base, to warm up before my drive back to Nelson.

Boat Cruise

For my final day in the Nelson & Abel Tasman area, I’d been torn on what to do. I had to drive to Picton, my next destination, that evening, but I had most of the day and the rental car at my disposal first. I’d considered Farewell Spit but it was just so far to drive. Or Nelson Lakes, another national park, was an option. But in the end, since the weather had been so gloomy the day before, I decided on a second outing to Abel Tasman. In the hopes of a bit more sunshine and blue ocean! This time, I drove to Kaiteriteri for a boat cruise up the coast.

There are various hop on/off cruise options available but since I was constrained by the rental car drop-off time, I selected a half-day highlights cruise. It has narration onboard as well. Kaiteriteri was bathed in sunshine when I arrived, boarding the boat from its golden sand beach. It’s further south than Mārahau so I got to see another section of the coast, which includes Split Apple Rock. This iconic rock formation juts out the sea and the name makes sense when you see the photo below!

Continuing up the national park, we sailed past many of the same beaches and coves, including Adele Island. Naturally a boat is faster than a kayak, so we went further than yesterday, pulling into Anchorage Bay and Torrent Bay. These are some of the bigger beaches, tucked inside a large cove. Boundary Bay was my turnaround point, to then sail straight back again. There were still some grey skies inland, so the water wasn’t as bright as photos. But it was still an improvement on the day before! And a very relaxing way to see the park, after yesterday’s more active adventure.

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A Week in Nelson & Abel Tasman

After the cruise, I set off on my drive back through Nelson and east towards Picton. A drive which took me over some very twisty mountainside roads, then through the flat land of Marlborough, strewn with hundreds of vineyards. My week in Nelson was a great start to my South Island summer, balancing exploring the town with plenty of relaxation time. I’m travelling while working for months on end, so I need some time to recharge throughout! And having the weekend to explore Abel Tasman was a great introduction to the dramatic landscapes down here. A shame the weather wasn’t ideal but I enjoyed the hiking and kayaking anyways. And I’ve got all summer for more sunshine to come!