This review is based on my own mistakes planning this trip. We had one day to get from…read moreNelson to Abel Tasman National Park to Christchurch- very ambitious and now I know it was a huge mistake! I tried my best to understand what we could do at Abel Tasman National Park before we got there and what to do there in only a few hours- I read reviews, skimmed the website, and watched YouTube videos. When we arrived to the visitor center it was in the morning and we only had a few hours there before we had to leave, we asked the ladies at the visitor center what they recommend. They weren't the friendliest or the most helpful, they recommended we did a ferry to one of the other islands but we wouldn't have time to come back wt make it to Christchurch. They didn't try to give other suggestions. We saw a beach area and decided we would walk around it until we couldn't and turn back which is when I saw the actual Abel Tasman coast track and decided we would walk that trail until we had to turn around to be at the car in time. We were able to get to three viewpoints and decided to start driving to Christchurch after. Few things I learned about this experience: there are no toilets at the visitor center, there's a horrific portable toilet walking distance from the visitor center however on our way back we found a toilet behind the visitor center that seems clean- near the kayaking companies. You must do a full day at Abel Tasman, if that means staying there overnight- it'll be worth it! Definetly not the best to just do the national park in few hours ( you can't do much! ). I do think if the ladies at the visitor center recommended this trail to us from the beginning we would have made it further down the trail and seen more.

Abel Tasman is beautiful! If lush green rainforest and sparkling turquoise waters appeal to you…read more(and I mean, why wouldn't it?) then by all means do the trek through Abel Tasman. Abel Tasman is one of New Zealand's "great walks" which means the trails are super well maintained, and there are luxurious huts (by trekking standards) to stay in so you don't even have to camp! You can hike from hut to hut and do anything from 2 days to 5 (or even just 1 day if you're wimpy) - you don't have to finish the entire trek as there are water taxis at various points that will take you back to the car park/trailhead in Marahau. The huts are equipped with mattresses, flush toilets, drinking water, and a kitchen area. In the common area there are also wood stoves, so if someone takes the initiative, you can have heating too. You do need to bring a sleeping bag and cooking equipment (and food of course) but all in all it makes for a much lighter pack than if you were straight out camping. For those who prefer to rough it, there are also various campgrounds along the trail. For both the huts and the camps you have to book ahead of time on the DOC website, and for the huts I believe it's something like $34 NZ per person per night. A bit pricey but you also have to consider there's no fee to enter the park, so that's all you'll pay. We planned our trip starting in Marahau and then staying in Anchorage Hut the first night. That meant our first day of hiking was relatively short (8 miles) and we found ourselves with most of the day at the hut. It's on a nice beach with a few shorter walks you can explore, but unluckily for us it rained most of the afternoon and we huddled in the hut rather than sunning on the beach. The next night we hiked all the way to Awaroa Hut, which was quite the trek - 16 miles I believe. You certainly don't have to do that all in one day, as it seems like most people just hike to Bark Bay, approximately half the journey. At Awaroa there's a tidal inlet and you can only continue on during low tide. The tides were not in our favor, which meant we would have had to wait until noon to cross the next day. Instead we chose to hike out a few miles to Awaroa Lodge (very fancy) and catch the water taxi back to Marahau. I do suggest reserving a water taxi trip ahead of time as they seem to fill up! The water taxi took about 1.5 hours to get us back, with several pick up/drop off stops along the way. It was fun to see all the places we'd hiked through from the water - a new perspective!

I was highly impressed with New Zealand's i-SITE Visitor Centres. I visited several in the country…read morebut this one was the most helpful. We arrived in the rain, with more expected. We were traveling with a four month old baby and my husband had sprained his ankle badly. Not exactly a recipe for adventure tourism. But the woman who helped us at the i-SITE Visitor Centre took into account that we live near the ocean in California and suggested we drive to Nelson Lakes, since the scenery would be different to what we have at home and we'd be able to enjoy it without rugged hikes. We took her advice and ended up having one of the most memorable experiences of our trip in New Zealand at Nelson Lakes, which included a speedboat ride with a new friend and a trip to a remote waterfall.

