Zero Day

March 11, 2025

Hiking in Abel Tasman National Park

What a perfect day! The weather is unreal at 25 C and sunny with very little wind. Today I loaded on the boat in Kaiteriteri at 10:30 after a leisurely morning of drinking coffee at a cafe and planning the next few days bike route from Nelson.

The boat trip was very nice with stops to see seals, split rock, and a couple bays before my drop spot at Medlands Beach at 11:50. The hike from there back down towards Anchorage was 11.5 km and it’s supposed to be about 3 hours, 50 minute hours which is just in time to catch the boat back.

There were a few seals sunning behind the kayakers.

The hiking was really nice on a very hard packed surface through beautiful forest mostly in the shade, except for a peak-a-boo view every couple of kilometres. I was feeling strong hiking. When I used to hike with the kids I took great pleasure in catching and passing people. It’s a game for whatever reason. Today the trail was popular so I had lots of opportunities to catch people.

The boat have a plank they push into the sand for drop offs.

I stopped to eat a couple sandwiches with an amazing view of Torrent Bay where there are some private homes (owned before the park became a National Park). Once in Torrent Bay there was an option to hike the low tide and cut off 1.5 hours of hiking. I decided to just stay on the trail and it was worth doing.

I arrived back at Anchorage at 2 and went for a swim which was really nice. The water temperature was ideal. And then I wondered down the beach and found a shower. The facilities on this trail are fabulous. There are giant huts about every 4 hours of hiking from the top to the bottom so you could spend 3 or 4 nights out here if you wanted to.

Warm enough for a swim! That’s saying a lot for me.

Tomorrow I’ll get back on the bike and ride back to Nelson. Tonight I’ll plan the next couple days after Nelson. I’m trying to avoid both highway 6 riding and the grunt of a gravel climb if possible. Not even sure it’s possible but we’ll see.

Highlights:

-great hiking and swimming

-boat ride was spectacular

-water colour was beautiful

Distance: 12 km hiking

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Robyn RichardsKaiteriteri is one of our fave places, mainly because of the MTB park there, but easy access to the Abel Tasman track is a big plus.
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1 month ago

Michael HutchingBeautiful photos Andrew- we did the trail about this time last year and renamed it the Bad taste Trail, though, in fact, the beer and the pies were really memorable. Hope the rest of your ride goes well and that the big climb doesn't require that phrase I’ve been reading Canadians are embracing right now- ‘elbows up’.
Bonne route.
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1 month ago

Andrew RichardTo Robyn RichardsI’m very happy that I made it there and took the boat trip and hike. The boat in the morning was very special. On the return the wind kicked up and it was no longer comfortable outside.
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1 month ago

Andrew RichardTo Michael HutchingThere’s hills! I best turn around :)
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1 month ago