Royal couple’s Abel Tasman destination kept under wraps
Monday is not looking like a good day for a beach barbie, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are lined up for just that during a flying visit to Abel Tasman National Park, on the second day of their five-day tour of New Zealand.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to be flown into the park, famed for its golden beaches and native bush walks, after arriving in Wellington tomorrow on their last stop of a 16-day tour of Australasia and the Pacific islands.
The Department of Internal Affairs is remaining tight-lipped about the royal couple’s exact destination. But Totaranui Beach, at the northern end of the park, appears to be the main contender, with tourism operators asked to steer clear of the area, and bookings unavailable at the Department of Conservation campsite at the beach.
Harry and Meghan are scheduled to be flown into Abel Tasman from Wellington at midday on Monday, where they will visit conservation initiatives managed by DOC.
They will join some of the park’s youth ambassadors and local school children at a barbecue lunch, and go on a trail walk to learn about the history of the park and environmental issues, before heading back to Wellington.
Internal Affairs would not reveal any further details, including if the trip was weather dependent.
The weather forecast for the park for Monday was ‘‘not looking great’’, James Millward from Metservice said.
Brendon Alborn from Abel Tasman AquaTaxi said the royal couple’s itinerary in the park was ‘‘right on the money’’.
‘‘The conservation and the restoration that’s gone on in the park really is the big story. That’s what everybody’s proud of.’’
The main shelter at Totaranui (which is often used as a starting or finishing point for the Abel Tasman Great Walk), is a DOC education centre comprising bunkrooms and an amenity block.
DOC referred the Nelson Mail to Internal Affairs for details of who would be meeting the royal couple, but said it welcomed the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the Abel Tasman.
‘‘We are very pleased to have the opportunity to show them the park and to talk with them about the work being done to restore the park’s ecology through our DOC and iwi partnerships with Project Janszoon, the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust, and the Air New Zealand-supported biodiversity project in the north of the park,’’ spokesperson Trish Grant said.
Project Janszoon is a privately run trust, set up in 2012 in what is described as a unique move to partner philanthropists with a government department to restore the ecology of a national park.
Its mission is to ‘‘secure, restore and futureproof the ecology of the park’’ by the 100th anniversary of the park’s opening, in 2042, by getting rid of pests and weeds, bringing back native birds and bush, and inspiring a culture of care.
The trust’s 14 youth park ambassadors come from Motueka and Golden Bay high schools and Motupipi primary school, and include two iwi representatives.
Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust was launched as a charitable trust in 2007, to protect and enhance biodiversity in the park.