New Zealand

New Zealand: Abel Tasman and the Marlborough Sounds

The country's smallest and sunniest national park, then a maze of drowned valleys carved into the rock

New Zealand

New Zealand: Abel Tasman and the Marlborough Sounds

A journey to the top of the South Island, far from Queenstown and Fiordland: Abel Tasman National Park, the country's smallest and sunniest, whose golden-sand beaches and forest-lined coves are best explored by sea kayak, then the Marlborough Sounds, a network of valleys drowned by rising seas thousands of years ago, now a labyrinth of calm bays suited to sailing and tasting the region's wines.

When

Dec to March

Price

From 3 300€ excl. flights

(based on 2 people sharing)

How long

6 nights

Ideal length

Abel Tasman National Park

Days 1-2

The first chapter unfolds at Abel Tasman, New Zealand's smallest national park but also one of its sunniest thanks to its sheltered position at the top of the South Island. Its golden-sand beaches, separated from one another by wooded headlands and reachable only by boat, on foot, or by sea kayak, stretch over fifty kilometres of preserved coastline, long used by Māori for fishing before becoming a protected nature sanctuary in 1942.

Day 1

Sea kayaking along the golden beaches

A sea kayaking outing along the Abel Tasman coast, between golden-sand beaches and secluded coves, with a chance to spot fur seals on the rocks.

Day 2

A hike along the coastal track

A hike along a stretch of the Abel Tasman Coast Track, one of New Zealand's nine official Great Walks, through native forest and deserted beaches.

1 / 3

The Marlborough Sounds

Days 1-2

The road to the Marlborough Sounds, a labyrinthine network of river valleys drowned by rising seas around ten thousand years ago, forming today nearly fifteen hundred kilometres of jagged coastline accessible almost exclusively by boat. The region is also home to the Marlborough vineyards, the first in the country to plant sauvignon blanc in the 1970s, now recognised as one of the world's benchmarks for the variety.

Day 1

A cruise through the drowned bays

A boat cruise through the Marlborough Sounds, among calm bays and wooded peninsulas, with a stop at a local green-lipped mussel farm.

Day 2

A tasting in the Marlborough vineyards

A visit to a Marlborough winery, the pioneering region of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, a guided tasting with a local winemaker facing the vine-covered hills.