Bark to Anchorage Great Walk - Abel Tasman Kayaks

Catch a water taxi and independently walk the track between Bark to Anchorage before cruising home at the end of the day.

Highlights include: the Kaka population, Pou whenua of Hohaia Rangiauru, Falls River suspension bridge and the Torrent Bay lagoon.

Wander 10 minutes from Bark Bay beach to experience the spectacular viewing platform overlooking Medlands beach. A pou whenua of Hohaia Rangiauru, past Maori chief of Te Ātiawa, is located at the platform, take the time to learn the relationships Māori have with the area and be awed by the first of many inspiring views of the day.

Listen and look out for the distinctive call of Kaka. Kaka love to play and swoop across the valley catch a glimpse of them in the distance or up close. These birds are a real testament to the conservation work being undertaken in the Abel Tasman.

Continue along the track checking out viewpoints and lookouts before crossing Falls River swing bridge. The 47-metre suspension bridge is sure to bring a smile when crossed, take a sneek preview below, video produced by Bare Kiwi. Enjoy the gentle descent down into Torrent Bay with expansive views of the tidal lagoon. Take the high or low tide route through or around Torrent Bay lagoon before arriving at Anchorage to catch the taxi home.

We provide a map and a briefing outlining track highlights.

Side trip:

Cleopatras Pool
A natural rock pool is a great place to explore and also has a beautiful swimming hole.

The Abel Tasman is part of New Zealand’s great walk network and this premier track is designed for all levels of fitness. An outline of the journey is below in the itinerary section. DoC’s full track brochure can be downloaded here.

A guided walk option is available, please contact us to discuss.

Price

$80pp

Duration

1 Day

Adult: $80
Child (up to 14): $40
Child (5 & under): $0

Check-in: 8.15 am
Open: 1 Dec – 30 Apr (on request outside of these times)
Age: Any age, under 18’s need to be accompanied by at least 1 adult
Food: Lunch can be provided for $15pp or bring your own
Abel Tasman Great Walk: Approximately 3 – 4 hours
Water Taxi: One water taxi cruise
Bus: $50 Nelson return, $20 Motueka return operating 1 Nov – 31 Mar. On request outside of these times

Full Park Map

Departure Times

All customers aged 12 yrs & 3 mths+ will need to present their ‘My Vaccine Pass’ before they can use our services.

The Department of Conservation require anyone overnighting in a hut or campsite or day visitors using hut or campsite facilities (except for toilets) to have a valid ‘My Vaccine Pass’.

Exemptions apply to those under 12 yrs & 3 mths.

Itinerary

Day One

8.15am

Check in. One of our team will provide tips and a map for your days walk.

8.45am

Water Taxi to Bark Bay.

9.25am

Arrive Bark Bay.
Walk from Bark Bay to Anchorage (high tide track), 4hr, 11.5km
Bark Bay to Anchorage (Low tide Torrent Bay estuary), 3hr, 8.4km

4.00pm

Water taxi from Anchorage to Marahau.

4.30pm

Arrive back in Marahau.
What to bring

Please bring personal water bottle, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, towel, swimsuit, warm top (wool or fleece), wind jacket, walking shoes, cameras and any medication.

*Please note: These are an estimate of timings.

FAQS

Do I need hiking boots?

For walking the track, firm footwear is required, but boots are not essential, walking sandals or sports shoes are fine.
More FAQ’s

A full list of our FAQ’s can be found here and our Covid-19 ones here

What our customers say

We had the day tour remote coast. The weather was a little bit cloudy whcih we appreciated - otherwise you have really take care about getting sun burned. Only a small group 4 kajaks and Kai from UK as our guide. He did a great job - explained a lot and was always teking care about all of us. Had lunch at Bark bay with nut steeling kaka`s. Have seen... read more read less

Sigrid H

We had a brilliant time on our Abel Tasman Kayaks trip. We had Darryl looking after our group (my partner and me, a family and a single). He was very competent, entertaining and also really knowledgeable about the birdlife, bush, sealife and history of the area. He also adapted the day based on the conditions to ensure we had the best possible time. The kayaks were in good nick... read more read less

laura_25252

We had a great 3 days in the national park with Abke Tasman Kayaks. We were dropped off at the northern end of the park and paddled back slowly of the 3 days. The team was welcoming from the start, helpful with itinerary and showing us the equipment. Great maps and the boat skipper was very friendly and pointed all the spots along the way. Nightly recommend.

707philg

Very good briefing to ensure safety etc. Guide was clear and humorous and had lots of knowledge of natural history to make things interesting. Lunch on beach very good, coffee and fruit too. Beautiful coastline and weather was great. We walked back along Able Tasman path, really good. Great way to spend 4-5 hours! Would fully recommend.

11prusom

We kayak along the splendid Coast of Abel Tasman National park for over 2 hours then we stopped for lunch at the magnificent onetahuti beach. Daryl was our tour guide; he was really nice cool fun and let us stopped and take as many pictures as we wanted and explained us very well the history of the Abel national park .

Bilalifestyle

Super leuke dag gehad op het water. De uitrusting is goed, alles is verzorgd! De lunch en snacks zijn healthy wat het even anders maakt dan veel andere tours. Ook de gids Nathan maakt een degelijk verschil, hij heeft ons veel verteld en geleed, is interactief met iedereen in de groep en weet zeker waar hij het over heeft. Good job Nathan ;)

De prijs is wel aan de hoge... read more read less

carlijndr

Great Walk Bark to Anchorage