Tonga Island Explained

Tonga Island
Image Alt:	Tonga Island
Map:	New Zealand South Island#New Zealand
Location:	Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, New Zealand
Coordinates:	-40.8903°N 173.0672°W
Total Islands:	1
Area Km2:	0.15
Length Km:	0.5
Width Km:	0.5
Elevation M:	83
Country:	New Zealand

Tonga Island is a small (0.15 km²) island in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, off the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.^[1] It lies within the Abel Tasman National Park, about off Onetahuti Beach.^[2] The island has a flourishing fur seal colony,^{[3] [4]} and is surrounded by the Tonga Island Marine Reserve, which was inaugurated in 1993.

The island is accessible by water taxi or kayak and visible from the Abel Tasman Coast Track.^[5]

The first peoples named the place after a small island in their east Polynesian homeland.^[6]

See also

• List of islands of New Zealand
• List of islands
• Desert island

External links

-40.8833°N 177°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tonga Island, Tasman - NZ Topo Map. NZ Topo Map. Land Information New Zealand. 2015-12-22.
2. Encyclopedia: Dale H. . Hoiberg . Encyclopædia Britannica . Abel Tasman National Park . 15th . 2010 . Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. . I: A-ak Bayes . Chicago, IL . 978-1-59339-837-8 . 25 . registration .
3. Web site: Tonga Island Marine Reserve. Department of Conservation NZ. 2015-12-22.
4. Web site: Nelson Marlborough Conservancy . Abel Tasman National Park . New Zealand Department of Conservation . 18 November 2013 . 2012 .
5. Web site: Tonga Island Marine Reserve. Department of Conservation NZ. 2015-12-22.
6. Book: Simpson, Philip . Down the Bay: a natural and cultural history of Abel Tasman National Park . Potton & Burton . 2018 . 9780947503932 . . 18.