The water taxi queue at Marahau is a sight in itself — fifty people standing on a beach at low tide, holding numbered tickets like they are at the deli counter. It works, and the boats are good, but they are not the only way into Abel Tasman. The coast track starts at the same car park, and you can reach three proper beaches on foot without booking anything or spending a cent on a boat.
The Marahau End of Things
What the Car Park Tells You
There is a particular energy to the Marahau car park at eight in the morning in January. Half the people are wrestling dry bags onto kayaks. The other half are shuffling toward the water taxi counters with that look of resigned patience you get when you realise forty other families had the same idea. Somewhere in the background, a loudspeaker is calling names for the next boat to Bark Bay.
Here is the thing most of those people do not realise: you do not need a boat to see Abel Tasman. The coast track starts right there at the end of the car park, past the information signs and the orange triangle markers, and the first swimmable bay is less than half an hour away. No booking required, no ticket counter, no standing on a beach in a queue.
The track heads north from the road end, crossing the Marahau estuary on a boardwalk before climbing gently into coastal bush. Within ten minutes you are in the shade of kanuka and manuka, the car park noise is gone, and you are on the same track that runs all the way to Wainui Bay — you are just not going that far.
Tinline Bay and the First Payoff
Tinline Bay is the first stop and it comes fast. Twenty minutes from the car park, maybe twenty-five if you stop to read the interpretation panels about the old granite quarry. The bay itself is small — a curve of golden sand backed by bush, with clear water and a rock shelf on the far side that is decent for snorkelling when the visibility is good.
For families with kids under five, this is arguably the best destination in the park. The walk is flat and shaded, the beach is sheltered, and you can be back at the car by lunchtime with sand in everyone’s shoes and nobody in tears. The water is calm enough that small children can splash around without anyone getting nervous.
It is not the dramatic Abel Tasman postcard — you will not see the sweeping golden beaches and the granite headlands from here. But it is genuinely pleasant, the swimming is good, and you have avoided paying fifty dollars a head for a water taxi to achieve roughly the same thing: a nice beach at the end of a short walk.
Apple Tree Bay Without the Crowds
Another thirty-five minutes past Tinline and you reach Apple Tree Bay, where the track drops down to a beach that catches a lot of people by surprise. The views open up here — you can see across the water toward Adele Island, and on a still morning the whole bay sits there like something off a tourism poster, except there is nobody in it.
This is the quiet stretch of the Abel Tasman day walk from Marahau. The water taxis do not stop here on their way to Anchorage and Bark Bay, so the only people on the beach are the ones who walked. In peak season that might still be a dozen or so, but compared to the crowds at Anchorage it feels empty.
There is a decent picnic spot under the trees at the north end of the beach. The swimming is good at high tide, less so when the water pulls back and exposes the rocks. If you are after a half-day walk with a swim in the middle and a quiet lunch, Apple Tree Bay is the turnaround point. You will be back at the car park in about two hours total, having covered maybe eight kilometres return.
Pushing On to Anchorage
The Section That Earns It
Past Apple Tree Bay the track changes character. The gentle coastal amble turns into something that actually requires a bit of effort — the path climbs over a headland, drops into a gully, climbs again, and the tree roots across the track start demanding some attention from your feet. This is where the casual walkers turn around and the day hikers keep going.
The section between Apple Tree Bay and Anchorage is roughly another hour and a half of walking, and the elevation gain is noticeable. You are not scrambling up anything technical, but your legs will know about it. The compensation comes at the top of each headland — you get proper views down the coast, across to the Astrolabe Range, and on a clear day you can see D’Urville Island to the north.
The bush in this section is denser and taller than the scrubby stuff near Marahau. There are pockets of old beech forest where the canopy closes overhead and the temperature drops a few degrees. You will hear bellbirds in here, and if you are walking quietly in the early morning, there is a reasonable chance of seeing weka scratching around in the leaf litter.
Anchorage Is Worth the Walk
Anchorage Bay is one of those places that justifies its reputation. A long sweep of golden sand curving around turquoise water, backed by bush that runs right down to the high tide line. There is a lagoon at the southern end where the water warms up in the afternoon sun, and the DOC campsite and hut sit tucked into the bush behind the beach.
Arriving on foot after three and a half to four hours of walking hits differently than stepping off a water taxi. You have earned the swim, and the beach feels bigger when you have spent the morning in the bush. The water is clean and calm in the bay, and on a warm day you can float there for an hour watching the boats come and go.
