Abel Tasman National Park , New Zealand:

Abel Tasman National Park is a national park located at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand. It is named after Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European explorer to sight New Zealand.The park was founded in 1942, largely through the efforts of ornithologist and author Perrine Moncrieff to have land reserved for the purpose. Moncrieff served on the park board from 1943 to 1974.

The park was opened on the 18 December 1942 to mark the 300th anniversary of Abel Tasman's visit. Those in attendance at the opening ceremony at Tarakohe included Charles van der Plas, as personal representative of the Netherlands' Queen, Wilhelmina. The Queen was made Patron of the park.The idea for the park had been under consideration since June 1938. The Crown set aside 37,622 acres, being 21,900 acres of proposed state forest, 14,354 acres of Crown land and 1,368 acres of other reserve land for the national park. The Golden Bay Cement Company donated the land where the memorial plaque was sited. The area's primary historic interest was the visit of Tasman in 1642, D'Uville in 1827, and the New Zealand Company ships Whitby, Will Witch, and Arrow in 1841. The site was also of significant botanical interest.With a coverage of only 225.3 km2 (87.0 sq mi) (55,699 acres), the park is the smallest of New Zealand's national parks. It consists of forested, hilly country to the north of the valleys of the Takaka and Riwaka Rivers, and is bounded to the north by the waters of Golden Bay and Tasman Bay.It contains some of the islands off the coast including, the Tata Islands in Golden Bay, and Tonga Island, Adele Island, and Fisherman Island all in Tasman Bay.

Abel Tasman National Park does not extend beyond Mean High Water Mark on the adjacent coast. Between Mean High Water and Mean Low Water Springs, the beaches are gazetted as a Scenic Reserve, covering 7.74 km2 (2.99 sq mi) in total. The Tonga Island Marine Reserve adjoins part of the park.Some of the birds that frequent the park consist of petrels, shags, penguins, gulls, terns, and herons. Opossum, wild pigs, deer, and goats also frequent the park.

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