Rota de acampamento de Nelson, Abel Tasman e Golden Bay

Nelson para Marahaú

Use Nelson para suprimentos e uma noite na cidade, depois faça uma pausa em Māpua ou Motueka antes de Marahau. O tráfego no verão é lento e os acampamentos próximos ao parque nacional são reservados com antecedência.

Reserve táxis aquáticos, campings e cabanas através da operadora correta ou sistema DOC. As marés afetam diversas travessias costeiras, por isso a programação do dia deve começar pela tabela de marés.

Sobre a colina Takaka

Abasteça em Motueka e atravesse a colina à luz do dia. A estrada é íngreme, sinuosa e cansativa para veículos grandes, com possibilidade de gelo no inverno ou danos causados ​​por tempestades.

Tākaka é a base prática para decisões sobre alimentação e clima. Te Waikoropupū Springs tem restrições rígidas de contato que protegem sua água, e cada barreira deve ser tratada como inegociável.

Baía Dourada ao norte

Pūponga e Farewell Spit ficam mais longe dos cultos do que parecem. Participe de um passeio autorizado onde o acesso é restrito e evite dirigir na areia das marés.

Mantenha a última noite perto de Tākaka se houver uma balsa ou vôo. Atravessar a colina e chegar a Nelson ou Picton sob pressão do tempo remove a calma que faz valer a pena visitar Golden Bay.

Abel Tasman is a booking exercise

The coastal track campsites and huts are booked rather than turn-up, and they sell out for the summer season well in advance. Water taxis run from Marahau and Kaiteriteri and are the standard way to combine a walk with a return, which also has to be booked.

Decide the shape of your walk before you book anything: one-way with a taxi pickup, a day walk from Marahau, or a multi-day with hut or campsite nights. Each has different booking requirements and they interlock.

Tidal crossings are not optional timing

Two sections of the coastal track cross tidal estuaries at Awaroa and Torrent Bay, and they are passable only around low tide. Missing the window means a long wait or a high-tide alternative track, and people are caught out on this regularly.

Get the tide table when you book and plan the day around it rather than around distance. The estuary crossings dictate your start time, not your preference.

Tākaka Hill and Golden Bay

The road over Tākaka Hill is steep, winding and slow, and it is the only route into Golden Bay. It takes longer than the distance suggests and is a real workout in a campervan, but the bay on the other side is worth the effort.

Te Waikoropupū Springs are among the clearest freshwater springs measured anywhere and are culturally significant to Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa. The water is not to be entered, and the boardwalk keeps you off it.

Farewell Spit and the far north of the island

The spit is a wetland of international importance and vehicle access beyond the first section is restricted to a licensed tour operator. Wharariki Beach, reached by a twenty minute walk across farmland, is the more accessible highlight and frequently the better one.

Check the tide for Wharariki, because the arches and the seal pups in the rock pools are only reachable at lower water. The walk crosses private farmland, so keep to the track and close the gates.

Nelson and the Great Taste Trail

Nelson has the highest sunshine hours in the country and a substantial arts and food scene, and the Great Taste Trail is a mostly flat cycle route linking wineries, breweries and cafes between the city, Māpua and Motueka. Bike hire and shuttle services make a one-way day easy.

The Saturday market in Nelson is one of the better ones in the country and worth planning around. Māpua wharf, on the trail, has a cluster of good food and a passenger ferry across the estuary.

Nelson also works as the restock point before Golden Bay, since the shops beyond Tākaka are limited and everything has to cross the hill. Do the big shop here rather than in Motueka.

When to go

Abel Tasman is at its best from December to March and is correspondingly full, with track sites booked months ahead. Shoulder season gives you the same coast with availability and cooler water.

Nelson has the highest sunshine hours in the country, so even outside summer the odds of good weather here are better than most of the South Island.

Lugares ao longo do caminho