Abel Tasman National Park

The Abel Tasman National Park is a 225.3 kilometers ² large area on the north coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It is located at the northern end of a chain of hills between the two large bays Golden Bay and Tasman Bay, about 70 km away from Nelson.

The National Park is famous for its numerous small bays with sandy beaches and turquoise waters and its granite cliffs. More than three-quarters of the national park area is forested. The fauna of the park is mainly characterized by its seabirds. For example, Wang white herons, stilts, Taraseeschwalben, TUIS, Makomakos and Kuckuckskauze are found in the park and also the Pinguinart is there at home. Its climate in the coastal region is mild at 2200 hours of sunshine per year falling at higher altitudes.

The Abel Tasman National Park is stronger than other parks in addition to New Zealand’s natural history and human presence. Thus, settled along the coast for at least 500 years, the first Maori came. In 1642 the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman was the first European to New Zealand and anchored here.

From about 1855 the region’s colonization began with white immigrants. Already early in the 20th Century there was recognized the need for a unique landscape from further exploitation, to protect it from human interference. The territory is under protection. A geological feature of the park is its karst and caves (in the range of Takaka Hill, Canaan Downs).

New Zealand’s smallest national park in 1942, exactly 300 years after Abel Tasman landed, was set up to honor the explorers named. Among the attractions of the park is the popular 51km long coastal footpath (Abel Tasman Coastal Track). Another popular site is a kayak tour along the coast. Starting points for most tours are the locations Totaranui Marahau, the southern and northern end of the coastal path.

The coast of the Abel Tasman National Park, since 1993 is surrounded by a 18.35 km² marine area called Tonga Iceland and is a strictly protected marine reserve.