Tim's back on the beach at Port Waikato after setting out from near the Waikato River mouth just after daybreak today.

He made it a few kilometres up the coast and a kilometre or two north of the river mouth, before turning back just before 8am. He returned to the beach at 9.44am and checked in on the Spot tracker as okay.

Tim Taylor.

Conditions were rough and there was a strong offshore wind taking him out, he said in a call to his mum Lyn this morning.

'In view of the fact that he had to tackle the Manukau bar, which is dangerous, he thought it would be worse down there so turned back,” says Lyn.

'The swell was big also.

'Port Waikato Top 10 Holiday Park has taken him under their wing and are looking after him – he just may be there for a couple of days.”

Tim was hoping to make Piha today.

The marine forecast for sea area Raglan is for a north easterly of 10 knots rising to 20 knots this afternoon. A two metre south west swell is expected to ease.

The wind is expected to strengthen to 25 knots tomorrow, ease Thursday and get up again on Friday with an onshore north westerly of 30 knots with rough seas.

Sea Area Raglan covers the North Taranaki Bight from Cape Egmont to Murawai.

Tim has now covered exactly 80 per cent of his trip and has 1130km to go on his mission to be the first person to kayak round New Zealand in a single voyage, says his dad Paul.

Tim set out from Tauranga on his history making paddle on November 27.

His support crew is estimating Tim will return to Tauranga in early June, given his present rate of progress.