Introduction
Abel Tasman National Park preserves the native bush and the coastline whose
rare beauty stirred to rapturous enthusiasm the French explorer Dumont
d'Urville, the first European to see it properly, when he came to describe
the peaceful waters that mirror rocky headlands. As the topography ranges
from the coastal islands through bush to high country there is a great
diversity of plant, insect and bird life. Proclaimed a national park in 1942
, the park holds fascination for the casual walker, tramper, shooter, caver,
skindiver, water-skier and even for the family at the beach for a day.
However, to appreciate the region fully one should emulate Dumont d'Urville
and explore by boat the sandy nooks and rocky crannies of its coastline. A
number of huts serve trampers but many choose to pitch their tents in the
wild. There are camping grounds at Totaranui and at Marahau (just outside
the park). The park includes Harwoods Hole, and the famous potholes of
Canaan are just beyond the boundary. Pigs, some goats and a few deer offer
the only hunting.
Attractions of Abel Tasman National Park
