Nelson is located on the Tasman Bay in the far north of New Zealand’s South Island. With a little over 50,000 people living there, it is a similar size city to Invercargill in the south. The city of Nelson is home to the Centre of New Zealand Monument, Pic’s Peanut Butter World, and the Jens Hansen Jeweler (maker of the One Ring for Lord of the Rings). Many people are drawn to Nelson so they can visit the national parks that are only a little more than an hour drive from the city such as Abel Tasman, Nelson Lakes, and Kahurangi. New Zealand’s biggest wine region, Marlborough, is also only an hour and half drive from Nelson in the direction of Picton, where the ferry departs to pass the Cook Straight to New Zealand’s North Island. Many people choose to spend a night or two visiting the Marlborough wineries that are renowned for their world class Sauvignon Blanc wine before heading back to Wellington or prior to departing on their South Island adventure.
Destination Overview
Abel Tasman and Marlborough Wine Region
After a long drive through the West Coast of New Zealand, it was nice to go for a sunset hike to the Centre of New Zealand Monument and walk around the charming town of Nelson. We soon would be heading to visit our last national park on the South Island, but our schedule only allowed us to visit one of the popular national parks in the area. We chose Abel Tasman National Park because it offered access to stunning coastal beaches along crystal clear water in the Tasman Sea. The weather forecast looked very warm for our stay, and we were excited to spend time swimming in warmer water temperatures than while we were in the Southern Alps.
Overall the time passed by fast during our road trip around the South Island, and there were so many great memories from the wonderful nature activities. We wanted to celebrate the end to this part of the journey and it worked out perfectly to spend a night in the Marlborough Wine Region before taking the ferry to Wellington for the start of our North Island adventure. There were so many great wineries to choose from but eventually identified a few that would be a great way to toast the completion of our time on New Zealand’s South Island.
Where to Read More
How to Spend 2 Days Exploring Abel Tasman National Park
A customizable itinerary to best explore Abel Tasman National Park throughout a weekend, either by hiking, kayaking, sun bathing, or all three.
An Interesting Fact
New Zealand is a World Class Wine Producer
New Zealand has numerous wine regions throughout the country with the most popular being the Central Otago, Marlborough, and Hawkes Bay regions. However, wine is produced in Martinborough, Canterbury, Auckland, and other regions of New Zealand as well. We had some exposure to New Zealand’s most famous wine, Sauvignon Blanc, from bottles we had tried in the United States. We also were able to sample New Zealand’s second-most famous wine variety, Pinot Noir, during our time in the Central Otago Wine Region outside of Queenstown. These experiences made us excited to visit the Marlborough wine region which is New Zealand’s biggest and most well known.
Overall New Zealand doesn’t produce a large volume compared to countries like France, Italy, Spain, or the United States. However, the quality is high resulting in international markets such as Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom purchasing nearly 90% of the total wine produced in New Zealand. For those living in or visiting New Zealand, it is a great opportunity to visit these producers to try the wine from the source and prior to export pricing. While the wine industry has been around in New Zealand since the 1900s, it wasn’t until the 1970s that it began to gain notoriety for its excellence. In 1985, Cloudy Bay Vineyards received international acclaim for having what some considered the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc. Since that point in time, the industry has continued to grow and be recognized for its excellence in Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and more.
During our visit to Marlborough, we made a tasting reservation at Cloud Bay Vineyards to experience first hand its world famous Sauvignon Blanc. Walking up to the tasting room was impressive, and we immediately felt the prestige of the brand. The tasting occurs in a gorgeous wood room with views into the area that holds the wine barrels and outside to the adjacent restaurant. While at times it can be difficult for us to tell the exact difference between wine in a vacuum, the tasting put different vintages of the same type of wine side by side which helped us better understand what we liked or didn’t. After the tasting we walked over to the restaurant and relaxed in the gorgeous back yard area, which had various places to sit. We ordered a small dessert and took in the beautiful sunny New Zealand weather. The visit to Cloudy Bay reinforced New Zealand’s reputation of producing great wine and it will be a brand we continue to seek out for Sauvignon Blanc purchases in the future.
Travel Tip of the Week
Visit Abel Tasman National Park by Land and Sea
Abel Tasman National Park is famous for its sandy beaches and coastal hiking trails along the Tasman Sea. It is home to the Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of New Zealand’s 11 Great Walks, which is a trail about 37 miles (60 km) along the coastline in the park. Similar to other Great Walks in New Zealand, there are huts located throughout the park that make for a seamless experience for those completing the entire track or those that do a few consecutive days of it. Like the other Great Walks, it can be difficult to book consecutive lodging during the peak season. Luckily for those interested in experiencing portions of the hike through day trips, the town of Mārahau offers boat shuttles into various parts of the park and pick-ups from those same destinations throughout the day. Additionally, there are organized tours that will take visitors to parts of the park with a kayak for a paddling experience and then allow for you to walk back on another part of the trail.
On our first day in the park we decided to complete the first section of the Abel Tasman Coast Track, which can be accessed from the town of Mārahau by foot. However, if you choose to hike into the park you will end up being constrained by the time of the boat shuttle you have to take back from the Anchorage Hut area. We decided to take the boat shuttle out to Anchorage in the morning, so we could enjoy the beautiful beaches as long as we wanted along the nearly 8 mile (13 km) return journey. Te Pukatea Bay was a short walk from the boat drop off point so we walked over to it before starting on the official trail. The contrast of the golden sand with the turquoise water and lush forests was spectacular. There was only 1 family on the beach, and we could have stayed the whole day there to relax but had a long way to go back to town. We continued on our way uphill for some time, enjoying the gorgeous views of the sparkling sea, perfect beaches, and green forests below. Eventually we decided to hike down to the Observation Beach for a swim to cool off. There were a few other people that had kayaked out to the beach from town but there was plenty of space to fully relax in peace. Again we could have stayed the whole day here, but needed to continue on. The remainder of the walk was a combination of incredible lookouts, sandy beaches, and forest trails before making our way back into the town of Mārahau.
The next day in the park we decided to participate in a combination kayak and hike experience with Mārahau Sea Kayaks. They took us by boat to Onetahuti which was much deeper into Abel Tasman National Park than the prior day. From there we kayaked to the Tonga Island Marine Reserve and saw some of the protected wildlife. On our way to Bark Bay, we paddled through some of the most beautiful turquoise water we have ever seen and stopped at unique rock formations before having a peaceful lunch to ourselves in Mosquito Bay. Upon arriving at Bark Bay our kayaks were collected, and we had a similar length hike to the prior day hike of nearly 8 miles (13 km) to Anchorage where we would take the last shuttle boat back to Mārahau. The hike itself was similar scenery to the day prior without as many opportunities to relax at the hidden beaches below due to the time constraint of catching the shuttle. We did have the chance to pass over the Falls River Swing Bridge and towards the end of the hike were treated to postcard views of Torrent Bay which is home to some of the only private residences in the park. Since it was low tide we were able to take a small shortcut which left us with plenty of time for a cool down swim in Anchorage Bay. Taking the shuttle back to Mārahau, we passed by all of the beaches we walked by the day prior and provided another perspective to the gorgeous coast lines of Abel Tasman National Park.
