The hook
The upper South Island's contrasts: a golden-sand coastal track winding past turquoise bays perfect for kayaking, and, over the mountains on the wild west coast, glaciers that flow down through rainforest almost to the sea.
01Why it's worth it
The top of New Zealand's South Island offers two very different but equally memorable experiences. At its sunny northern tip, Abel Tasman National Park is the country's most beloved coastal walk: the Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of the Great Walks, meanders for several days along a shoreline of golden-sand beaches, granite headlands, and clear turquoise coves fringed by native forest, an unusually gentle and gorgeous walk that can also be explored by sea kayak, camping or lodging along the way, with fur seals and little blue penguins about. Cross the Southern Alps to the rugged, rainforest-cloaked West Coast, and the landscape turns wild and dramatic: here the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers flow down from the high ice fields through temperate rainforest to remarkably low elevations, a rare meeting of ice and lush green, where you can walk to viewpoints, hike onto the ice with guides, or take a helicopter to the pristine upper glacier. The West Coast adds pancake rocks, wild surf beaches, and glowworm-lit forests. Between the golden coastal track and the glacier country, the upper South Island showcases New Zealand's astonishing scenic range.
02How to experience it
Walk (or kayak) the Abel Tasman Coast Track for the beaches and coves, doing a day section or the multi-day Great Walk. Then cross to the West Coast for the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, with valley walks to the viewpoints or a guided ice-walk or helicopter tour. Summer is best for the coast; the glaciers are year-round.
From the locals
The instruction is consistent and specific: "go kayaking in the Abel Tasman national park." Kiwis route the whole trip around it — "you can do an amazing road trip from Abel Tasman and down the west coast, seeing places like Arthur's Pass, Fox Glacier, and Wanaka in the mountains" — which is exactly the stretch this pin covers.