Sea kayaking Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound Fiordland

FIORDLAND,
a young but timeless place, remnants of the Ice Age, ancient links with Gondwana  a dynamic land of glacial mountains, towering sea cliffs, granite overhangs clothed in primal rain forest - kea, tui, keruru fly in freedom a wilderness of water - mist, rain, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, fiords, home to bottlenose dolphins, fur seals, crested penguins set in Te Wahipounamu a world heritage area of internationally significant natural values

FIORDLAND - New Zealand's largest national park and one of the largest in the world bordered on its eastern flank by the stunning glacially carved lakes of Te Anau and Manapouri and on the western shores by the 14 fiords (incorrectly called sounds) which give the park its name.

FIORDLAND - a sea kayaker's wilderness. Sea kayaking is the natural way to experience the essential spirit of this stunning, primeval, intense wilderness and we want to take you on a real sea kayaking adventure into this wilderness as we personally do it - in a small group, with friends exploring in our kayaks, experiencing its wildness, working with nature, becoming a part of the sea and landscape on its terms. We avoid modifying it or noisily intruding into it. We respect it as it is and keep on discovering.

FIORDLAND - Wilderness Guides
The best company to take you there
Plus we have heaps of fun along the way.

GUIDED KAYAKING TOURS are suitable for:

• people who have never kayaked before or groups with limited kayaking skills or
• people travelling on their own and also popular with
• experienced kayakers wanting to take advantage of a guide's knowledge of the area and of paddling and camping conditions.

Our guided groups are small and friendly with you, our guide and only 6 to 7 other people.

Milford Sound 1 day classic kayaking

A DESCRIPTION OF THE DAY

Stage 1: THE JOURNEY THERE...while it is still quiet
We leave Te Anau early meeting you at your accommodation or the DOC long term car park (6.30am) - 120 kms along New Zealand's most spectacular alpine road, through the Eglinton Valley, past the Divide, into the mountains, through the Homer tunnel, down into the steep-sided Cleddau valley, with us telling the history, explaining the conservation issues, providing hot drinks and 'bikkies'.

If we can't kayak due to deteriorating weather, the kayaking is replaced by a launch cruise (or the value of the launch cruise is refunded) and we extend the nature tour home.

Stage 2: THE PREPARATION...because it makes all the difference
Meeting up with those joining us in Milford - at the Milford Sound Lodge car park at 8.30am, changing into our kayaking gear, hot drink & bikkies for us all, safety briefing and setting up the kayaks.

Stage 3: THE SEA KAYAKING...up close and personal
In Milford at 8.30am, gear change, safety briefing and then weather permitting, our aim is about 4 hours spectacular kayaking beneath dramatic sheer cliffs, classic Mitre Peak, waterfalls, kayaking with friendly fur seals, often Fiordland crested penguins, sometimes playful dolphins, before heading back to Deepwater Basin about 2.30pm. For lunch we aim to stop on a beach beneath the mountains, the only group to do so. Bring your own lunch or order from us ($15).

Stage 4: THE JOURNEY HOME...after the others
A look around Milford Village, another hot drink and the journey home with scenic stops, short walks, good NZ music and some well earned rest time for you, past the Divide, back in Te Anau about 6.00pm.

A really full day!

No paddling experience is necessary on most of our guided tours although enthusiasm, a sense of humor, energy, agility, sometimes stamina and a moderate level of fitness all help. Proper double sea kayaks with rudders, storage compartments and cockpits needing spray decks are used. Strict skill/experience criteria apply if you wish to use a single kayak.

Our guides undergo intensive Fiordland-based training, drawn from the years of Fiordland kayaking and wilderness living experienced by Ron, Fi and the team. This specific training, along with their own kayaking skills and experience, qualifications and love of the outdoors, empowers our guides to deliver a real Fiordland wilderness experience. They paddle with you providing ongoing kayaking instruction, advice, safety management and natural and social history interpretation of Fiordland. And they help you have a great time!

Minimum age on guided tours in the fiords is 16 years.

On most tours we depart from and return to Te Anau, with other options available.

Fiordland weather conditions are extremely changeable and can mean that tours have to be modified - no two tours are the same.