Harwoods Hole - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
A moderately easy 1.5 hour 5.8 km return walk to the 176 metre deep Harwoods Hole. A 20 minute 700 metre side route leads to Gorge Creek Lookout. In places the track is extremely rocky and uneven underfoot. There are no handrails and we can't see right down into the hole - and it's scary watching other people trying to get closer to the edge.
Map Data: Google, Digital Globe, Department of Conservation (DOC).

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HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Harwoods Hole is a very dangerous place. Children need to be supervised. Only experienced cavers should enter the hole and they must know the Harwoods Hole and Starlight Cave guidelines. As long as we are sensible and don't go too close to the edge, this is a beautiful and rather spectacular walk.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
This is a sinkhole - a cavity in the ground, especially in a limestone formation, caused by water erosion and providing a route for surface water to disappear underground. (Thanks, Wikipedia). There are plenty of sinkholes on this walk. Harwoods Hole itself is a sinkhole.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
And then we come to this beautiful sinkhole... Wow.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Now the going gets rocky...

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
...And where there aren't rocks, there's tree roots. And where there aren't tree roots, there's mud. So, this is what a lot of the track looks like - a big mud puddle and a way or two around it. We'll... Go... Hmmm... Straight through the muddiest bit. The mud wasn't soft - so, no problem.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Now, after about half an hour, we come to this intersection. 15 minutes, 400 metres to Harwoods Hole. 10 minutes, 350 metres to Gorge Creek Lookout.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Back to the rocks...

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Wow... See how deep Harwoods Hole is compared to how wide it is..? Think about that when we see in the photos coming up.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
When we get to this pile of absolutely huge rocks, we're nearly there. From this distance, we can hear distant echoing voices saying, "That's a big hole..."

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
We clamber over huge rocks which all seem to slope towards the gigantic gaping mouth of Harwoods Hole.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Rather than go straight towards the hole, it is a little easier to climb up past this tree (and away from the hole). Look at the way the limestone around the tree roots has eroded with water runing across it.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Now we climb down through this narrow corridor...

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
...And we come out here. See the gap between the two big rocks on the left in this photo..? We can stand in that gap completely safely and have a good look.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
If we look up to our right, we see the upper edge of Harwoods Hole.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
If we lean around to the right of the rock in front of us and hold the camera at arm's length and point it down into the hole, we see this view...

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
And if we lean around to the left of the rock in front of us and hold the camera at arm's length and point it down into the hole, we see this view.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Now, behind where we have been standing is that big rock on the right. We were leaning our backs against it. As we can see here, there is a big hole going through between the rocks...

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Now, if we go through the hole...

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
...We come out the other side. And if we hold the camera at arm's length and point it down into the hole, we see this view.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Right... One last look back at this awesome place - and we're off. Let's go checkout the Gorge Creek Lookout.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
15 minutes later, here we are at the intersection.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
We're heading up this hill.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
The track is less civilised than the one to Harwoods Hole.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Right... Now we have to cross this fluted limestone to get to the viewpoint. The rock is shaped like this because it has been slowly dissolved and eroded by rainwater.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
The rocks are sharpish in places and the gaps between the are big enough to swallow a leg or two.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
At the edge we are rewarded with this gorgeous view of Gorge Creek and Takaka Valley.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
On our left in the distance we can see the top of Harwoods Hole.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Now we have to make our way back across the fluted limestone.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Heading back down towards the main track.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Zig-zagging down to the intersection.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Wow... It's like the tree roots are almost blending into the rock.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
It's all easy going from here.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
And when the Beech forest starts to look just a little bit spooky (and slightly unattractive), we're almost back at the start.

HARWOODS HOLE - Abel Tasman National Park
Yep. That was a pretty amazing walk.