Able Tasman National Park

Able Tasman National park – Our most popular Day trip, every guest that goes to the Able Tasman National Park comes back with great stories and postcard photos of themselves in this truly unique and beautiful part of South Island, New Zealand. Drive to the very beginning of the National park or catch a bus/coach from Nelson city. Once at the Able Tasman National Park, walk, hike or travel by boat into the park. There are now some excellent trips for people that may have mobility problems so no one has to miss out on seeing this wonderful New Zealand National park. Not to be missed part of Nelson and Tasman region. Helpful Local operators will help you pick out the best option for you. For prices and further information visit: Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle . There is also an option where you are able to leave from Nelson yaught club and crusie to the beginning of Able Tasman National park, hop off and walk the track or continue on to Aworoa Lodge and then cruise back across the bay to nelson city. For more information look on Abel Tasman Cruises

Abel Tasman National Park (established in 1942) is renowned for its golden beaches, sculptured granite cliffs, and world-famous Abel Tasman Coast Track. It also has a mild climate and is a good place to visit at any time of the year. Location

General

At 22,530 hectares Abel Tasman is New Zealand's smallest national park. It is located at the top of the South Island; the nearest towns are Motueka, Takaka and Kaiteriteri.

Features

For at least 500 years Maori lived along the Abel Tasman coast, gathering food from the sea, estuaries and forests, and growing kumera on suitable sites. Most occupation was seasonal but some sites in Awaroa estuary were permanent. The Ngati Tumatakokiri people were resident when, on 18 December 1642, the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman anchored his two ships near Wainui in Mohua (Golden Bay), the first European to visit Aotearoa - New Zealand. He lost four crew in a skirmish with the local people and soon moved on.

Permanent European settlement began around 1855. The settlers logged forests, built ships, quarried granite and fired the hillsides to create pasture. For a time there was prosperity but soon the easy timber was gone and gorse and bracken invaded the hills. Little now remains of their enterprises.

Concern about the prospect of more logging along the coast prompted a campaign to have 15,000 hectares of crown land made into a national park. A petition presented to the Government suggested Abel Tasman's name for the park and it was duly opened in 1942 - the 300th anniversary of his visit.

The most noticeable features of this park are the golden sandy beaches, the fascinating rocky outcrops (mainly granite but with a scattering of limestone and marble) and the rich, unmodified estuaries. The landscape has been modified, perhaps more than in our other national parks. The vegetation cover varies and reflects a history of fires and land clearance, but the forests are regenerating well especially in damp gullies where a rich variety of plants can be found. Black beech dominates the drier ridges.

The more common forest birds, like tui and bellbirds, can be seen along with pukeko around the estuaries and wetlands. The park's boundary excludes the estuaries and seabed but in 1993 the Tonga Island Marine Reserve was created along one part of the Abel Tasman coast. Like a national park, all life in the reserve is protected.

For more inforamtion about the Able Tasman national park, Kahurangi National Park (and other national parks in New Zealand) go to link below and click on "Parks and Recreation" and then "Tracks and walks" and select region.

Department of Conservation