About North Island Kayak

Hi, thanks for stopping by. North Island Kayak is a North Island based company that has been in continuous operation, successfully serving people from all over world since 1991. Steve Emery & Louise Defryn, as the new owners of North Island Kayak, joined the team during the 2006 season.

Steve & Louise's previous lives had been in the all consuming, corporate world that so many people become trapped in and to which we had dedicated many years of our lives. We had been seeking a more serene and rewarding vocation in an environment that would allow us to work and live the outdoor wilderness playground that we continuously craved, yet were never able to satisfy with merely a few weeks vacation a year.

We will be forever thankful for finding the paradise we were searching for in the tiny community of Telegraph Cove and in North Island Kayak. The peacefulness and exhilaration of sea kayaking in this part of the world continues to exceed our wildest dreams!

In making your choice of a company to supply your vacation, please consider the following.

Guides - Our guides are expertly qualified and bring multiple years of experience in professional kayak guiding all over the world. We believe, wherever possible in local guides rather than bringing them in from far away places. Our three most experienced guides are all from the the North Island. This gives a knowledge of the whole area, not just the parts they have paddled in the current season. They know the best areas to paddle, the North Island hikes, the tricks or our weather and are also dedicated to the preservation of where we & they play.

Safety – Your safety is of prime importance to us. The vast majority of our guides are local to the North Island and all of our guides have extensive training in all aspects of kayaking, rescue & first aid in a wilderness environment. They are intimately familiar with the area we take you paddling in. Our equipment is continually inspected and replaced on a regular basis.

Your time – We fully understand the importance of vacation time and how little of it you get, therefore every effort is made to not waste a precious minute of it.

Environment – We believe in the “leave no trace” philosophy and in non invasive wildlife viewing. We rigidly apply the wildlife viewing guidelines of Straitwatch; www.straitwatch.org. We strive to ensure that future generations will have the same opportunities to enjoy our beautiful area as much as we do and you will.

Booking – Once we have booked a tour, we will not cancel it due to lack of participants. We will also not spring surcharges on you due to the tour not being full.

Small groups- We believe in small groups with all participants having more or less the same level of experience. It is very rare that we have any tour with over six participants; we believe a group size of four is more intimate and in keeping with minimizing environmental and wildlife impact, while ensuring that the wishes of the group are met.

Having fun – last but not least, nothing pleases us more than to see our guides and our guests coming back from one of our tours with huge smiles on their faces!

Need more information? Give us a call, or send us anemail.