My husband and I did the 2-Day Classic kayaking tour with ATK. It was a tremendous highlight of our trip! We were led by Liana who was a wonderful, knowledgeable and highly skilled facilitator. She was professional and engaging from beginning to end. Her knowledge of the surroundings was very impressive - she could spot animals from very far away and knew loads about each one! There was no shortage... read moreMy husband and I did the 2-Day Classic kayaking tour with ATK. It was a tremendous highlight of our trip! We were led by Liana who was a wonderful, knowledgeable and highly skilled facilitator. She was professional and engaging from beginning to end. Her knowledge of the surroundings was very impressive - she could spot animals from very far away and knew loads about each one! There was no shortage of food or snacks which we greatly enjoyed. The gear was top quality. We're so glad we had this experience and that we chose ATK to take us! read less

Great family friendly adventure, loved the information about the park, the walks to explore, fully catered yummy meals. Our guide Lou was a great resource, lover of NZ outdoors and great at checking in on the various needs of our group. Loved that we got a bit of everything from the weather Gods and excited we got to add penguin spotting to our check list.

It was very good and funny with Ian and molly. Ian has a lot of interesting knowledges about the flora and fauna of the island around this spot.

Find the time to put this trip on your bucket list, but more importantly make the time to take the trip so it's not on the list anymore. We did the 5 day kayak trip with ATK- Kyle was our guide and I can't think of a way we could have enjoyed the trip more.(oh, wait ...if I had zero sandfly bites...) Not Kyle's fault and still not a detractor... read moreFind the time to put this trip on your bucket list, but more importantly make the time to take the trip so it's not on the list anymore. We did the 5 day kayak trip with ATK- Kyle was our guide and I can't think of a way we could have enjoyed the trip more.(oh, wait ...if I had zero sandfly bites...) Not Kyle's fault and still not a detractor for this wonderful trip. I kayak in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and have wanted to explore this part of New Zealand for years. I had a hard time trying to decide if the three day or five day trip would be best....Soooo glad that I booked the five day and would tell anyone thinking about this experience to find the extra two days in your life and commit to the 5 day trip. It really let us explore so much more of the park and the actual paddling was not difficult if you have done at least some paddling before hand. If you paddle regularly than you'd be silly to not take the five day trip. My other concerns going in were the food, and that the itinerary seemed quite vague on all the websites from ATK. Well both of those concerns were a joke looking back. I'd guess most people gain a few kilos on the trip as the food was really well done, lots of options, and even more quantity than eveyone in our trip would ever eat.(Pretty much every dinner Kyle would have to go find hungry backpackers to share our extra's with)(Find hungry backpackers was never a problem!). The itinerary concern I was creating in my head, I'm embarrassed to say I should have figured out in advance. The reason is that the guides for the five day trips have their act together and balance the trip to weather, tides, ability of the group, etc... and then due to a high number of places to go and camp- take you to the best places based on all the data. I spoke with many other people about if how our group operated was unique (no), if the other guides were as good (yes) (however I'm keen to think Kyle was phenomenal anyway). We had great weather for the entire trip, wind was a factor a couple times, but our guide Kyle adjusted his timing and it all worked out. Other key parts that make this a 5/5; The shuttle bus driver was already waiting for us on our early morning pick up from Nelson..and we were early, he was also very professional and fun. The office staff were quick to provide answers to questions from pre trip, to check in, to departure afterwards. The nice little food kiosk on site had great coffee to help launch us, and they had nice treats to eat after the journey. The equipment was in decent condition and the guide was very well equipped with supplies, radio, and plans for pretty much anything. I brought along several friends on this trip and ATK made this trip exceptional for everyone of us. I really could not say enough complementary things about how well organized, thoughtful, prepared, and professional their team we experienced was. Best use of five days of my life ever!

Highlights- Our guide Kyle and the trainee( he had for first day and a half), food, variety of marine life, swimming, clean toilets at campsites. read less

Friend and I did a two day kayak and walk. Started with kayak on day one. The kayak was all packed with our overnight camp gear we hired from the place. Location and parking was easy. Good safety demonstration and a short ride to launch site on back of tractor/trailer. Site had a good setup with shower and toilet facilities. Staff were very helpful on arrival and departure. Camp gear... read moreFriend and I did a two day kayak and walk. Started with kayak on day one. The kayak was all packed with our overnight camp gear we hired from the place. Location and parking was easy. Good safety demonstration and a short ride to launch site on back of tractor/trailer. Site had a good setup with shower and toilet facilities. Staff were very helpful on arrival and departure. Camp gear that we hired was good condition and all accounted for. We arrived at Anchorage and unpacked the kayak, setup our camp site. Kayaks were picked up off the beach where we were instructed to leave. Next day we left our camp gear at site and continued north to Onetahuti (recommend walking extra distance for beautiful beach. Otherwise end at Barks Bay). Water taxi (company owned) collected us right on schedule. Super friendly and considerate boat driver. We had amazing weather and can’t fault the experience! We did two day walk that doesn’t include meals.
Suggest the company does a departure checklist for visitors. Things like how much we can fit in kayak/what types of bags can fit and how to pack food would be helpful for first-timers. Even meal suggestions would be great idea. In case reader is wondering: suggest a medium sized backpack per person plus a bag for meals. On day two you have to carry all your personal gear including food containers and rubbish - think about what and how you’re willing to carry these things on your walk the next day.
Recommend this experience and the company 100%. Thanks team! read less

We had a superb day in Abel Tasman. The team went out of their way to make the experience a great one. We Kayaked first due to tides, with Awatea as our kayak guide. He was knowledgeable about the area, and he kept us entertained throughout the trip. We had a fabulous picnic lunch and then got shuttled by boat to walk from Torrent Bay to... read moreWe had a superb day in Abel Tasman. The team went out of their way to make the experience a great one. We Kayaked first due to tides, with Awatea as our kayak guide. He was knowledgeable about the area, and he kept us entertained throughout the trip. We had a fabulous picnic lunch and then got shuttled by boat to walk from Torrent Bay to Bark Bay. I would highly recommend this trip and this company. It’s hard to decide on highlights…as there were so many! read less