Headlands Track
WalkTasmanOpen
- Grade
- Easy
- Walking time
- 1 hr
- Distance
- 1.6 km
- Dogs
- No dogs
Getting there
We have not checked a road end or car park for this place yet, so we do not give driving directions to it. Check how to get there before you go. Some routes cross private land and need the landowner's permission.
How to get there, on doc.govt.nzNelson to Tōtaranui is about two and a half hours. Take SH6 south out of Nelson and turn onto SH60 (the Coastal Highway) once past Richmond. Follow SH60 over the Takaka Hill to Takaka.
From Takaka follow signs to Pohara and Tata Beach, which will lead you past the Abel Tasman Memorial and onto Tōtaranui. The last 12 km is a narrow, winding, unsealed road.
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Map
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Topo map: LINZ, CC BY 4.0. 40.81441° S, 173.00462° E
About this place
There are great views on this walk above Tōtaranui beach.
The route
From Tōtaranui, follow the Coast Track north up Anapai Hill. After a short climb, the Headlands Track will branch off to your right. It will take you on loop around the ridge above Tōtaranui. There are lovely views of the bay in gaps between vegetation. The track connects with the Pukatea Walk at the bottom of the hill. Follow it back to the Coast Track. Like other walks in the Tōtaranui area, Headlands Track is largely an introduction to dramatic changes in vegetation as fertility, slope, aspect and damage from past fires all have some influence on the state of the present plant cover. Extensive die-back of beech trees has now resulted in dense pockets of regeneration, particularly along infertile ridges where drought stress on the vegetation can be severe. On better soils the forest grows taller and beech is joined by northern rātā, massive and intertwined.
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Know before you go
Wasps
Wasps are a possible hazard and are more common from December until April. Carry antihistamine if you are allergic to their stings.
Rubbish
Day visitors must take out their own rubbish.
Giardia
Giardia has been found in some park waters. It can be removed from drinking water by boiling, filtering or chemical treatment. All tap water at Tōtaranui is filtered.
Source: DOC Te Papa Atawhai.
Nearby stops
Tōtaranui Campground
Great Walk • Tasman • 0.5 km
Tōtaranui Campground is a beachside campsite at the northern end of the Abel Tasman National Park, situated next to clear waters and golden sands. It is…
Boat launching • Fire pit/place for campfires (except in fire bans) • Dump station
Anapai Bay campsite
Great Walk • Tasman • 1.3 km
Anapai Bay is a beachside campsite located on the Waiharakeke to Whariwharangi section of the Abel Tasman Coast Track. It is accessible only by walking or…
Non-powered/tent sites • Toilets - flush • Water from tap - not treated, boil before use
Mutton Cove campsite
Great Walk • Tasman • 2.8 km
Mutton Cove campsite is a beachside campsite on the Waiharakeke to Whariwharangi section of the Abel Tasman Coast Track. It is accessible by walk-in or…
Fire pit/place for campfires (except in fire bans) • Non-powered/tent sites • Toilets - flush
Whariwharangi Bay campsite
Great Walk • Tasman • 3.8 km
Whariwharangi Bay campsite is located on the Waiharakeke to Whariwharangi section of the Abel Tasman Coast Track in the Tasman region. Access is by walking or…
Fire pit/place for campfires (except in fire bans) • Non-powered/tent sites • Toilets - flush
Whariwharangi Hut
Great Walk • 20 bunks • Tasman • 3.8 km
Whariwharangi Hut is the most northern Great Walk Hut on the Abel Tasman Track, located in a grassy clearing within regenerating bush. Built around 1896 and…
Heating • Mattresses • Toilets - flush
Walks nearby
Pukatea Walk
Easy • 30 min return via same track • 0.8 km • 0.08 km away
Tōtaranui to Anapai Bay
Intermediate • 2 hr return via same track • 4.2 km • 1.27 km away
Gibbs Hill to Whariwharangi Bay Loop Track
Advanced • 5 hr 30 min loop • 18.3 km • 2.02 km away
Gibbs Hill Track
Advanced • 2.71 km away
Tōtaranui to Awaroa Bay
Intermediate • 2 hr one way • 7 km (tidal) • 2.95 km away
Notes from people who have been
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Sources
- DOC Tracks & Trails · CC BY 4.0Data sourced from the Department of Conservation (DOC), New Zealand.
- DOC Tracks (API) · CC BY 4.0Crown Copyright: Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai. Data sourced from the DOC Developer Portal (api.doc.govt.nz).