This time around we were able to check out the Abel Tasman National Park which is in the South Island located between Golden bay and the Tasman Bay. Travel through the park is on foot or through boats as it is access for vehicles are restricted. Those tourists that have money to spend can charter a helicopter and even a small plane.
Traveling on foot was ideal enough for us because we were able to experience the natural environment of the park firsthand. I had some inhibitions after climbing Tongariro Crossing. Our guide told us that although the locals were friendly, they did not want a lot of travelers going through their dwelling places most of the time. There were markings in the area anyway which did not give us any problem.
One of the most notable features that we were able to experience in the park was its beaches. It had golden sands that brought a lot of visitors for day tours or even for overnight trips. We found out that moving away from the beaches and going inland was rough and mountainous. This was only advised to those who were more adventurous and have sufficient traveling gears.
We also found out that the park was indeed very tidal just like what our local friends told us about. Our group was notified particularly of the estuaries in Awaroa and Torrent Bay as these places can drain almost completely during low tide. That is why these places were made aware to those groups who brought a boat along with them. During low tide however, it was possible for us to walk from Torrent Bay up to Anchorage through the empty estuary. This trip only took us about 25 minutes which was quite fast.
There was plenty of avian wildlife that can be found in Abel Tasman National Park. For a moment there we were thrilled at the thought that we might be seeing a kiwi soon which is one of the country’s rarest birds. Sadly, our tour guide informed us that there were no kiwi species found in the area because of the past destruction of its early inhabitants. The park is however slowly renewing itself and might one day have kiwi birds migrating to the area.
We were told however that in the isolated areas of the park, blue penguins can be found. These species have been kept in close watch because their numbers have been slowly dwindling over the past. Our group was happy enough to not disturb them anyway since we did not want to cause any stress to these poor things. There were plenty of wood pigeons, tuis and wekas which were rare flightless birds. My friend and I were able to take snapshots of these unique animals which we will be showing to our friends at home.
Our tour guide told us that in 1880s, stoats were introduced to the area to control the population of rabbits that were its native wildlife attackers. These stoats however have become a pest in the area since then and have preferred feeding on blue penguins rather than on rabbits. The Department of Conservation along with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has set up traps for these animals to control them. We were told to not disturb these efforts if ever we come across traps laid out by these groups.
Overall, the Abel Tasman National park was one of the greatest trips I had in the country during our visit. It was certainly much better than in Greymouth. It had a sunny climate all throughout as it receives over 2000 hours of sunlight per year. Moderate rainfall can occur and is spread throughout the year. There are also snowy places in the park which can be found in its higher elevations.
