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Sea
kayaking is an excellent and popular way to discover and enjoy
the coastline of Abel Tasman National Park. Photo courtesy of
Tourism Nelson.
Short
and day walks
Starting from each of the three roadends
at Marahau, Totaranui and Canaan Downs, a number of short and
day walks give access to a good range of the natural features
and points of interest of Abel Tasman National Park.
The park is famous for its coastline, and several
walks lead to some of its very attractive golden sand beaches,
bays, clear waters and sculpted rocky headlands. There is a
profusion of wildlife, with many birds and, in places, colonies
of fur seals basking in the sun on the rocks.
These walks also cross a variety of forest and vegetation
types. The native forests are now mainly beech, but some coastal
places are rich in tree ferns and nikau palms, creating a distinctive
tropical character. There are also a few remnants of the original
podocarp forests, with trees such as rimu, kahikatea, and pukatea,
which were extensively milled.
In the western part of the park the Canaan Road
leads to the karst and caves of the marble area. The major attraction
there is Harwoods Hole, the greatest cave shaft in the southern
hemisphere with a vertical drop of 176 m (577').
Tramping
The park offers two major tramping tracks: the Coast
Track, and the Inland Track. The Coast Track is classified as
a walking track, and is one of New Zealand's Great Walks. Its
51 km (32 miles) are usually walked in 3-5 days.
The Inland track is a tramping track that leads
over the highest part of the park, through both regenerating
and undisturbed forest. It is also walked in 3-5 days.
Sea
kayaking
With its dissected coastline of rounded bays, estuaries,
rocky headlands and small islands, Abel Tasman is one of the
most popular places for sea-kayaking in New Zealand.
Caving
Fishing
Hunting
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