Last Updated: June 23, 2023
New Zealand is known for being one of the safest places in the world for solo female hiking.
So while we were there, I wanted to do at least one amazing, big hike with our eldest child that involved sleeping overnight on the trail.
There are so many beautiful trails to go hiking (or as Kiwis call it – tramping) to choose from all over New Zealand. They can be found everywhere and they are well signposted all over the country.
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I chose to our big hike at Abel Tasman National Park. Along part of the coastal track and it was an incredible experience.
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The Abel Tasman Route
The full route is 60km long with very little elevation and runs from Marahau to Wainui and takes approximately 3-5 days to do the whole route. But you can chose to do just part if you don’t want to do the whole trail.
There are many different ways and places to start your chosen route. You can choose to kayak part of the route, but it’s worth noting that if you are going with kids, kayakers must be a minimum age of 12 years.
There are also ferry boats that you can book to take you to or from certain point on the track. Anchorage is definitely the most popular point to stop at via the ferry. It’s very beautiful, but it is also the most crowded place on the track.
You can book ferries and kayaks on the official Abel Tasman National Park website.
We chose to do a 50k/30 mile hike over two days from Marahau to Bark Bay and back, staying overnight in Bark Bay’s hut.
Navigating the Abel Tasman Trail
We took a photo of the map at the beginning of the trail and also collected a map from the information stand at the beginning of the trail in Marahau and they were sufficient enough to use.
There is also an Abel Tasman App that is free and has a more detailed map and extras that I would have downloaded, had I not been travelling with an ancient phone that was unable to download anything.
The trail is pretty well signposted throughout and it will say on each sign how many km to the next biggest stop eg. Anchorage, and that’s how we worked out how far we had walked and how far we had left.
Torrent Bay Tidal Crossing
On route, when going past Anchorage (towards Bark Bay), you must cross or go around Torrent Bay. Torrent Bay is an estuary that can only be crossed 2 hours either side of low tide.
It is dangerous to attempt to cross outside of this crossing window. On the way to Bark Bay, we were able to time it right to cross which takes around 20 minutes.
It was quite muddy/sandy and very wet on the ground so we (along with most others) removed our shoes and socks and did the crossing barefoot to avoid ruining/soaking through our shoes for the rest of the journey.
On the way back, we took the long way around the estuary. This takes around an 1hour and 20 minutes and whilst doing this, we took a further detour to visit Cleopatra’s Pool which added an extra 40 minutes walking to our journey.
There are so many signposted little bays to come off the main trail and climb down steps into various little secluded beaches that were just beautiful and so peaceful to stop at, rest and even go for a swim. We stopped at several of them for meal times and to read.
Accommodation on the Abel Tasman Trail
There are two options to choose from for accommodation on this trail – you can either book for a spec in a communal hut, which is basically a mixed dorm room, or you can book a pitch for your tent.
There are 4 huts and 18 campsites (I wouldn’t really call them campsites as they are just designated spots to pitch up with no facilities, apart from a tap and compost toilet nearby). They are located at different spots throughout the trail and they must be booked in advance. The huts and campsites can be booked on Abel Tasman National Park website.
In our hut, there were two dorm rooms to choose from and a free for all on which dorm room and what area of the dorm you chose. Each dorm room had basically two large bunk beds in with space for multiple occupancy in.
Each bunk bed would fit 4-5 people on each bunk level and a single mattress is provided for each individual person to sleep on. There was also an indoor communal area with a living/dining space and a kitchen area which had a fireplace and a basket of firewood.
There is no bedding provided, so make sure you take a sleeping bag, as I learnt this the hard way.
I completely didn’t realise that we would need sleeping bags/warm clothes as we were staying in one of the park’s communal huts and naively, I thought that there would be blankets… there was not. At least I brought chocolate and our favourite book to read, right!? This kind of logic luckily worked on my child. Phew!
Thankfully, they provided mattresses and it was summer time so we used a travel towel and our paper thin rain jackets to keep warm. I obviously drew short straw in this scenario and had the pathetic jacket blanket to keep me warm. Suffice to say, I was absolutely freezing and felt like I was awake all night, counting down the minutes till morning. Where as my child swears he had the most amazing sleep he’d ever had.
In spite of having a terrible sleep, it was totally worth it in the end. The view of the stars at night above Bark Bay (when being so cold means you have to venture to the outhouse toilet at 3am) were the most breathtakingly stunning view of the stars I have even seen. It was like I was in outer space and was truly amazing.
If I were to do this trail again, I would definitely recommend stopping at one of the campsites I saw on the beach around an hour in to our hike which were; Tinline Bay, Coquille Bay or Apple Tree Bay. They were all deserted when we hiked back and would make a great stay if you like having a whole beach to yourself.
The reason for them being empty is because they’re not far enough into the park from Marahau for most people. These campsites do make great options for little children or those unable to walk as far in one go. However, if you like being around lots of people, the most popular place to stay at is the hut and campsite at Anchorage.
Facilities on the Abel Tasman Trail
Along the trail, you will also find basic compost toilets and taps (that are pinned on the map that we picked up) with fresh water that needs to be treated or boiled before consuming. We took our water filter bottles with us to use at these taps and kept a second bottle of water each for in an emergency.
There are no rubbish/recycling bin facilities on the track or at the huts/campsites. In spite of this, the track is pristine with not a trace of rubbish left behind. Everything that you carry into the park must be carried out so something to bare in mind when packing food. And speaking of food, there are no food facilities in the park so we packed extra high glucose, high protein snacks for emergencies.
What to Take
So after my mishaps of forgetting some of our essentials, this is what I recommend taking on a 2 day hike on Abel Tasman Coastal Track when staying overnight in a hut:
- Good well balanced high energy food – e.g. fruit, nuts, raisins, chocolate, sandwiches, fruit bars, protein bars.
- Water Filter Bottles – There’s plenty available but we have been using drink safe travel taps and find them invaluable. They use a filter system that cleans your water, improving the safety of the water before use.
- Another 2 litre bottle of water per person
- Plastic bag (to put rubbish in)
- Swimming Costume
- Travel Towel
- Book
- Head Torch
- Phone
- Power bank & charging wires
- Map
- First Aid Kit
- Good Hiking Shoes
- Change of underwear and socks
- Sleeping bag each
- Thermal layers
- Waterproof jackets
- Toiletries – e.g. sanitary products, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap
- Sleepwear
You might also wish to bring walking poles, although the path is very smooth and very well maintained and there’s not much change in incline.