Tim Taylor is ashore just a few kilometres down the coast from Little Whanganui inlet, one of the last ports of call before the paddle around Farewell Spit.

His support crew think he's waiting out gale force southerly winds expected to hit the West Coast today.

Tim Taylor.

Tim left Karamea Saturday, overnighting at the ranger's station at the Heaphy river mouth before continuing up the coast.

Sunday night, Tim pulled ashore at the Paturau river mouth, south of the major inlet at Little Whanganui, but at the end of Dry Road – the overland connection to Collingwood.

Once he's rounded Farewell Spit at the northern end of the South Island, Tim will be in the more sheltered waters of Golden Bay, offering easy access to the coastal communities of Collingwood, or Tarakohe, without having to run the gauntlet of large shore dumps from ocean swells.

On his website, nzkayaker.com Tim writes about some of the trials of getting ashore on the exposed West Coast beaches.

He is attempting to be the first person to circum-kayak New Zealand in a single voyage in a kayak. He left Tauranga on November 27 last year.