A long stretch of beach at Anchorage Bay – the location of the first hut on the walk. Photo: Matthew Cattin

Abel Tasman Coast Track: Walk, swim, repeat

Abel Tasman Coast Track, Features, Great Walks

A long-time Wilderness contributor and freelance author, Kathy writes about outdoor recreation, natural history and conservation.

By Kathy Ombler

There’s no walk quite like the Abel Tasman Coast Track and despite its popularity, there are plenty of quiet spots to discover, writes Kathy Ombler

“Aqua (water colour). Bellbird. Canuka?” My daughter and I grinned, but had to concede kānuka starts with a K. We were playing ‘the alphabet game’, you know, find something starting with A, B, C, etc, as we walked from Onetahuti to Bark Bay. She was 10 at the time. Dad and big sister had gone […]

About the author

Kathy Ombler

Freelance author Kathy Ombler mostly writes about outdoor recreation, natural history and conservation, and has contributed to Wilderness for many years. She has also written and edited for other publications and websites, most recently Federated Mountain Club’s Backcountry, Forest & Bird, and the Backcountry Trust. Books she has authored include Where to Watch Birds in New Zealand, Walking Wellington and New Zealand National Parks and Other Wild Places. She is currently a trustee for Wellington’s Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush Trust.