Abel Tasman Day 3 - Last Day in Paradise

Someone else wrote this, but I felt the same way

The Abel Tasman Nat. Park area has been so fantastic I wish I could have stayed longer, and I think many people feel that way because I saw it written on a brochure ha ha ha.



Abel Tasman Costal Track

Since I had exercised my arms the previous day Kayaking, I decided to exercise my legs and do part of the Abel Tasman Costal Track. I drove a short way
out to the Marahau Car Park (where I had played on the beach previously) and started from the southern most part of the track. It was high tide so I had to stick to the route, but for 2 hours during low tide you can actually walk along the beach and meet up with the track part way down. I set a length of time I wanted to go and walked out about 5-6k to just before the Apple Tree Beach Access, and turned around. The trail lazily winds through the hills along the coast line with access to a number of beaches, and amazing views along the way. 

On my way back I decided to take a break for a snack and splash in the water. I didn't take notice of the name of the area where I stopped, but I practically had the beach to myself which made it an even more relaxing place to stop. eventually a number of other day hikers discovered the picnic area, so I decided to move on. Including breaks, I spent about 2.5 hours hiking and though it wasn't a difficult track it felt great to be out in the sun and saltwater breezes.

View at high tide

     

View at low tide

I had lunch at a nice café in Marahau just at the end of the trail, and then drove to another very short trail between Marahau and Kaiteriteri where you can see the Split Apple Rock from shore. It is famous so I wanted to make sure to see it, and I am glad I did but it is kinda just a rock...

Split Apple Rock

The beach from where you can see the rock was a bit windy and cool for swimming when I arrived, but there were rocky caves on either side of the beach and a short excursion along the rocks revealed a number of tide pools! (I love tide pools) There were crabs, snails, starfish and all kinds of living things hiding in them! I could have been out there for hours but the tide would have come in and stranded me so... hahaha.

I hope I get a chance to come back to Abel Tasman someday, if not on this trip maybe with Mario. But for now I will just add a couple more photos and get ready for my drive back to Picton. Oh and Fitz, if you read this Abel Tasman should really be on your bucket list of places to travel!

Cute design someone made with rocks, viewed through the clear water

Bird drying out along the trail

People made rock sculptures along the beach, so I made one too. :)