Totaranui Campground

Totaranui is the big one — a sprawling DOC campground behind one of Abel Tasman's golden beaches, reached by a winding gravel road through the hills from Tākaka. It's the northern gateway to the Coast Track and a launch point for kayaking the golden bays.

Summer here books out months ahead and is balloted, so plan early. Outside peak season it's quieter and easier. Either way you get warm swimming, coastal walks and native bush off the campground.

The gravel road in from Tākaka climbs over Tākaka Hill and then drops through a series of tight bends — it is sealed most of the way but the last stretch is not, and it is slow in a camper. Allow an hour and a half from Tākaka and do not attempt it in the dark. Once there, the water taxis to the rest of the park leave from the beach in front of the campground.