A weekend adventure with a Brief Encounter in the Abel Tasman National Park

Starting from Tata Beach, the Northern end of the Abel Tasman National Park and finishing at Totaranui Campground.

A weekend away or maybe a quick trip to experience the best of what the Abel Tasman National Park has to offer, the Abel Tasman Brief Encounter is perfect.

Starting your adventure from Tata Beach, Golden Bay. The beautiful Tata Islands is the backdrop as you pack your kayak. Ecologically the most important islands in the Abel Tasman National Park and are home to some our nationally rare and endangered species.

There are a number of places to stay on the way….Wharawharangi is the first of the official campsites in the Northern end of the Abel Tasman. There is a homestead which was built around 1896 by Handcock family and was renovated in the 1980’s. There is also camping available here too.

A short paddle around Separation point is Mutton Cove. At this stunning campsite, evidence of what was once a small farm still exists, the old homestead that once stood here and the old man pines which are testament to our pioneer families that lived here.

Camping under the native Kanuka trees is Anapai bay. A blanket of virgin native bush wraps itself around Anapai, a magical place that holds a lot of history and one of the few places in the Abel Tasman where you can experience the bush before as it has been for many hundreds of years.

The brief encounter with the Abel Tasman National Park ends at the Tōtaranui campground and this is where we come to pick you and your sea kayak up. If you are wanting a true experience of the Northern end of the Abel Tasman National Park, we can bring your hiking gear over and you can walk back to the Wainui Carpark.