Abel Tasman Coast Track

The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a total of 51 kilometers long and can be done in 3-5 days, staying in huts that you book in advance. However, the huts only have mattresses and a toilet. You have to bring your own food and everything else you need. Also, the huts are not cheap considering what they offer. So we decided to do a 25-kilometer stage that can be done in one day. We were picked up early by water taxi, which took us to Bark Bay, our starting point. On the way, we saw seals sunbathing on the rocks. That was definitely the first highlight since we had never seen seals in the wild before. We also passed by Split Apple Rock, which actually looks like a split apple 🍎. Then we continued to Bark Bay, where our track began. It mainly went through fern forests, which had an incredibly loud noise caused by crickets. It was so loud that it hurt our ears. Unbelievable! We didn't see them for a long time, but towards the end of the track, the whole tree trunks were covered with these small, loud creatures. We passed by beautiful bays with golden sand and turquoise blue water. That's also the reason why Abel Tasman is so popular. We took a detour to Cleopetra's Pool. It's a rock pool in the middle of the rainforest, named after Queen Cleopatra, who apparently had a preference for outdoor baths. The pools are of natural origin and ice-cold. I didn't dare to get in, but Pascal did 😎 After I gave my feet a cool-down, we continued.

At Anchorage Bay, which was about halfway through our journey, we settled down for a while, it was dreamy! After about three-quarters of an hour, we continued, but where exactly? Somehow, our destination pointed in 2 different directions and we weren't so sure anymore... We asked a couple who passed by, but unfortunately, they couldn't help us either. So we just chose a path, we'll somehow get to the destination. And who would have thought, it worked 😜 We passed by several beautiful bays, and at the last one, we were all alone and could take another refreshing dip :) After that, the last kilometers went much better :) With sore feet but incredibly happy, we finally arrived back at the car after 25 kilometers 🤩