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abel tasman
Welcome to the wonderful world of
the Abel Tasman - New Zealand’s smallest, sunniest and most
popular national park.
Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer, was the first European to visit
New Zealand. In 1642 he anchored his two ships in Golden Bay near
the present park. The Abel Tasman National Park was opened in
1942, on the 300th Anniversary of Tasman’s voyage. This park
is located at the top of the South Island and is best known for
its gentle coastal walk, golden beaches, towering granite domes
and honeycomb cave systems.
The high country is accessed from the summit of ‘The Marble
Mountain’, as the Takaka Hill is called. Canaan Road joins a
walking track to Harwood’s Hole, an awe-inspiring drop
shaft, which is the deepest in the Southern Hemisphere. The
entire area is a tortured landscape of sculptured limestone
outcrops, fissured marble caverns, sinkholes and subterranean
streams.
The black depths of The Marble Mountain’s underworld are far
removed from the sun-drenched coves and estuaries, which are the
park’s main attraction. The Abel Tasman Coastal Track draws
30,000 overnight visitors each year, to earn the title of New
Zealand’s most popular Great Walk. Fine quartz crystals of
weathered granite and marble, form sparkling golden sand beaches
in the crescent-shaped bays along this protected coast. The
gentle track links a series of huts and campsites between Marahau
and Totaranui that are close enough to allow trampers to relax,
swim, sunbathe and explore to their heart’s content.
Visitors to the park have many choices. Kayaking or sailing
peacefully around the coast, seeking out private coves. Viewing
the New Zealand fur seals in the Tonga Island Marine Reserve.
Travelling on jet skies and runabouts at an exhilarating pace. Or
tramping in the solitude of the Inland Track, penetrating the
mountainous interior of the park.
The Abel Tasman is a park for all seasons, all ages and all
interests. You can go back in time in the depths of a cave, or
let time stand still while you kick back on a beach.
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