From Ahipara at the southern end of the Ninety Mile Beach, kayaker Tim Taylor needs just three clear days to get round Cape Reinga and off the exposed west coast.

But to get within paddling distance of the cape, he has to cover 90 miles of open beach with a lee shore and no shelter.

Tim Taylor checking the conditions at Ninety Mile Beach. Photo: Lyn Taylor

He's waiting for the groundswell from last week's storm to subside enough to get off the beach.

He had a go late last week, but was unable to get out, says his mum, Lyn Taylor.

Tim's parents Lyn and Paul went up to Ahipara over the weekend, hoping to be on hand when he rounds the cape.

'We decided to come back because it wasn't looking good for a few days,” says Lyn.

While there they took Tim up to his next planned landing at the bluff, which is about 60km up the beach.

'We were able to get down onto the beach there – the surf was so big it was like three metre plus swells up there,” says Lyn.

'Tim stood and looked out and said: ‘Sometimes I'm really pleased with the decisions I make.'

'He was really pleased we had done that trip, because down in sheltered little Ahipara he could have made the wrong decision.”

Tim is expected to have another go at it tomorrow.