I booked the Earth, Sea, and Sky tour. If you want to explore the scenic Abel Tasman national park, Abel Tasman Kayaks is the company to do it with, plus they have various tours! The tour starts off in Torrent Bay (via water taxi) and you walk to Barker Bay (bring hiking shoes) where you'll see various bays, plants, wildlife, and other beautiful scenery. At Barker Bay, they had additional... read moreI booked the Earth, Sea, and Sky tour. If you want to explore the scenic Abel Tasman national park, Abel Tasman Kayaks is the company to do it with, plus they have various tours! The tour starts off in Torrent Bay (via water taxi) and you walk to Barker Bay (bring hiking shoes) where you'll see various bays, plants, wildlife, and other beautiful scenery. At Barker Bay, they had additional lunch when we arrived (met up with another tour group that was doing a full-day custom-guided kayak tour, this may not always be the case). Watch out for the birds they'll dive bomb your food while it's in your hand (one little sneaky bird ran off with my carrot cake). After lunch, they water taxi you to another cove for the guided kayak tour portion. Our group had Georgia and Brody as our tour guides. They gave us history lessons about Abel Tasman (formation etc), māori culture, and various wildlife (and other places to check out on the West Coast). Our group saw seals and we were close enough to Adelle island we could hear other wildlife. Our tour guides surprised our group by transforming our kayaks into one big sail at the end of the trip so we could sail back to the boat ramp. Thanks for the amazing tour of Abel Tasman national park, hospitality, and borrowed backpack, I will certainly book another tour with Abel Tasman Kayaks next time I'm in Nelson. read less
Travel Dude
We booked the half day kayak tour to Observation Beach and everything was fantastic. Our guide Darryl was great- super knowledgeable about the area, funny and full of stories. We saw loads of sea lions, birds, golden beaches, sea caves and had fun exploring the coastline. Had a relaxing snack and tea/coffee on the beach before continuing on our self-guided trip back down the Abel Tasman track to Motueka. The... read moreWe booked the half day kayak tour to Observation Beach and everything was fantastic. Our guide Darryl was great- super knowledgeable about the area, funny and full of stories. We saw loads of sea lions, birds, golden beaches, sea caves and had fun exploring the coastline. Had a relaxing snack and tea/coffee on the beach before continuing on our self-guided trip back down the Abel Tasman track to Motueka. The track back is about 3 hours, but allow extra time for viewpoints, photos, and to enjoy the incredible beaches! Highly recommended as a daytrip.. would love to do a longer trip as well. read less
CMelissa7
Sea kayaking for the first time, I opted for a short introductory half day. It was beautiful, fun and rewarding. The guides were excellent, group "sailing" was an unexpected fun activity that saved energy and lunch on the beach after was tasty, filling and relaxing. Water taxi back including being towed (while still in the boat) by a tractor.
Jo-Anne K
Such an incredible walk and we really enjoyed our two days with the kayaks! Day 1: kayaked from Marahau to Te Pukatea; Day 2: kayaked Te Pukatea to Onetahuiti then walked to Waiharakeke - big day but breaking it up made it a lot more manageable. Third day: walked Waiharakeke to Anapai Bay. 4th day: Anapai Bay, loop around to Separation point and back to Totaranui. All pretty average fitness... read moreSuch an incredible walk and we really enjoyed our two days with the kayaks! Day 1: kayaked from Marahau to Te Pukatea; Day 2: kayaked Te Pukatea to Onetahuiti then walked to Waiharakeke - big day but breaking it up made it a lot more manageable. Third day: walked Waiharakeke to Anapai Bay. 4th day: Anapai Bay, loop around to Separation point and back to Totaranui. All pretty average fitness and not experienced kayakers but we managed the kayaking just fine. Highly recommend doing the kayak/walk split as it was a great way to break it up and it was beautiful out on the water. Also very impressed with our pickup crews boating skills - it was a VERY choppy day on pick up, but they operated like a well oiled machine to get us and our gear safely on the boat. Abel Tasman Kayaks were great and really helpful and I would certainly recommend using them. Overall a great experience, good camping facilities (some with flushing toilets!) and incredible views. Make sure to check the tidal crossings and watch out for Wekas!! read less
Amelia R
Our family, 2 adults and 2 kids did a 4 day freedom hire trip through Abel Tasman Kayaks last week and we had the most amazing time. The double kayaks we hired were good quality fibre glass boats, our safety briefing from Tim was informative and fun and the communication from start to finish was spot on.
Abel Tasman kayaks have been around a long time and are extremely customer... read moreOur family, 2 adults and 2 kids did a 4 day freedom hire trip through Abel Tasman Kayaks last week and we had the most amazing time. The double kayaks we hired were good quality fibre glass boats, our safety briefing from Tim was informative and fun and the communication from start to finish was spot on.
Abel Tasman kayaks have been around a long time and are extremely customer focused and efficient. The tractor ride to take you and the boats out onto the water and back is heaps of fun.
I highly recommend this great company and kayaking in the Abel Tasman national park as well, we had great weather, no crowds, gorgeous beaches to ourselves and superb camping. We saw a pod of dolphins, little blue penguins and lots of baby seals.
A trip to remember !
Thanks Abel Tasman Kayaks, we will be back. read less
Karenza H
We opted for a half day freedom (unguided) rental as we just wanted a taste of kayaking this beautiful area and didn't have a huge amount of time.
We started our day with a very professional safety briefing which covered all aspects of kayaking, use of equipment, how to get in and out safely, righting the boat if you capsize etc. We were fitted with spray skirts which was great... read moreWe opted for a half day freedom (unguided) rental as we just wanted a taste of kayaking this beautiful area and didn't have a huge amount of time.
We started our day with a very professional safety briefing which covered all aspects of kayaking, use of equipment, how to get in and out safely, righting the boat if you capsize etc. We were fitted with spray skirts which was great to have- it meant our kayak did not fill up with sea water. We decided to kayak over to Adele Island while the winds were still low and then back to the mail land to explore some bays and then kayak back with the wind. But it was really tough kayaking against the wind and tide and by the time we got to the island it was too rough and we were tired so we saw a couple of seals and decided to get back to the shelter of the astrolabe area. Really a waste of time and energy when the kayaking is tough like this.
These bays are beautiful, golden sand, peaceful providing lovely swimming in clear, clean water.
We decided to return back early which we had asked what the procedure was during our safety briefing and we were instructed to head for the big black buoy. As the tide had gone right out it was quite hard to spot the buoy but we had a fair idea of what land marks were we had to head for. We then just asked another operator to contact our kayak company. He offered to take the kayaks back to the company on his truck which meant no waiting for us. We had a quick hot shower - clean dry towel supplied, before we continued our road trip. A beautiful area of the country. I have done this once by kayak and probably would not do this again- perhaps a boat drop off and a walk back would be nice, if there is a next time. read less
AucklandWiz