The first beach you see at the entrance of Abel Tasman Park. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Abel Tasman is the smallest national park in New Zealand. It’s tucked away on the northwest corner of the south island. I have a feeling that it doesn’t get as much love as it should. Not located near other major traveler hotspots on the south island (like the famous glaciers to the south), it’s easy to overlook the park. Keep in mind that New Zealand is a country where the landscape starts at beautiful and only gets better from there. So, Abel Tasman has a lot of competition.

But, just a couple of hours to the west of Picton (the landing point of the Interislander Ferry), lies Motueka, the small town that is the gateway to Abel Tasman. You can easily do this park in a day if pressed for time, or a couple if you want to explore the entirety of its beautiful smallness. You can hike, kayak, camp, swim, or simply take a boat cruise to enjoy the park.

For this photo essay I pulled a few pics from the film I shot for our Hiking the Abel Tasman Park episode.  If you notice that the photos are a little fuzzy, keep in mind that these were grabbed from film, not from camera.

Enjoy this photo essay of our time at Abel Tasman supporting Blog 4 New Zealand.

Some of the best views of the park are from the water. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Love those beaches inside the park. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Kayaking is very popular around the park. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

One of the suspension bridges inside the park. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

I never got tired of checking out the seaside views from the footpath. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

More Blog 4 New Zealand Goodness!

Check out Part 1: Sailing in Auckland

Check Out Part 3: Trains and Ferries

Check Out Part 4: Biking Around Christchurch

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Tags: Abel Tasman park, Blog4NewZealand, hiking, New Zealand travel

This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 7:00 am and is filed under Jeff's blog, New Zealand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.