Haka Adventure Tours NZ has been thrilling tourists throughout the world for decades. Renowned as the adventure capital of the world, the ability to combine heart adventure within areas of amazing scenic beauty, New Zealand will continue to attract millions of tourists. One such example of this amazing combination of scenic beauty and amazing adventure activities is Abel Tasman Park; a scenic wonderland located at the to of the South Island offering beautiful sandy beaches, marine reserves, private coves and amazing wildlife. One of the most popular activities during adventure tours of NZ is to visit the region for sea kayaking.
Abel Tasman has many operators who are able to offer guided trips or kayak hire for you to experience the vistas and the wildlife close up and personal. There are numerous camping and hut options in the Abel Tasman National Park which enable you to enjoy the region by foot, mountain bike or water.
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. 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.
Abel Tasman is a must visit area on your adventure tour New Zealand. The team at Haka Tours NZ will be abel to advise when the best time is to go and what to do when you are there. Get planning and get in contact with Haka Tours NZ today.
