The Tramping Life

Abel Tasman Inland Track

• Jonty • Episode 30

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In this episode of The Tramping Life, I take on the lesser-known Abel Tasman Inland Track, a 41km route through the forested spine of Abel Tasman National Park.

While most walkers stick to the iconic Coast Track, this route heads inland—climbing to nearly 900 metres near Gibbs Hill and offering a much tougher, quieter alternative. It’s steeper, rougher, and far less scenic, but delivers something increasingly rare in New Zealand’s Great Walk network: solitude.

I share my experience of pushing the track over two days instead of the usual three, dealing with relentless tree roots, mud, and long stretches without views. From the steady climb out of Marahau, to the tough middle section between Holyoake Clearing and Castle Rock Hut, through to a late arrival at Awapoto Hut and an early morning push over Pigeon Saddle, this is a very different side of Abel Tasman.

We talk about:

  • What the Inland Track is really like compared to the Coast Track
  • Whether it’s worth doing (and who it’s actually for)
  • The physical demands, terrain, and hut experience
  • Practical tips for planning, including transport and logistics

This is a track that divides opinion. It’s a solid workout and a chance to experience real quiet in a busy park—but it’s not one for views. If you’re curious about going beyond the beaches of Abel Tasman, this episode will help you decide if the Inland Track is worth your time.

Jonty

Today we're heading to an often overlooked tramp in our most popular national park, Abel Tasman. Let's talk about the Abel Tasman Inland Track,

Peter

So

Jonty

Kira and welcome to the Tramping Life, a podcast about hiking in RO New Zealand, or as we call it here, tramping. I'm ch and in this episode I'll talk about a specific track or hut. I'll give an overview and share my experience along with the highlights and some practical advice. The Abel Tasman Inland Track is a 41 kilometer tramp through the interior of Abel Tasman National Park typically walked over two to three days. It can be combined with a much more popular coast track for a full circuit of the park. As the name suggests, this track stays inland along the forester's spine of the National Park. it climbs steadily to around 900 meters above sea level, near Gibbs Hill, the highest point in the park. It's rougher, steeper, and more physically demanding than the coast Track, and it offers quite a different experience away from the great. Day one from Marjo to Castle Rock Hut is five and a half hours and 15 kilometers. From Mara Ho, the tramp follows the coast track to tin Line Bay. Here the inland track begins climbing steadily away from the coast and then steeply through regenerating forest. After two and a half hours, holy oak clearing is reached. There's acute two bunk shelter above the clearing, the track enters forest and continues climbing to the eight bunk Castle Rock Hut. This sits near Rock outcrops with wide views of the Marjo Valley and Tasman Bay. Day two is from Castle Rock Hut to Ana Boto Hu Hut, which is six hours and 13 K. This is the day of undulating terrain through Bush with some views, lookouts, Including Porter Rock. It's a couple of hours to the Heritage Mo Park Shelter. Anna Port Hut is a 12 bunk gem of a hut with attractive views. Day three takes you from there to Nui Car Park via pigeon Saddle, five and a half hours, 13 k. This involves heading up Gibbs Hill for the best views of the whole park. Has then the tracked ASC descends to rejoin the Coast Track and then onto Car Park. I walked it a while ago now, but I still remember it particularly for the tree roots. If you like tree roots and the good workout but aren't too interested in views, this is the track for you. Rather than hug the coast, it heads up and over the Tasman mountains, a more direct but tougher route. I did push things though by walking it over two rather than more usual three days. It's far less busy than the coast track. Even at the start of December, I saw no one on the track in 10 hours of walking and only a couple of people at the huts. This is for two good reasons though. Firstly, it's much harder than the coast track, despite being 14 kilometers shorter, the track climbs over a thousand meters compared with around 200 meters on the coastal track, and the path mainly consists of tree roots and mud. Secondly, it's nowhere near as scenic with few views other than at the start and end went on section shared with the coast track. I started the track from Marjo and shared the coastal track for the first half an hour around Tin Line Bay. It's obvious when you start the inland track itself as the path halves and width and heads uphill continuously for the next near six kilometers, with the occasional stunning view back reminding you of why you're doing this. Unfortunately, there weren't many more of these views for the next eight hours. The Holyoke Clearing Shelter made a good lunch stop and there's a couple of mattresses inside, so you could stay the night. I had much further to go though before being able to sleep further than I really appreciated at the time. Six and a half K to Casta Rocks was far harder. Gnarly tree roots everywhere and zero views other than endless bush. There was a small obstacle. Soon after leaving the shelter in the form of a massive tree trunk across the track, which required a bit of scrambling around Casta Rocks Hut was the perfect place for a much needed rest. Setting in a nice clearing was small but tidy inside, and I had to force myself on as I had another 13 kilometers to go, and it was already 4:00 PM. comments in the Hut Visitor book. Recommended the short side trip to Porter Rock, which helped me get my bearings and appreciate the scale of the forest around me, as did a viewpoint a little bit further along the track. Moer Park Shelter is an old school hut set in a brief respite from Bush. Although the interior had clearly seen better days between here and the hut was a huge amount of devastation from numerous storms over the years resulting in many fell trees despite their enormous roots. Anna Potto Hut was a very welcome site, which I reached at 8:30 PM just before the sunset. I wasn't in the hut for long though as I had a 5:45 AM start the next day to finish the track in order to meet with my transport the five kilometer to Pigeon Saddle was mostly more scrambling up and over tree route. Covered Hillside, although there were some welcome views, the final eight kilometer stretch to Wui was far easier. Thankfully, mainly as it rejoined the coast track. Just after Gibbs Hill, hill offered panoramic views, but better we're had heading down towards Nui. Were an early lunch at 11:00 AM and a three hour bus journey back to Nelson Airport Beckon. There were more impressive views from the bus than the track as it headed over. Tart Hill. Inland Track is certainly a good workout, particularly pushing yourself to in two rather than three days, but it was one of the less interesting trumps I've done. The Coast Track shows able Tasman National Park at its best. Just avoid doing it over the summer months when it's sworn with people. There were a few highlights of the inland track, mainly the contrast with the coast. Whilst most visitors to able Tasman stick to the beaches and water taxis, this track offered long stretches of quiet bush walking. It offered a sense of solitude and a busy national park with a huge contrast between the coast and inland track in terms of number of walkers. And finally, the huts all have character and a diverse in size and design. to finish with some practical advice. None of the huts require booking, which is becoming a rarity, but during popular times of the year, it would be wise to carry a tent. This isn't a loop track, so plan how you'll get back, although as it starts and finishes at the same places as the full version of the coast track, there are many shuttle options finally, this is much more of a tramp than the coast Tracks come prepared for decent climbs and slippery tree route. Hiking poles are recommended.

Peter

So

Speaker

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