Pōhara

Pōhara is the beach settlement closest to Tākaka, about nine kilometres out along Abel Tasman Drive. Around 630 people live here year-round; between Christmas and New Year the settlement can see up to 700 visitors a day, which is the clearest possible statement of what kind of place it is. The holiday park on the beachfront describes mid-April to mid-October as its quiet season.

The road matters as much as the beach. Abel Tasman Drive continues past Pōhara to Ligar Bay and Tata Beach, and on to Tōtaranui at the top of the Abel Tasman — 32 kilometres from Tākaka, the last 12 of them narrow, winding and unsealed. Wainui, the walk-in northern trailhead for the Coast Track, is 21 kilometres from Tākaka on the same side of the Bay.

Just along the coast is Port Tarakohe, the council-owned harbour and marina. A $12.7 million upgrade completed in 2025 gave it a new wharf, an extended breakwater and new commercial berths, and it is now the region's only all-tide, all-weather deep-water port — which also makes it Golden Bay's backup supply route on the days State Highway 60 over Tākaka Hill is closed.