apollo bay surf and kayak

A great trip kayaking to the seals. After leaving our details with the surf shop, Dan let us know that the tour was a goer and told us where to meet. It's important to realise that he will only take you if the weather is safe so you may not hear from him until it's very close to. We met in front of Marengo Caravan Park and Dan set us up with wetsuits, life jackets and helmets. Dan explained how to use the paddles properly, what to do if we fall out and he also drew a course in the sand we were going to follow. This was great for us as we have never sea kayaked before. It was a beautiful day, paddling out to the seals and watching them 'stampede' (they all rush into the water). We saw them so close, swimming around and washing their whiskers. At the end of the tour, Dan asked us if we wanted to try and ride a wave in the kayak, it was so much fun. Just be wary if you suffer sea sickness, it can get a little choppy around the reef. An awesome day.

I did the Great Ocean Walk with Walk 91 - and it was great. Mark the owner of the whole lot was very helpful, flexible and knowledgeable. He organized my accommodation and transfers to and from ending/start points. Fantastic experience. Thanks Mark and to all the others involved as Sam, Peter, Ian, Allan....

We met Dan at the meeting point after booking up to do the seal tour that morning, although there were only 2 of us we went out and it was amazing, we had multiple seals swimming in the water around us and on the island. Dan was very knowledgeable about the seals and helped us learn to catch waves in the kayak on the way back to shore, it was a brilliant experience and a lot of fun!! Well worth it and would do it again!

I contacted the Apollo Bay Surf & Kayak people 3 weeks before my trip to enquire about booking in for the seal kayak, cost, conditions, where to meet, other details etc. The information they gave me was vague and just kept telling me they'd call me closer to date, but I know I like to be organised and informed.... so I'll just let you know what I learnt from my experience: - They won't run it for just one person, and will take out a maximum of 8 people. - It costs $60 per person.- Wear bathers as you will get wet (we all wore exercise gear as I wasnt told we were putting on wetsuits). - Book in for a date (but keep other dates open as the conditions mean you may need to reschedule). - Ask for the owners phone number and ask him to text message you on the day of your kayak to confirm if conditions are okay.- The seal kayaking usually runs from October - March (summer months as the conditions are better and the seals are more active). I went on October 20th and was "the first of the season". I was lucky to do this experience because I was persistent - the owners are very relaxed and I also understand that the conditions mean a lot of cancellations, but they could have been much more helpful (ie. telling me everything above).In saying that, I had a great time! I knew he wouldnt run if with just me, so I convinced 2 French girls to come with me. The next day it was cancelled because of conditions. We had scheduled a 10am meet (both the girls and I all turned up in the meeting spot, but the guy didnt as he text messaged me at 9:30 saying conditions were not right). Unfortunately this was quite late in the morning and limited my day (I had a contingency plan and went horse riding, and then to the 12 Apostles!). We rescheduled for 9am the next morning. That night I met 2 American girls and convinced them to come. Luckily conditions were okay the next morning, and the guy was thankful that I had drummed up so much business for him! (I just wanted to make sure I could definitely go along!!)We went out for about 3 hours. The paddling is very easy as it's only just off the beach. We got right in at the rocks so we were surrounded by seals. They are a bit skittish so they do keep their distance, but if you stay still they will relax and play in front of the kayaks. I have great GoPro footage of a seal jumping out of a wave right next to me and splashing us! One of the French girls jumped in the water to swim up to them, but they all swam away (naturally)... so stay in the kayaks. The guide was knowledgeable about the seals and local area so it was interesting to learn more about them too. On the way back in we surfed the waves and had a ball just going back out to catch waves. Both pairs of girls I took along said it was their favourite experience from the Great Ocean Road, and I felt the same. I would definitely do it again :)

Sadly I didn't get to go on the trip to see the seals as the trip had to be cancelled at the last minute due to weather conditions. As an experienced kayaker at home I know the decision made by the instructor on site was absolutely correct. However, I felt it was worth a review to comment as the staff in the shop were really friendly and helpful when booking, the instructor on site was great and although sadly I had to get a refund as moving on before the weather cleared, this was easily and swiftly done in the shop.

It was a perfect day with no swell and the sun shining. The guides were young but very knowledgable and ensured that the whole group were well looked after and cared for. We saw lot of seals and the guide was a font of information about the seal colony. It was a great 2 hrs.

Great experience for my kids. Instructors were amazing and really loved teaching the kids. We had James mostly and he was fabulous fun and a great teacher. But all the others were obviously great too. Loads of fun! They deserve a higher rating and I think the review which scores the down because they failed to reply to an email is a disgrace! Really, who expects surfers to be anywhere but catching waves? Do you want a passionate surfie or an efficient clerk teaching your kids (or yourself, adults seemed to be having as much fun). A definite must and the highlight of our visit. Thanks

The wife REALLY wanted to try this, so we delayed our great ocean road drive for 4 hours to accommodate, and I am so happy we did! It was great to see the seal colony, and have them swim all around us! The tour guide knew a ton about the seals in the colony and australian fur seals in general.Also, catching waves at the end of the trip was AWESOME!

My girlfriend and I stayed for a while in Apollo Bay and we had time to scout around. From the first time I walked into Surf and Kayak the owner, Mark, showed the utmost hospiltality and made us feel like we already had a friend there. They have heaps of equipment and they are eager to share what they know and ensure you enjoy yourself in the ocean. I really felt that they felt rewarded when I had a good time. I recommend this shop for anyone coming through the area, whether your wanting to learn to surf, want to kayak near the seals, or just want to grab a board and head to the water for that bit of magic that seems to take hold when you feel the might of the ocean.

Girlfriend booked this when we were staying in Apollo bay, I was actually annoyed at first because we were trying to watch our money after having an expensive trip. I'm glad to say however that it was well worth it, enjoyed kayaking out to the seal colony. We surfed the waves back to the beach which was fun, the guides actually let us keep doing it until we were bored. Great thing to do if your staying around Apollo bay for a few days!

our group of 7 kids had a lesson and they all stood up and loved it. james is a great teacher, even my 6 yr old had success.

As stated we did not end up going on our desired kayak trip. This was mainly due to the poor response we had to emails. I appreciate I could have picked up the phone but the website does have a large 'Book now online' sign. After filling this in I got no response so three days later I emailed direct and got a response a day later. I emailed back with my contact details as requested and a question relating to where to meet the tour to get no response. The night before we went I emailed cancelling which I assume they received (but didn't acknowledge) as I received no phone call asking where we were.

We had a great time kayaking out to see the fur seals. Mark was super friendly and very knowledgable, gave us a good tour, and we even got to catch some waves (read: spectacularly wipe out). Definitely worth doing!

Отличный сервис, опытные инструкторы помогут научиться обращаться с кайяками и плавать на них, также в ассортименте все нужное для самостоятельного серфинга.