Outdoor Leadership activity: Sea Kayaking

Sea kayaking allows participants to paddle away from the shore and experience New Zealand's stunning coastal waters, in a range of conditions from glassy calm to choppy waves. 

These electives are designed for capable leaders on sea kayaks who are looking to gain skills and experience.

Before you start

To enrol in these programmes, you need to be working in outdoor recreation, in a paid job, self-employed, or as a volunteer with regular and consistent shifts.

If you don't have a role lined up, contact us to talk about how we can help.

What's involved?

The sea kayaking elective is available at Level 4 and Level 5 (Guiding).  

You'll be trained, observed and assessed in the workplace, and some of your assessments will be completed online. 

You will complete a Fundamentals module, in addition to the sea kayaking elective. Once you've completed Fundamentals at each level, you can add further electives without having to repeat it. 

The evidence required at each level is outlined below:

Level 4 will be able to plan and lead introductory sea kayaking activities on flat water

  • At least 40 hours' sea kayaking using a closed deck single or double sea kayak on flat water
  • At least 5 additional sessions as a co-leader or assistant leader on a closed deck single or double sea kayak. A session is considered to be 1 hour minimum.

Level 5 (Guiding) graduates will be able to plan and guide sea kayaking activities, including multi-day trips

  • Trainees must hold a Maritime VHF Radio Operators certificate and Coastguard Day Skippers license before they can be assessed for the Level 5 Instruction certificate
  • At least 40 days' sea kayaking experience; including at least 15 days' personal experience, 25 days' guiding experience, and 10 days on multi-day trips.
  • Guiding experience can be as an assistant guide or co-guide
  • A day is considered to be at least 4 hours on water; shorter sessions can be accumulated to make a day
  • The length of trips should allow for experiencing a range of conditions: tidal flows, semi-diurnal and/or diurnal tides, chop, waves, clapotis, or complete calm.

Did you know...

Once you've achieved your Outdoor Leadership certificate, you will be registered with the New Zealand Register of Recreation Professionals. You can keep your registration current by re-registering every three years.

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