Abel Tasman New Zealand
NewZealand,  Wildlife

On To South Island: Abel Tasman

March 25, 2026 /

Out of the airbnb by 6am, a short drive to Wellington port, through the gates and into the line of cars, trucks and camper vans all ready to leave the shores of North Island and head south. Two hours later we’re all still here, waiting for the ship’s “technical issue” to be resolved before we can drive up the ramp and on to the Bluebridge Ferry, then, just as we are starting to fear hearing the word “cancelled”, the bollards are withdrawn and we’re on our way.

Bluebridge ferry from Wellington to Picton, New Zealand
Wellington to Picton ferry

The crossing is flat calm with not a wave in sight, but what really intrigues us is that for the latter two hours this doesn’t feel or look like a sea crossing at all, our large ferry wholly incongruous as it passes through the Sounds which make the waterway appear more like a wide river than the ocean which it really is, with steep wooded hills on both sides. As we draw into Picton harbour a couple of hours behind schedule, our Hyundai which has been left on the upper, open car deck, now has a proper covering of salt in a crusty layer across metal and glasswork, like castor sugar on a doughnut – but ferry staff are clearly used to this and the car is thoroughly hosed down by an obliging crew member as we approach the down ramp. Nice touch guys.

Journey from Wellington to Picton, New Zealand
Journey to Picton
Journey from Wellington to Picton, New Zealand
Journey to Picton

From Picton it’s straight on to the highways, through the vast stretches of vineyard in Marlborough wine country, through meadows and dairy farms, past the artificial mountains of shipping containers at Nelson port, until we arrive at our next base, the small town of Motueka near the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park.

Marlborough wine district South Island New Zealand
Marlborough vineyards

Abel Tasman is backboned by lofty mountains which have a reputation for creating a rain shield – in other words, the western side can be under the dark clouds of rainstorms at precisely the same time as the eastern side is bathed in sunshine, despite being just a proverbial stone’s throw apart. As it happens we are to see this with our own eyes, touring the “dark side” by road on day one, then exploring the eastern coast by boat under glorious blue skies on day two. 

Near Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Near Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

The day one road trip is utterly spectacular, up over the steep backbone mountains on roads which are so twisty that you could call them coiled, massive views across big country at every turn. Down from those, the quaint little town of Takaka calls us in for lunch before we head along the unusual, winding coast, stopping regularly to investigate the more intriguing corners on foot. (Incidentally, this means that in just over twelve months we’ve visited Takaka, Carcar and Lake Titicaca. Amused? Well I am). 

Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

Birds are everywhere, including the Australasian Swamp Hen or pūkeko hanging around in the moist meadows in such great numbers that squabbles are commonplace, and the weka which is obviously a wannabe kiwi, though unfortunately we don’t catch a glimpse of the blue penguins which frequent these parts – and even have their own road crossings. We do though follow a trail up into the woodlands to the Wainui Falls which, deep into the mountainside greenery, have a certain mystical quality, kind of a fairy tale waterfall where nymphs could easily be drifting above the pool while elves dance beneath the drooping fronds of the giant ferns. Does evil dwell somewhere beneath the dark turbulent waters, or do the elves and fairies live a life of peace and tranquility?

Australaisian Swamp Hen
Swamp Hen
Weka bird
Weka
Penguins crossing Sign Near Abel Tasman New Zealand
No penguins today
Wainui falls Abel Tasman New Zealand
Wainui Falls

Driving back over the mountains is almost as mysterious as ahead of us a white curtain hides the next mountain and completely swallows the valley below. Climbing the twisting road we enter the strange world of the cloud, we are so high now that we have risen some distance above the cloud line, driving the Hyundai through a white cloak as thick as a winter fog. Aircraft pilots have help with such things, for us it’s a matter of vigilance as we negotiate multiple tight bends in reduced visibility, enveloped by an unforgiving whiteness which blocks out all but the fifty yards ahead. Driving the Hyundai through the clouds.

Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

Day two, on board the tour boat, could not be more of an antithesis to yesterday, wonderfully clear blue skies and a tanning sun opening up the stunning coastline to reveal its excessive beauty. Huge golden beaches and deep blue sea, forested hillsides sweeping down to the sand, gentle waves lapping almost deserted shores, then dramatically eroded rocks, tiny islands sprouting stunted trees, a wide inlet which becomes improbably dry for an hour or two when the tide recedes.

Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

Here a remarkable rock known as The Split Apple, there a driftwood strewn beach accessible only by boat. Gulls dive in to the water to catch fishy snacks, herons marshal the shoreline, pied shags fool us for a moment into thinking they are the elusive penguins, stingrays glide beneath our boat in the shallows, yet the absolute star of the whole show is the scenery itself, the verdant hillsides protecting the gold and the blue, every cove displaying an air of secrecy and solitude. This is truly beautiful coastline.

Split Apple Rock Abel Tasman New Zealand
Split Apple Rock
White faced Heron in Abel Tasman
White-faced Heron
Pied Shags in Abel Tasman
Pied shag or penguin?
White-faced Heron
White-faced Heron
Stingrays
Stingrays
Pied Shag with. Chick in nest
Pied Shag with chick

Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

Our boat trip starts and ends at Kaiteriteri where the offices for boat trips and kayaking, the cafes spawned by same, and the large dusty car park and overnight camper van plots still can’t detract from this splendid and beautiful corner of the world. It’s stunning. All of it.

Kaiteriteri, boat trips to Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

Towns around here are really too small to justify that name, more like villages with an activity vein. Our own town of Motueka boasts just one main street with limited facilities and a modest grid of homesteads and second homes, but town isn’t what anybody comes here for and everything is over and done by 9pm. The draw of Abel Tasman is not its towns, splendid as they are, and certainly not its nightlife, but its wonderful, largely unspoilt scenery, and for that you simply couldn’t ask for more.

Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman

March 22nd, it’s Spring now back home, the daffodils will be painting gardens with splashes of yellow and the buds on the bluebells will be tinted with the faintest of blue brushstrokes. Here though in Aotearoa New Zealand autumn is just around the corner and there are hints of russet among the green leaves, pine cones are dropping to the ground and there’s a definite chill in the evening air. We must continue our journey south, towards the exciting places yet to come and towards the Easter wedding which awaits.

Time to hit the highway once more.

Abel Tasman New Zealand
Abel Tasman
Shipwreck near Motueka

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