Nelson to Golden Bay

Dogs on this trip. Dogs are banned outright on every track and beach inside Abel Tasman National Park, so Marahau is as close as they get, never cross the park boundary. Everywhere else on this route welcomes them. In Nelson the eastern two thirds of Tahunanui Main Beach is no dogs year round under the city's Dog Control Policy 2020, and the western end and the Back Beach are set aside for dogs, so head west along the sand. Golden Bay beaches such as Pohara sit under the Tasman District bylaw with their own restrictions, so read the signage there. On the Motueka estuary keep them close for nesting shorebirds, and check DOC alerts for 1080 or pindone poison operations before any bush track.