Abel Tasman – my FAVORITE place! Tasman Bay and Golden Bay TOPPED the charts on South Island. Maybe it was the joy of seeing new things after lockdown and/or the luxury of additional time. The experience was perfection.
In May (autumn) we stayed 10 days in Kaiteriteri, south of Abel Tasman Park. No tramping on the Great Walk, but daily hikes and car trips with every turn a surprise.
Kaiteriteri & Split Apple Rock
Our house provided stupendous views of the valley and Tasman bay. Nearby trails were so pretty one couldn’t stop walking.
A short walk to Split Apple Rock Beach where tiny caves were works of art.
The Kaiteriteri Track – a short hike over a hill to the sea.
Kohi Track – A secret bush walk behind our house.
Takaka Hill Walkway
Takaka Hill Road is the mountain pass between Tasman Bay and Golden Bay. “The Hill” (257 corners) is winding, precipitous and stunning.
At the top of the pass is Takaka Hill Walkway, a 5.1k trail through scrub, karst landscape and beech forest. Payoff: Views of Kahurangi National Park and Takaka Valley.
Harwoods Hole – LOTR (Lord of the Rings) Film Scene
A forest walk like no other. A deep moss-draped forest – eerie through dense beech trees, mostly flat with beautiful mossy boulders to crawl over and through. Filled with bird songs and you swear hobbits will appear.
Several LOTR scenes were filmed in the caves at the bottom of a huge hole, 357 metres deep (600 feet). NZ’s deepest vertical shaft accessible only to cavers who abseil (rope down). There is no “peeking over the edge” into the giant sinkhole…but very possible to slip and tumble.
Directions: From Nelson, follow State Highway 60 to the top of Takaka Hill. Turn right onto Canaan Road, just past the Ngarua Cave turnoff. Canaan Road is unsealed, windy and narrow to the Canaan Downs car park.
A Surprise at Every Turn
Forest Fungi
Alpacas and Scottish Longhorn cattle – Canaan Downs Road
Ooooooooh
Over “the hill” is Golden Bay
At the top of the South Island, Golden Bay is diverse landscape close to the sea – golden beaches, valleys, rivers, endless hills that like a magnet drew me back. We returned in December, 2020 to stay two weeks in Pohara, a small beach community – access to Abel Tasman. (See link* below)
Things We Missed
- Stay in Pohara/Golden Bay (Lucky us! We returned in December *)
- Takaka *
- Use Aqua Taxi or Sea Shuttle (3-day passport) for Abel Tasman Great Coastal Walk
- Wainui Falls *
- Mussel Inn lunch *
- Pupu Springs *
- Day Hikes – Able Tasman *
- Heaphy Track – Kahurangi National Park
See 3 more Tasman links:
- *Golden Bay: Pohara
- Cape Farewell – Wharariki Beach (Wharariki Beach – used as MS Windows 10 Image)
- Tasman – Abel Tasman and The Great Walk
At A Glance: Click Here for the complete NZ Archive
Subscribe to receive emails for new posts
Click Below for South Island Posts
South Island Posts
Top of South: Marlborough Sounds
Queen Charlotte Track and walks around Picton are so stunning you look forward to walking uphill! Eat mussels, see bays, inlets, and morel
Keep reading
Top of South: Nelson, Tasman
Where we were the day that everything changed, March 23, 2020. Lockdown Lookback: “How long can this last?” led to a 14 month NZ odyssey,…
Keep reading
Tasman: Golden Bay-Pohara
If you can only visit ONE place in NZ, choose Tasman. We struck gold in Golden Bay! WOW!
Keep reading
Tasman: Abel Tasman’s Great Walk
Abel Tasman National Park: EASY terrain, walkable year-round! Short distances between huts and beaches with majestic valley views and coastal scener. A perfect destination if…
Keep readingLoading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Travel Broadly - Marlene & Steve 
Hi both
LOVED seeing and reading !
A very familiair area for us too as my daughter lived & Worked in Motueka for the past two years !
Breathtaking photos
Thank you for making us go back there too this way