5 Day Expedition Sea Kayak Course December 7, 2024

This is a 5-day sea kayak course.

5-DAY EXPEDITION SEA KAYAK COURSE OVERVIEW

Our 5-day sea kayaking course will give you all the skills you need to take on a multi-day expedition sea kayaking in exposed (open coast) waters. Delivered by New Zealand’s leading sea kayak instructors, you will learn all the essential skills to get out there and sea kayak independently.  The course is based from Duvauchelle, Akaroa Harbour; we have access to every bay around Banks Peninsula as our training ground. You will have access to a range of bays and some rugged and exposed coastlines, as well as remote sea cliffs and bays.

This is a popular course for those who have a good foundation of sea kayaking experience and would like to extend their skills and confidence to take on more technical and exposed paddling.

PRICE $1969* (MINIMUM AGE 18 YEARS)

Youth Price $999** (16-17 years, accompanied by an adult)

Ask about our Family Friendly courses for ages less than 16 years.

Prerequisites

Participants must have completed an introductory sea kayaking course with a club or provider. That includes basic paddling skills, including draw strokes, brace strokes and ferry gliding. i.e. OENZ 2-day Sea kayak course.  Must be able to demonstrate competent self-rescues in moving water.

We recommend participants complete the online Coastguard VHF training course and assessment before attending this course; however, this is not a requirement.

Sea Kayak Course Location

This course can be delivered from many of the bays around Banks Peninsula. We will use the following areas as our main locations to visit, but this may vary based on weather and abilities.

Locations we often use:

Akaroa Harbour:

Barrys Bay, Duvauchelle or Wainui put in (adverse weather/sea state options)

Banks Pensullia:

Le Bons Bay, Pigeon Bay, Port Levy, Okains Bay

Where possible, we will be aiming to complete an overnight expedition on days 4 and 5. This will allow participants to put all of their skills to the test while continuing their training along the way. However, this overnight expedition will only be possible if the weather is suitable, and the instructor will determine this during the course. 

Accommodation

Based from Duvauchelles, Akaroa, we will utilise cabins at the local camping ground, which puts us within 30 minutes of driving time to many of the bays. Single beds in shared rooms, with a small kitchen stocked with utensils, cookware, fridge, and ovens. You’ll also be treated to power, bathroom facilities, hot showers and heating. All you need to bring is your sleeping bag & pillow.

Food

Food is not included in this course, but the instructor will have a vehicle to drive everyone into Duvauchelles Pub or Akaroa for evening meals. We recommend you bring a couple of easy camping-style meals, in case we can go for a 1-2 night expedition around the peninsula.

TRANSPORT

If you’re staying in a hotel

Free transport is available from any Christchurch accommodation if you’re travelling from out of town to attend one of our courses.

Meeting locations (catch a ride with us)

If you have your own car and want a lift, we can meet you at one of the following locations.

Princess Margaret Hospital Car Park (8:25 am)

Governors Bay Hotel (8:45 am)

*Our preferred meeting location is Governors Bay Hotel.

TRAVELLING FROM OUT OF TOWN?

We recommend that you arrive in Christchurch the day before your course. We have a few hotel & hostel suggestions on our FAQ’s page. Please avoid booking accommodation north or east of the city centre.  At the end of the course, we are more than happy to drop you back at your accommodation or directly to the airport.  The earliest time we can have you back at the airport is 6 pm.

WHAT GEAR DO I NEED FOR THIS SEA KAYAK COURSE?

You don’t need your own kayaking equipment for this course. We have all the specialist gear & equipment available for you to borrow. If you have your own gear, we encourage you to bring it along, as it’s better to train with the gear you will be using. A full gear list is available to download at the bottom of this page.

We recommend holding off on purchasing any new sea kayak gear until after the course.  Why not buy new stuff? So you can optimise your instructors’ knowledge and recommendations. (If you already own gear, then please let us know).

This sea kayaking course includes

Surf launching and landing practical and theory

• Launching in the surf, landing in the surf, surfing waves
  
• Wind, waves and swell, Beaufort scale, rebounding and refracting waves, boomers, storm surges, beachology

Weather

• Understand marine forecasts
• interpreting weather, wind and tidal data

Advanced rescues

• Long tows, contact tows, t rescues
• Stern deck carry
• Sling/stirrup rescue
• Leadership and incident management

  

Planning and preparing for multiday sea kayaking trips

Expedition Sea Kayaking skills

• Paddling formations, managing transitions
• Navigation: reading nautical charts and navigating with a compass
• Water treatment
• Garbage and organics
• Toileting
• Topology
• Fire lighting
• Recording, emergency distress signals, emergency shelters
• Communication devices

The instructor will plan out the content each day to fit in with weather and sea state conditions. We have a general guide on what we will cover on a particular day of the course, but this is subject to change. 

How many people will be on my course?

We believe that small groups are better for this type of training. So we have a maximum client-to-instructor ratio of just four clients to one instructor. If there are six clients, you will have one guide and one assistant guide. With eight clients, there will be two guides, and you’ll operate in two smaller groups.

Does this sea kayak course have minimum numbers?

Yes, the minimum number for the course to proceed at the advertised price is two participants. We won’t cancel your course if we don’t meet the minimum numbers, though. Instead, we will offer you the following options:

a.) A shorter private course with 1-1 tuition – e.g. with one person, we can cover the course content much faster, so far fewer days are needed.

b.) You will be offered to continue with the course as planned and cover the extra cost.

c.) We can transfer you to another date when the course is running again.

Note: In the unlikely event that the course length is shortened due to insufficient numbers. We will provide accommodation for you in Christchurch for the full duration of your original booking. Ie. Any extra time following the course being shortened.

* This is the early bird booking price, standard rates available on the course calendar.

**Conditions apply for youth pricing structure. See FAQ’s page.

See what our clients have to say

“Awesome course, learnt so much, challenging but really supportive learning environment.” – Lydia, Christchurch

“Fantastic team at OENZ. Excellent fun and learning with a great group of like-minded people. Thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and the skills will inevitably allow greater access to our beautiful country. Highly recommend!” – Rob James, Canterbury.

“The experience, enthusiasm and communication from the instructors was great. We’re off to buy a sea kayak and try out the stuff we learned” – Carlos Rosado, Christchurch

5-day Sea Kayak Course downloads

PHONE: +64 3 329 9076                                EMAIL: [email protected]