I didn’t have the energy yesterday to report fully on five days of walking and kayaking in the Abel Tasman National Park, organised by Wilsons. They did a great job for us. UNlike other parts of New Zealand, the Abel Tasman does not seek to overwhelm with you grandeur. But it does preserve the beaches and temperate rain forest that the first Europeans may have found when they arrived. Much of the area has been farmed until relatively recently. But the soil is too poor and sandy for farming and since the park was established in 1942 it has been allowed to revert to bush. What is missing in the previously farmed areas are the big native trees which will take 300 years or so to grow back fully. It is a great place to spend a few days.