I’ve long wanted to visit Abel Tasman, located north on the south island.  I’ve heard many wonderful things as well as seen some amazing photos of this area.  Once we arrived though, it was almost overwhelming to choose what to do, as there are so many different treks you can take in this area.  We finally settled on one that we thought would be challenging but not overwhelming for the younger children.

The drive to the starting off point (northeast Abel Tasman) was a bit hair-raising, as we were driving in a campervan on narrow, steep, windy roads with little to no barriers between us and the plummeting cliffs.  At times, you can barely see around the next bend, so we honked frequently, to alert oncoming traffic of our presence.  Once we arrived, the trek itself was moderate and took about one hour each way, going up and down through the mountain with a few views to the ocean. Below is a photo journal of the area we finally did choose to hike.

The road views leading to the foot of the mountain

All along the one hour drive to the starting off point, there were gorgeous scenes like the one above.

Gorgeous cliffs and hidden beaches

As we started to climb, we saw jutting cliffs and crashing waves.

Grassy fields and colorful flowers

Above is what greeted us at the start of our trek…grassy fields, colorful flowers, and views of the sea in the distance.

Gorgeous, sandy, rocky, and deserted

We were so excited when we arrived at our destination!  We were totally alone on this massively huge, white, sandy, rocky beach!  Below are rocks covered with black mussels.  There were tons of beautiful rocks jutting out everywhere, which made for an awesome (but somewhat dangerous) playground for the kids.  Just stunning!

Mussels covering the rock surfaces

We could have spent all day here!  No one wanted to leave!  So thankful for such a great day.