Anchorage is the first major bay on the Abel Tasman Coast Track out of Marahau, reached after 12.4 km and roughly 4 hours of walking from the park's southern entrance. The name comes straight from the geography: the bay is well sheltered by headlands to the north and south, making it a safe natural anchorage for boats. Its golden sand forms a broad, calm arc, and just south of it lies Te Pukatea Bay, a smaller, equally golden crescent-shaped cove.
Anchorage is also a scheduled water taxi stop, which makes it one of the busiest spots in the park in summer, with boats dropping off day walkers and picking up kayaks. For visitors who want to combine walking and water without covering the full track from Marahau, the Water taxi & coastal walk to Anchorage activity is the most direct route in — a water taxi to Bark Bay followed by about 3.5 hours of coastal walking.
Overnight options are run by the Department of Conservation: Anchorage Hut, a 34-bunk Great Walk hut (no gas cooking or lighting, so bring a stove and candles), and Anchorage Campsite, 50 non-powered tent sites reachable only on foot or by boat, with no drive-on access. The campsite gets good winter sun, has a fireplace and hand-washing sinks, and is busiest with school groups in November and from mid-February to April. Both require booking year-round.
At low tide, walkers can cross the tidal estuary directly to Torrent Bay in around 20 minutes; at high tide the track detours around the inlet, adding roughly an hour to an hour and a half. Continuing north along the coast, the track reaches Bark Bay — 8.4 km via the low-tide crossing or 11.5 km via the high-tide route, the latter crossing a 47-metre suspension bridge over the Falls River.
At the northern end of the bay, small caves are home to glow worms and cave wētā, native New Zealand insects, and the Pitt Head Loop Track climbs to a short lookout over the bay. By kayak, the classic route paddles from Marahau to Anchorage and back on foot, or continues north along the coast.
Abel Tasman National Park, at 237.1 km², is New Zealand's smallest national park, occupying the northern tip of the South Island between Golden Bay and Tasman Bay. It was established on 18 December 1942 to mark the 300th anniversary of Abel Tasman's 1642 sighting of the islands, though Māori communities had lived in the area for roughly 700 years before that. The sea-carved granite cliffs that define much of the park's coastline — visible, for instance, at Split Apple Rock (Tokangawhā), a Cretaceous-age granite boulder split clean in two near Kaiteriteri, close to the park entrance — set the geological tone for this coast. Offshore, the Tonga Island Marine Reserve protects the waters around the park's islands, which are free of introduced mammalian predators. Further north along the same track lies Awaroa Beach, an 800-metre stretch of sand bought for the public by nearly 40,000 New Zealanders in 2016, next to which sits Awaroa Lodge, a remote eco-lodge with a restaurant, bar and pizzeria.
The park has a mild climate, with summer (January–February) daytime highs averaging around 22.5°C. It's busiest between October and April; outside that window, hut and campsite rates drop and water-taxi traffic eases.
There's no road access. Options are walking 12.4 km (about 4h) along the Abel Tasman Coast Track from Marahau, taking a water taxi (Anchorage is a scheduled stop), or kayaking in from Marahau.
The Department of Conservation runs Anchorage Hut (34 bunks, Great Walk category, no gas or lighting) and Anchorage Campsite (50 tent sites, no drive-on access). Both require booking year-round.
Yes, at low tide, crossing the tidal estuary directly in around 20 minutes. At high tide the track detours around the inlet, adding roughly an hour to an hour and a half.
The park is busiest between October and April, with summer (January–February) daytime highs averaging around 22.5°C. Outside that window, hut and campsite rates drop and there's less water-taxi traffic.
Real historical monthly sea temperature averages.
