Kaiteriteri

Kaiteriteri is the main departure beach for the Abel Tasman, and it is a beach settlement rather than a town — around 460 residents, and a commercial life that is essentially the Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve, which runs the campground, the store, the café and the restaurant. Set your expectations accordingly. There is a convenience store open 8am to 5pm, a handful of places to eat, self-serve fuel in the south car park and EV charging, but no supermarket, no bank and no medical services. Motueka, 20 minutes and 14 kilometres away, is the nearest town for anything else.

Water taxis and cruises leave from the beach here, and the season is real. One major operator suspends its Kaiteriteri pick-ups and drop-offs entirely from 1 May to 30 September, sending winter passengers to Mārahau instead, and the connecting bus between the two settlements runs only from mid-October to the end of April.

Parking is charged at $10 a day between 18 December and 9 February, and free the rest of the year. Between December and March, allow up to half an hour to find a space and another twenty minutes to walk back to your boat check-in. The car parks are not gated or monitored, so take valuables with you.

Behind the beach, the Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park has more than 70 kilometres of trail across 40 runs, graded easy through expert, and is free to ride. Bike hire is not on site.