Kayaker Tim Taylor is 33 days into his attempt to circumnavigate New Zealand today.

On Wednesday morning he paddled into sunny Lyall Bay in Wellington where his parents, Lyn and Paul Taylor, were there to welcome him ashore.

This leg of his journey was delayed following a flurry of frightening tornadoes off Cape Palliser.

Kayaker Tim Taylor is ready to tackle the Cook Straight, 33 days into his journey around the New Zealand coastline.

'I have been sitting around the corner for about six days trying to get in,” says Tim.

'It was frustrating, but you can't take any risks with the wind.”

Tim says the wind was so wild he actually saw tornadoes off Cape Palliser.

'If I got in one of those, I'd end up in Christchurch.”

Tim usually positions himself 500 metres to 1km offshore and stops twice a day – once for lunch and then again for the night where he camps on the beach or stays with friends.

Today, Tim hopes to tackle the Cook Straight. Once across the straight, Tim will head for Blenheim, then Christchurch before rounding Bluff and heading up the west coast. He hopes to complete his journey and be back in Tauranga by early April.

'So far it's just the weather that is holding me up, but there is nothing you can do about that.”