Sorting out safety gear, food, and making arrangements for his support crew are among the details consuming Tauranga solo kayaker Tim Taylor's last five days ashore.

Tauranga man Tim Taylor leaves this week on his quest to be the first to kayak around New Zealand in a single continuous voyage.

On November 27, Tim plans to paddle out of the Tauranga harbour entrance with the aim of being the first person to ‘circum-kayak' New Zealand in a single voyage.
'I'm sorting out my support crew details, getting their contact lists,” says Tim.
'I'm also finding all the places that I'm meeting them and working out safety plans for them.”
Tim's expecting it will take three to six months to complete the 5500km voyage.

He quit his job and has since obtained the support of more than a dozen local, national, and international companies – including Mission Kayaks (Palmerston North), Back Country Cuisine (Invercargill), and GoPro (California).
'I worked hard to gain these sponsors and they expect me to perform. One of my greatest fears is letting these companies down because they've all given me so much,” says Tim.

West Coast kayaker Paul Caffyn is credited with being the first person to paddle around New Zealand's three main islands. In the late 1970s he first took on the South Island with friend Max Reynolds. The following year he completed a circuit of the North Island, and finished it all up with Stewart Island and Foveaux Strait. Paul Caffyn also notched up the first circumnavigation of Australia in a kayak during 1981 and 1982.

More recently there's been a flurry of activity around New Zealand by both men and women kayakers, but no-one has undertaken a complete trip around the whole country.
He says a large part of his motivation for the epic trip is simply that 'it's there to be done”.
Tim plans to paddle for six hours each day, pulling ashore for lunch and camping each night. He'll carry a GPS device called a ‘SPOT' to monitor progress on a special Google Earth page on his website. Tim plans to call into most major coastal towns along the way and is inviting the public to share some of the experience with him.

'I'm counting on local people's support and encouragement to help stay motivated,” says Tim.
Tim's website is www.nzkayaker.com
He intends keeping the site updated throughout the voyage, sharing his impressions of the New Zealand coastline through his blog, photos and video.