Clearest spring water in the world? And second clearest water in the world after a sea in…read moreAntarctica? Yep, definitely worth the 10 minute drive from Takaka to check it out. Don't expect to spend all day here, this is a quick "tick it off the list" type of stop. They've built a very nice walking platform that gets you up close and personal to the two clearest spots, and a small outdoor visitors center that explains exactly how the water is so clear (something to do with the insane amount of water* that flows through each second). Look, it's not something I would put on my "must see in New Zealand" list, but if you're in the area, absolutely make the 30 minute detour. Considering how many amazing things there are to see on the south Island, it says a lot that this doesn't come close to the top. Because it's absolutely stunning. *When I say "insane amount of water," even giving you the number of liters or gallons won't help, so to put it in perspective, it's enough water to fill 40 bathtubs every second. Insane.

This was a great little spot to car camp. There are rooms too (starting at $70), but we just used a…read morenon-powered site for only $20 nzd. There is a cute little kitchen with potable water, dish soap, microwave, tea kettles, cutting boards, and toaster ovens. There's a washer and drier ($4 each and soap available for $.50 in the office) as well as a clothes dry line. You can tell they really take care about the place, and there's a cute little garden where campers are welcome to use the fresh herbs. There's an above ground pool too. We didn't use that, but could be good for kids. The camp sites are pretty close to a road where you can hear cars but it wasn't too loud. We enjoyed it and ended up staying an extra night!

I camped here for 2 nights on the way to Picton. It's super close to Abel Tasman Skydiving. There…read moreare hot showers available for 50cents for 6 minutes, free herbs and veggies from the garden, laundry on site, and a shower. camping is $20 nz dollars / person / night and it's clean!

Nice camp with sites under tall trees, perfect in window with no leaves and I imagine great shade…read morein summer. Facilities are really clean and well maintained. Not many people here so lots of space but expect it's crowded in high season Did our laundry and the dryers need maintenance as they were very slow to dry, very little heat

Conveniently close to start of Great Walk and Water Taxi access if you're getting a ride back from…read moreone of the Coastal Track beaches. Also, very friendly, well informed from desk staff. However, very cramped sites and not very many washers, cookers, showers, etc. I would check elsewhere next time and consider parking in Marahau or Kaiteriteri for water taxi return.

We did the Split Apple Rock/ Toka Ngawhā 3-hour tour from 9AM-12PM which launched from the shores…read moreof Kaiteriteri Beach (or Kaiteretere in Maori for "a hurried meal"). This was a mixed group outing on a waka, a traditional Maori outrigger canoe. We ended up with 3 other participants who signed up online and were led by Lea, our guide. Not only was she our guide, imparting cultural knowledge and stories of the Maori people, but she taught us all the cues/ commands to paddle in sync with our newly formulated team. We also learned a powerful "haka" cry, to instill fear into other fellow paddlers also visiting the Split Apple Rock (and end up on social media while at it, haha). It was a powerful, confidence inducing paddle, and new and different. Paddling with strangers might seem weird, but the experience, under the guidance of Lea, made it feel quite natural and fun too. You do not need any experience to sign up. Just come with an open mind. And a full belly since the paddle could be quite vigorous, although you do get plenty of breaks along your course to the "burst open rock" and even a little hang out opportunity on the way back at one of the nearby golden sanded beaches. This 3-hour tour was perfect for experiencing Abel Tasman NP, without eating too much time into your day. Extra bonus if you have sunshine which we were so grateful to have during our outing! Todd, the owner, was super kind too. Kind enough to offer some recommendations of local eats and drinks before wishing us well for the rest of our day. Thank you Waka Abel Tasman for the most gratifying cultural experience!