It's cruise ship season in Fiordland and Tauranga Kayaker Tim Taylor is discovering he's sharing the coast with some large neighbours.

'There's so many boats down there,” says his mum Lyn Taylor.

Tim Taylor.

'At the moment it's cruise ship time – they are all down there at the moment.”

Tim's closing in on Milford Sound today where there is a reception being prepared for him by Rosco's Milford Kayaks.

'He's got a food drop there anyway,” says Lyn.

'His original plans were to have two days there, but I'm not sure. He might keep going because he's had that break and he's behind – he'll have to make that call.”

Tim is on a mission to be the first person to kayak around New Zealand in a single voyage.

He paddled 70km on Tuesday after a really good weekend. He started out as cook on a DOC boat that was counting dolphins.

'That was exciting for him,” says Lyn.

'They had to go further on and do some other research. They got him onto a barge.”

It had accommodation and a helipad. Tim was settling in when some hunters arrived by helicopter. Sunday was spent hunting and fishing with that party.

'It was just what he needed,” says Lyn.

Tim's passage up the Fiordland coast has been dogged by bad weather forcing him to spend most of the last two weeks ashore.

As Tim clears the fiords, satellite phone reception is improving, says Lyn, and Meri Leask, the voice of Bluff Fishermens' Radio, is still keeping an eye on Tim.

'Meri Leask has just been a saviour to us, she's been awesome,” says Lyn.

'I just have to contact her and she gets a fishing boat out. They are all watching Tim, she knows where every fishing boat from Antarctic to Fiji is and they are all watching him.

'She will ring me every day or every second day just checking up on Tim. She says she feels like she's got another son at the moment.”

As he passed Secretary Island at the entrance to Doubtful Sound, Tim also entered a new sea area for marine forecasts.
The forecast for sea area Milford is for good weather today with a northeasterly developing this evening and strengthening to a 25 knot northerly on Thursday morning with rough seas.
The outlook is for a southerly change Friday at 15 knots, dropping to 10 knots variable Friday evening.