Yellow kayaks exploring a clear turquoise inlet surrounded by native Abel Tasman forest

ABEL TASMAN, NEW ZEALAND

Abel Tasman kayaking adventures

Golden beaches. Clear waters. A different pace. Explore the Abel Tasman with the locals who call it home.

100% locally owned and operated Located in the Abel Tasman National Park
The greatest place on earthOur home is your home, you're welcome
Your kind of adventureGuided tours & freedom kayaking
A place worth protectingEnvironmental Access Fee included

See what our customers think.

Every paddle leaves a story. Read what our guests have shared about their time exploring the Abel Tasman coast with Kahu Kayaks.

GET OUT THERE

Two ways to find your happy place.

Choose a guided kayaking experience when you want a friendly local to lead the way. With full-day, half-day and family options, you can explore sheltered coves, golden beaches and the little corners of the Abel Tasman coast, or combine your paddle with time on the coastal track or a water taxi ride. Choose freedom kayaking when you want to set your own pace. After an equipment and safety briefing, head out independently for a day or a longer adventure, with options to add a coastal walk or water taxi return. Linger at a favourite beach, plan an overnight escape and make the coast your own.

Qualworx Safety Audit Certified – Adventure Activities

SAFETY & RECOGNITION

Safety audited. Awarded Qualmark Gold.

Kahu Kayaks is Safety Audit certified for adventure activities through Qualworx, and was awarded Qualmark Gold under the Sustainable Tourism Business criteria following an April 2024 evaluation.

  • Qualworx Safety AuditCertified for adventure activities
  • Qualmark GoldSustainable Tourism Business criteria · evaluated April 2024
Safety & certification

A LITTLE INSPIRATION

Where will your paddle take you?

View all guided tours
Kayakers exploring a narrow inlet in Abel Tasman National Park

GUIDED KAYAKING

Full day

Make a day of it with a local guide, from the marine reserve to trips that pair your paddle with a coastal walk or water taxi ride.

See full-day tours
Kayaking beside a golden Abel Tasman beach

GUIDED KAYAKING

Half day

A guided paddle along the southern coast, with plenty of the day left over for everything else.

See half-day tours
A smiling young paddler in a life jacket and Kahu cap, lying back in a yellow kayak

GUIDED KAYAKING

Family friendly

Our Family Cruiser trips paddle from Mārahau to Split Apple Rock, with little explorers welcome from age 5.

See family options
Freedom kayaking in clear Abel Tasman water

YOUR PADDLE. YOUR PACE.

Freedom kayak

After an equipment and safety briefing, head out on your own for a day or a longer adventure along the coast.

Explore freedom tours
Two people in a yellow double kayak beside a golden beach and clear green water
Welcome to our golden piece of Aotearoa.
A Kahu paddler enjoying the open water beside a yellow kayak

SMALL TEAM. BIG LOVE FOR THIS PLACE.

It’s more than a place to paddle. It’s home.

We’re a small, 100% locally owned kayak company with a big appreciation for our golden corner of Aotearoa.

From panoramic coastal views to nesting cormorants, sea caves and Split Apple Rock, we love sharing the places that make the Abel Tasman so special. Come and see our backyard from the water.

Get to know our crew

Meet Starfish

A little ginger. A lot of adventure.

Stephen, Starfish to the crew, is our longest-serving guide and the proudest redhead in the Abel Tasman. He’s spent years working under a sun that is clearly out to get him, and he wouldn’t swap a single freckle.

So when Big Ginger and Little Ginger finally got a day out together, they packed the essentials: plenty of sunscreen, one double kayak and a chainsaw. One kayak was harmed in the making of this film.

Please don’t try this with your hire kayak. Ours leave the shed in one piece, and with enough sunscreen, so does Stephen.

Meet the rest of the crew
Gingers Day Out. Starring Big Ginger and Little Ginger.0:59

A LITTLE KAHU CARRY-ON

There’s always one in the crew.

A couple of short films from Kahu HQ. Same crew, same sense of humour. We’ll let them do the talking.

Meet the cast on Kahu TV
Stephen’s summer survival tips.0:58
Stephen and the flare. What could possibly go wrong?0:50

SEE YOU ON THE WATER

Your adventure starts here.

Ready to go, or need a hand choosing your trip? We’d love to help.

Book your adventure
0800 300 101+64 3 527 8300info@kahukayaks.co.nz

325 Sandy Bay – Mārahau Road, Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand

Find us in Mārahau
Environmental Access Fee included

LOOKING AFTER OUR BACKYARD

Enjoy it. Help protect it.

Your trip includes an Environmental Access Fee, supporting the preservation of the Abel Tasman National Park and local environmental projects.

Discover the Mārahau Pledge