The Abel Tasman

The Abel Tasman is New Zealand's smallest National Park but I believe it must be one of the most visited. We have been here before and had already discovered just how breathtaking the beaches are in this area. So it was with no hesitation that we decided to visit again and complete another section of the coastal tracks that weave along from beach to beach.

The best and easiest method of reaching the tracks is by hoping on one of the ferries that go from Kaiteriteri and drop you at the beach of your request and will then pick you up from another beach later in the day. The ferries are frequent and give you an unrivalled view of the coast. The drivers of the ferry are also really informative (with a good sense of humour!) and took a detour during our trip as they spotted a school of dolphins. They also took us to view some seals on one of the outlying islands.

Although the tracks are well used you can still feel quite isolated at times and this allows you to meet the local wildlife. This Weka was clearly used to being fed by trampers.

He took a liking to our oaty bars and cheese sandwiches.

Bark bay was stunning on the day we crossed it and contains rather a nice looking DOC hut which we will remember next time and see if we can book!

It was even warm enough for a paddle.

It was a great location just to explore and mess around in whilst waiting for the ferry to come and pick us up,

I love the Abel Tasman and no doubt we will be back again one day. However, as with a lot of places increasingly in New Zealand, I wish it was a bit less popular. This makes me selfish and childish I suppose, I am just unwilling to share the outstanding natural beauty of this place with others. I worry that the large number of people visiting these areas is actually endangering them.

Apparently this is something that DOC (Department of Conservation) is also concerned about and are currently trying to develop a strategy that will still allow the country to benefit from the massive amount of Tourism that our natural beauty encourages but still manage to preserve these areas of national heritage and beauty for future generations.