Kathleen and John had planned an outing for the day. A boat ride up the coast of Abel Tasman National Park, a hike along the Abel Tasman Trail and a return boat ride. I’d read about Abel Tasman but had no idea what an amazing place it was. 

We drove about an hour from Nelson along narrow winding roads to a  nice bay with a nice beach. We purchased our tickets and made our way down to the beach where the boat was up on shore. 

We boarded and set out up the Tasman coast. Along the way the captain made a few stops. One was at split marble rock and another was to view seals swimming and sleeping on the rocks.   

After about an hour the boat landed on a beautiful beach lowered the walkway and we hit the beach. The boat backed off. We were left to do a four hour hike to another beach for a pickup. 

We started the hike through gorgeous rainforests with glimpses to golden beaches and blue seas.   

We made our way down to one beach for lunch. The sands were a deep golden color and the rainforests came right down to the beach edge. The view was spectacular. 

The hike continued through the forest with intermittent views of the beaches. Along the way we crossed several swing bridges.   

One after another the views continued to amaze me. It was all very unexpected. Nothing I had read described this area like this.     

We came to a point where the trail went across a body of water. At low tide this water all disappears and the trail crosses the sand and a small river. Unfortunately is was high tide so we had to take a longer trail around.   

Finally we arrived at our destination beach. It took us all of our four hours. I think Kathleen and I were a bit nervous the last 30 minutes but of course we made it.     

We  boarded  the the boat and head back to our starting point.  

What an amazing day. Thanks to Kathleen and John for organizing this. Definitely a place to return.