Motoring from Golden Bay to Tasman Bay and Abel Tasman National Park (South Island, New Zealand)

April 20, 2016

Able Tasman National Park encompasses the forested, hilly area that acts as a giant headland separating Golden and Tasman Bays. Our plan was to motor up over the top of it, arriving at an anchorage on its east side. This would put us at the north end of the park, and from there we could spend a few days working our way south along the park’s famous coastline.

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We headed off on our hour-long ride after we got back from exploring the Tata Islands.

Along the north coast we passed Wainui Bay and its inlet, a interesting-looking place. After that came the first of Abel Tasman Park’s big beaches: Whariwharangi Beach. It looked intriguing, but it faced north and was not a protected anchorage, making suitable only for an afternoon stop. Anxious to get to our next anchorage, we opted to keep going. We figured we could always hike back there if we felt like it. –Cyndi