On our first full day in Golden Bay we planned a long hike in the neighbouring Abel Tasman National Park. We found a long but interesting looking loop that would allow us to walk part of the famous Abel Tasman Coastal Track as well as letting us to see some of the quieter inland portions of the park. The loop was around fifteen miles, and took us through lots of different scenery, needless to say, stand by for a lot of pictures!
We started the hike just a few miles from where we were staying and after following Abel Tasman Drive along the coast we arrived at the trail head by Takapou Bay.
After following the bay for a short distance the track started to climb up a fire road towards Gibbs Hill. As the trail climbed and wound its way around the hillside we were able to admire the dense forest growing on the surrounding hillsides.
After a steady climb we reached the summit of Gibbs Hill, the highest point of our hike at 405 metres above sea level. From the top of the hill we could see out along the peninsula that we would be hiking around later as well as Golden Bay and Farewell Spit in the distance.
We followed the ridge along and when we reached a clearing we got our first glimpse of the golden beaches that make Abel Tasman National Park so famous.
We started to descend towards the hamlet of Totaranui and through a break in the trees we were able to watch a water taxi heading towards the shore ready to drop off a group of hikers doing one of the one-way sections of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track.
We skirted around the hamlet of Totaranui and continued through the densely forested hillsides towards the first of the bays on this hike. Eventually the forest thinned slightly and we found ourselves on the beach at Anapai Bay. There isn’t much of a transition between the vegetation, one minute you are walking through the dense bush, the next you are on the golden sand of the beach.
We had the beach to ourselves and were able to admire the clear water and golden sand. At this point the trail actually followed the beach for a short distance so we walked along the shore for a while before cutting back up into the forest.
Once again the trail took us up through the densely forested hillside, with lush vegetation on every side.
The trail climbed up and over a ridge before dropping us again onto another beautiful sandy beach at Anatakapau Bay.
We stopped here for lunch and enjoyed watching some cormorants fishing for lunch whilst we tucked into our picnic.
At the end of Anatakapau Bay we climbed over a rock outcrop before dropping into Mutton Bay from where we took the trail out towards Separation Point.
The scenery had changed and instead of the lush green forests and golden beaches the coastline was more rocky. As we made our way along the very narrow track out towards the lighthouse at Separation Point we started to hear the cries of numerous sea birds. We continued out towards the point, looking down at the clear water and trying to catch a glimpse of whatever birds were making all the noise.
As we caught sight of the lighthouse we continued to look out for these mysterious birds, but looking down we were surprised to see only a barren patch of rocks until we spotted the loud speaker!
If you look closely in the picture above you will see the loud speakers and a number of plastic Australasian gannets! The area is part of Project Janszoon, a trust named after the Dutch Explorer Abel ‘Janszoon’ Tasman, who was the first European to discover New Zealand. The project is trying to encourage Australasian gannets from the colony at nearby Farewell Spit to populate this area and it is hoped that the cries from the speakers will encourage birds to settle here.
We headed back towards the main trail and continued on towards the next bay. As we came to a break in the trees we had a great view back towards Anatakapau Bay and Mutton Cove where we had come from.
As the track wound around the headland Whariwharangi Bay finally came into view. This would be the last bay we visited on this hike, and although the view down to the beach was beautiful, it reminded us that we had one more descent and climb to complete!
The track descended quickly to Whariwharangi Bay and we were able to enjoy the last of the quiet sandy beaches before starting our hike back towards the car.
As we started our final descent towards Takapou Bay the tide had gone out to reveal a system of sand bars across the inlet. We watched some horses gallop across the sand as well as a few people digging for some shellfish and we continued to head down towards the trail head.
We arrived back at the car after a full day of hiking, with sore legs and feet from all the undulating trails but amazed at how much we had seen.