Tonga Island is a small (0.15 km²) island in

Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere Tasman Bay (; officially Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere), originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches along ...

, off the northern coast of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. It lies within the

Abel Tasman National Park Abel Tasman National Park is a New Zealand national park located between Golden Bay and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere at the north end of the South Island. It is named after Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European explorer to sight New ...

, about off Onetahuti Beach. The island has a flourishing

fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively lon ...

colony, and is surrounded by the

Tonga Island Marine Reserve Tonga Island Marine Reserve is a protected area on the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It surrounds Tonga Island and is next to the Abel Tasman National Park. The marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine prot ...

, which was inaugurated in 1993. The island is accessible by

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

and visible from the

Abel Tasman Coast Track The Abel Tasman Coast Track is a long walking track within the Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand. It extends from Mārahau in the south to Wainui in the north, with many side tracks. It is one of two main tracks through the park, the ...

References

External links

Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Abel Tasman National Park Islands of the Tasman District Tasman Bay {{Tasman-geo-stub

See also

References

External links