Three weeks in New Zealand - 4/12 - 5/4/2024

Day 13-Bark Bay, Abel Tasman National Park- 4/22/2024

We were supposed to follow the trail leading to the Falls River Bridge but we saw a split in the trail with one path leading up to the bridge, which is a longer inland detour through the forest, and while the other alternative drips down toward the coast, so we decided to take the short cut.

As we are going through the lower path se saw Bark Beach right in front of us and we knew right away, we are going to struggle to get to the other side of the the bay.

I found out later that this path is an alternate route that is only available to cross when the tide is low. At high tide, it is submerged under water.

However, this lower path winds along the rocky coastline, and during low tide, it’s safe and accessible but you definitely have to climb and cross these huge boulders.

We did not realized that this path was a lot rougher than what we originally thought it would be.

We had to scramble over slippery rocks which we did not anticipate.

We did not have the right shoes to climb these boulders but we had no choice as we choose this path, and we definitely did not want to go back and take the long path.

This path was a lot more adventurous route, that's for sure.

While it's not as high or panoramic as the main inland trail, it brought us right down near the waterline, giving a totally different perspective of the coast and it gave us a sense of discovery, as we work our way around into Bark Bay

After the boulders, we were glad to see white sand beach.

Straight ahead is Bark Bay and there are a lot of tidal pool we need to cross to get over to our destination.

We did not want our shoes and feet to get wet so Hoa found a branch and used it to cross the tidal pool.

Hoa dragging the branch so we can walk over it and cross another puddle.

This tidal pool is too deep so we just removed our shoes to cross it.

The water is crystal clear.

Hoa's turn to take my pictures as I was crossing...

This is a low tide and the water retrieved, a high tide this area is under water as you can see the marks of the sand.

We made it!  It was such an adventure that we did not anticipate and we are so glad we experience it.

More tidal pools around this area.

We have reached Bark Bay.

At Bark Bay, seeing people out on kayak is a classic part of the Abel Tasman experience. The sheltered bay, with its calm, clear water and golden beaches, is one of the most popular spots for kayaking in the national park.

From the beach, we saw brightly colored sea kayak gliding across the water,

We are now resting at the beach and enjoying the view of the bay.

NEXT... Medlands Beach