Abel Tasman

The Rough Guide Snapshot to Marlborough and Nelson is the ultimate travel guide to this alluring part of New Zealand. It guides you through the region with reliable information and detailed coverage of all the sights and attractions, from the Marlborough wine country to Abel Tasman National Park and Kaikoura to Farewell Spit. Comprehensive maps and up-to-date listings pinpoint the best cafés, restaurants, hotels, shops, bars and vineyards, ensuring you have the best trip possible, whether you're passing through or are on a longer trip. Also included is the Basics section from the Rough Guide to New Zealand, with all the practical information you need for travelling in and around Marlborough and Nelson, including transport, food, drink, costs and health. Also published as part of the Rough Guide to New Zealand. Full coverage: Queen Charlotte Track, Nelson, Abel Tasman National Park, Heaphy Track, Marlborough Wine Country, Kaikoura (Equivalent printed page extent 106 pages).

More than 300 years ago, a young Dutch sailor named Abel Tasman stood on the prow of a ship he and his crew had sailed across wild, uncharted waters. In the distance, through a shroud of mist, the rugged outline of steep hills rose from the ocean waves. Could this be Terra Australisthe great southern land? Abel Tasman and his crew were most likely the first Europeans the Aboriginal people of Australia and the Maori of New Zealand had ever seen. Join the journey and discover the legacy left behind. 'Maria Gills evocative text combines with Marco Ivancics imaginative illustrations to bring Abel Tasmans journey to life.' Rob Zaagman, Ambassadeur, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New Zealand.

Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC. He was the first known European explorer to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand, and to sight the Fiji islands. His navigator Francois Visscher, and his merchant Isaack Gilsemans, mapped substantial portions of Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific Islands. No life of the first circumnavigator of Australia has hitherto appeared in English. Nothing has been accessible to the English reader but an abstract of one voyage and a few lines in biographical dictionaries. This is scarcely surprising, when we consider how careless Tasman's own countrymen have been of his fame. Fifty years ago all that had been printed in his own country consisted of short abstracts of a few voyages, and these were hidden away in bulky collections. Even the date and place of his birth were matter for conjecture .and dispute. Things are somewhat better now."

Abel Tasman National Park was a war-time baby, born in 1942 to protect the wonderful sequence of forested beaches and headlands, and which have become much-loved by both countless New Zealanders and visitors alike. Down the Bay is a tribute to this gem of New Zealand's national park system. Philip Simpson, an award-winning author of a number of books on New Zealand trees, presents a complete picture of the distinctive landforms of Abel Tasman, from the deep caves of the uplands to the distinctive granite headlands and golden-sand beaches, the diversity of plants and animals, the coastal environment, and overlays this with accounts of both M?ori and European history. As well the book records how Project Janszoon, a trust funded by a remarkable philanthropic gift, is working with the Department of Conservation to transform the park by removing pests and reintroducing threatened birds to restore the area to its former state. This is an inspiring and hopeful story of how the future of an important area of New Zealand is being secured for future generations. Down the Bay will be the first comprehensive and authoritative account of Abel Tasman National Park to ever be published, a book that will beautifully capture what is an unforgettable visitor experience.

Fodor’s New Zealand PLAN THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME Full-color guide• Make your trip to New Zealand unforgettable with 46 maps, illustrated features, and 230 color photos. Customize your trip with simple planning tools• Top Experiences and Attractions • Field-tested itineraries • Easy-to-read color regional maps Explore Auckland, the Marlborough wine region, Fiordland National Park, and beyond• Discerning Fodor’s Choice picks for hotels, restaurants, sights, and more • “Word of Mouth” tips from fellow Fodor’s travelers • Illustrated features on hiking New Zealand, Máori art, and New Zealand's geological wonders • Best open-air adventures, wine-tasting experiences, and cultural and food festivals Opinions from destination experts• Fodor’s local writers reveal their favorite haunts • Frequently updated to provide the latest information

The story of how the map of New Zealand emerged is a fascinating one. The first full map of the continent was published in London in 1773, which might seem the natural starting point, but over the preceding 150 years, fragments of charts and intelligence about New Zealand ricocheted around various parts of the world. In A Draught of the South Land, Paul Moon provides the first comprehensive account of this piecemeal process. Moon's investigation covers several continents over more than a century, and reveals the personalities, blunders, strategic miscalculations, scientific brilliance, and imperial power-plays that were involved. Above all, he examines the roles played by explorers and traders, M?ori and European rulers, scientific societies and military groups, as well as specialist cartographers and publishers. At a time when maps as colonial tools, enablers of trade and objects of curiosity are being studied anew, his careful analysis and engaging narrative will be of interest to scholars everywhere.