Most of the water taxi day-trippers are heading further up the coast — they get dropped here and walk north, or they are passing through to Bark Bay. By mid-afternoon, when the boats have done their last run, Anchorage quiets down. If you have timed it right, you get the beach in that golden late-afternoon light with a fraction of the people who were there at midday.
The Walk Back (and Why It Feels Longer)
Nobody tells you about the walk back. Or rather, they mention it in passing — “oh, you just walk back the same way” — as if retracing four hours of track on tired legs is the same experience as walking it fresh.
It is not. The uphills that were manageable at nine in the morning feel steeper at three in the afternoon. Your knees have opinions about the downhill sections. That root you stepped over easily on the way in now catches your toe. The total round trip from Marahau to Anchorage and back is roughly 26 kilometres, which puts your day at seven to eight hours of walking.
Bring more water than you think you need — there is no reliable water source on the track between Marahau and Anchorage. Two litres per person is the minimum on a warm day, and you will probably wish you had three. The afternoon sun hits parts of the track that were shaded in the morning, so a hat matters even if you started in cloud.
The one genuine consolation is the light. The late afternoon sun comes through the coastal bush at a low angle that turns everything gold and green, and the views south on the return show you coastline you had your back to all morning. It is beautiful. Your legs will still hurt.
Knowing When to Get the Boat
Beyond Anchorage Changes the Equation
Anchorage is the practical limit for an out-and-back day walk from Marahau. Beyond it, the track continues to Bark Bay and Tonga Island, but the maths stops working in your favour. Bark Bay is another two hours past Anchorage, which puts your one-way walk at five and a half to six hours. As a return trip, that is an eleven-hour day before you factor in any time for swimming or eating, and it involves tidal crossings at Torrent Bay that dictate your timing.
The Torrent Bay estuary crossing is passable on foot for about two hours either side of low tide. Miss the window and you are either wading chest-deep or adding an extra hour on the all-tide track that goes inland. This is the kind of variable that turns a long walk into a logistical headache, and it is exactly why the water taxis exist.
Past Bark Bay, you are firmly in multi-day territory. Onetahuti, Awaroa, Totaranui — these are all places best reached with a boat or a few nights in huts and campsites. The park is 60 kilometres of coast track, and trying to see it all on foot from one end in a single day is not adventurous, it is just unpleasant.
The Hybrid Option
The option that makes the most sense for a lot of people is the hybrid: walk one way and catch a water taxi the other. Walk in to Anchorage in the morning, have your swim and your lunch on the beach, then catch a 3pm or 4pm boat back to Marahau. Or do it in reverse — take the morning boat to Anchorage and walk back.
Walking in and boating out is the better option for most people. You are fresh for the walk, you get the beach at midday, and you skip the return slog on tired legs. A one-way water taxi costs less than a return, and you still get three to four hours on the track.
Booking is straightforward. The main operators run scheduled services and you can usually book a one-way pickup from Anchorage the day before, though in peak season it pays to book a few days ahead. Check the departure times before you commit to your walking pace — missing the last boat means either a very long walk home or an unplanned night on the beach.
What to Bring and What to Leave
You need less gear than you think and more water than you expect. Trail shoes or sturdy sandals with grip will handle the track fine — it is well maintained and not technical, though it gets muddy after rain and the tree roots can be slippery. Full tramping boots are overkill for a day walk.
Pack sunscreen and a sun hat even if the morning is overcast. The Nelson region has some of the highest UV rates in the country and the track alternates between shade and exposed coastal sections. Togs and a towel are non-negotiable — you will pass at least three places worth swimming, and arriving at Anchorage without something to swim in would be a waste.
Two to three litres of water per person. There are no streams or taps between Marahau and Anchorage, and the track is warm work in summer. Food is whatever you would take on any day walk — sandwiches, fruit, something for energy on the way back. Leave the camping gear, the hut booking anxiety, and the massive pack at home. A day pack with water, food, sun protection, and swimming gear is all the Abel Tasman asks of you for a day walk.
Abel Tasman does not charge an entry fee. The track is there, the beaches are there, and the water is the same temperature whether you arrived by boat or on foot. A water taxi buys you convenience, not access. The best bits of the southern coast are a morning’s walk from the car park, and the only thing you need to book is the day off work.