EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the very first unofficial Abel Tasman National Park Magazine! What’s it all about then?

Well, you see, I always wanted to be a journalist. our businesses serving visitors to this incredible part I even completed a degree in English Litera- of New Zealand.

ture as I set my course towards a career in journal-

ism. But I got a little bit sidetracked (for the next AbelTasman.com aims to bring together all of the 20+ years) and found myself working in supermar- knowledge and experience of the people who have ket engineering. spent their lives working and playing in the Abel Fast forward to 2016 and I find myself writing the always found great value in having access to ‘local content ready for the launch of our new website, knowledge’. By default, the people living in an area AbelTasman.com, a task that I really enjoyed. We will know where to find the best coffee, food, placneeded so much copy about the Abel Tasman es to visit etc, etc. This magazine and our website National Park itself and this glorious region that I AbelTasman.com aims to be your local guide to our needed to bury myself in my office for hours and little slice of paradise! We hope it helps you have an days on end, writing away furiously on my Mac. We incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience here. also needed a shed load of images for each section of the website. I set about running (quite literally) Brendan Alborn through the Park with my camera trying to capture Owner Operator the essence of the place, and travelling around the Alborn Enterprises Ltd. Nelson Tasman region to all of my favourite spots. I would often try to combine family outings with photography missions which led to more than one call of “can you get that camera out of my face” from more than one family member.

This whole process also forced me to think carefully and then articulate why I’ve suddenly found myself so incredibly pleased to be living here after so many years living overseas and in other parts of New Zealand.

So here we are in 2020 and I’m kinda living the dream of my youth, writing and editing a magazine. But, this magazine doesn’t exist to satisfy my desire to finally put ‘journalist’ on my resume. That’s just a happy accident. We have created The Abel Tasman Magazine to celebrate and promote the Abel Tasman National Park, the Nelson Tasman region and also Tasman National Park. As lifetime travellers we have

Kia Ora e Hoa (Greetings Friend),

I’m super stoked you’ve chosen to pick this maga-

zine up because it’s been a labour of love putting Further to that, this temporary pause on our operatogether our favourite bits and bobs of this place tions gave us the opportunity to reassess and redewe call home and I’m rapt you’ve taken the time sign the future. We are looking forward to playing a to engage and enjoy the content that follows. The leading role in the rebuilding of a more sustainable, Abel Tasman Magazine is a celebration of every- more vibrant and more resilient visitor sector. New thing that makes this place special and a chance Zealand is a country of open hearts and open minds. to tell our story. We hope you enjoy the content as We are looking forward to welcoming our whanaunmuch as we enjoyed putting it all together for you. ga (relatives) from all over the world again soon. But 2020 has been an absolute rollercoaster for so many operate at a slower pace and show those of you a and we have not been immune. Our 2019/2020 sum- little closer to home our slice of paradise. mer season was hitting all the right notes - the weather gods were delivering the goods, our team were putting There is no doubt we are facing uncertain and chalin the big hours, we had visitors from every corner of lenging times. But we are prouder than ever of our the world and the whole park was humming. local community and more grateful than ever to call In what seemed like a very short space of time, the once again that we have the ability to punch well curtain came down on international tourism with the above our weight in terms of global leadership and announcement of our borders closing to stop the courageous action. spread of Covid-19 which was now running rampant across the globe. The swift and decisive action by our Less people will read this magazine that we envigovernment to protect New Zealanders was welcomed sioned when we started work on it last year. But you but was not without its impacts. chose to and for that we are very grateful. Enjoy the Tourism has been New Zealand’s largest export earner this place we are all so passionate about. And more and employed one in ten people in the country. Here in than anything, get out and enjoy everything it has to Nelson Tasman, it was the industry that underpinned offer. the success of our local hospitality, retail, arts, music and events sectors which were all enjoyed by locals JOD and visitors alike. My time in the sector has been short Johny O’Donnell relative to many but over the years I’ve gained a real ShiftOn appreciation for how much the visitor sector contributes to New Zealand’s economy, local communities and cultural richness.

Over the past five years, I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside the Alborn family of Marahau who have commissioned this magazine for everyone to enjoy. When it became clear that our primary business of international tourism was grinding to a temporary halt, Brendan and I sat down to revisit our strategy moving forward. I was incredibly heartened to hear their commitment to all the things we had worked on over the years had not been deterred - our commitment to offering the best experiences in the park, our commitment to being a zero carbon sustainable operator, our commitment to conservation and restoration and ultimately a commitment to the sector that has contributed so much to our local community, region and country. in the meantime, we are loving the opportunity to this place home. Aotearoa New Zealand has proven stories, tips, insights, advice and beautiful imagery of