Split Apple Rock

Tokangawha, Split Apple Rock, is a granite boulder about four metres across sitting in shallow water a little offshore, split down the middle into two almost equal halves with a clean gap between them. The geology is ordinary enough - water got into a crack and froze, or the rock simply parted along a natural weakness during weathering - but the result is improbably neat, which is why it is one of the most photographed rocks in the country. There is a Maori tradition explaining it as two gods splitting the rock to settle who owned it. Reaching it on foot means a short but steep track down from a small car park on the Kaiteriteri-Marahau road to Towers Bay, and then the rock is a little way out in the water, so at high tide you photograph it from the beach and at low tide you can wade closer. Most people see it from a kayak or a water taxi heading into Abel Tasman.

What you actually see

• The split boulder - four metres of granite parted cleanly in two.
• Towers Bay - the small beach the track descends to.
• The wading approach - possible at low tide, not at high.
• The boat view - how most visitors see it, en route to Abel Tasman.

When to go

November to April; low tide lets you get closer. Mornings avoid both the coach stops and the harsh overhead light.

Honest expectations

It is one rock and takes twenty minutes. The track down is short but steep and the car park tiny. At high tide you cannot get near it. The water is cold even in summer.

Nearby

Kaiteriteri and Marahau are close; Abel Tasman National Park starts just north.