kayak nature adventures

On January 23, my wife and I visited Kayak Nature Adventures in Gulfport, Florida during our annual winter vacation. We were blessed to receive an informational personal guided tour of Boca Ciega Bay and Clam Bayou by the award winning Conservationist owner of KNA, Kurt Zuelsdorf. Kurt offered in lieu of taking out kayaks, he wanted to take us on a boat tour of several areas known for their wildlife. We gladly accepted, and soon we were on our way. Kurt took us to and area of Boca Ciega Bay that is known to be sea turtle friendly. We caught a glimpse of one turtle who was apparently glimpsing at us at the same time. We were shown beds of sea grasses, living coral, and places where propellers from boats had scarred the shallows of the bay. Later, we turned our attention to a visit to Clam Bayou, a magical place whose very health was spearheaded by Kurt and many caring folks from the Gulfport area. As we moved slowly along in the boat, Kurt pointed out many species of birds who call the bayou home. He explained their places in the bayou ecosystem, and how the different species interact in overlapping territories together. He explained how the mangroves we boated past help clean and filter the waters of Clam Bayou. We didn't find any elusive pythons in our trip, but that was just fine by us. The personal guided tour from Kurt Zuelsdorf was one of the highlights of our Florida stay, and we will for sure be back again next year for another... Kayak Nature Adventure!

Whether you're a local or taking a vacation with the family, these guys really know what they're doing. There's no better way to get a feel for the natural beauty that Florida has to offer than to get out there in the elements for yourself. The staff here is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful for all levels of kayaking experience. Our wedding anniversary is coming up this month & I know right where we'll be! Don't pass this up, a day on the water here is a memory that'll last forever. (-:

My wife and I were thinking about purchasing a SUP so we ventured to KNA to give it a try. After a great lesson from the owner, we ventured out thru the bayou, and when I was finally able to stay on top, we ventured along the beach, had a quick bite at Maddys, then paddled back. Unfortunatley for me being 6'2", the wind in my face made an easy paddle one heck of a workout. It was a great experience and I would thank them for introducing us to the SUP experience. And we did eventually get our own SUP. Great time had by all.

Had a great time with Kurt on the full moon paddle. We own kayaks so we received a discount on the fee. Had 3 members of my party including my daughter. We were supplied with a sub sandwich, chips and drink. Completely comfortable giving credit card info over the phone and signed waiver at the meeting spot. Went for a nice paddle with a group of approx. 10 others and Kurt pointed out areas of interest and took us to look for manatees. Very informative and professional. Had a blast when we hit the island and we were able to roam around and explore. The paddle back was fun as the moon was full and we each had our own lights to paddle by. My daughter turned hers upside down into the storage cubby and her entire kayak glowed. Had a blast. I have recommended Kayak Nature Adventures to others and would go on further trips with them also. Have never had anyone tell me they had anything other than a great time with Kurt.FYI my visit was outside of the listed dates so I selected the oldest available.

My husband and I traveled to Florida last year and ended up at Kayak Nature Adventures. Being from Michigan, we had never kayaked before so this was new to us. The guide was well versed and experienced and explained everything to us in detail. Off we went! Beautiful scenery, perfect weather and the birds were just gorgeous!! We were hoping to see an alligator but we didn't. Arriving back, we were greeted warmly and helped out of the boats. The owner was there and he invited us up to have a cold one and talk about our adventure. All in all a great experience that I would recommend to anyone traveling in the Gulfport Florida area. :)

I'm a local and I've paddled with Kurt of Kayak Nature no less than five times over the past few years, and I've rented kayaks and SUPs from him as well as (more recently) brought my own 'yak for a guided paddle. I can't and won't speak to what has "Newin M" upset, but I can say that I've given him my credit card and never had a problem. I don't know any of his staff but I can't imagine the gentle man who I've dealt with would ever tolerate anything like that.Now, as to the paddle – Kurt is incredibly knowledgeable of the area and the environmental challenges unique to Clam Bayou. I've been with larger groups and he's always shown a keen sense of knowing when the weaker paddlers needed a break and when to make the paddle more challenging. For example: there are a few mangrove tunnels in the bayou, and on one trip he took us through some, but on others – with less experienced paddlers – he did not. The bayou itself has undergone some state "redesign" over the past few years, and KNA staff has some interesting perspectives on that, too. All in all, I've never had a bad experience and I've gone out several times. It's a solid operation and I've never had anything but an exceptional experience. I would tell you to try it out – it makes a nice hidden escape from the droves of tourists. Oh, and paddle over to one of the beachfront restaurants in Gulfport and check them out, too, especially O'Maddy's!

I've rented paddle boards and kayaks from Kayak Nature Adventure dozens of times and strongly encourage you to visit them if you're in the area. Kurt and Crew are friendly, knowledgeable, and fun and will prepare you for a truly Florida experience on the water. Whether you're paddling around the marina, gliding between mangroves in the Clam Bayou estuary, or making your way to Gulfport Beach via Boca Ciega Bay, you will get a close up look at Florida's unique wild and marine life. Happy Paddling.

One of the most enjoyable experiences. Peaceful and lovely day on the water. The owner sort of a laid back mellow dude was very knowledgeable and helpful. Every detail was covered and safety seemed to be be rule #1. We will definitley be back again and again.

Unethical business practices, terrible customer service and verbally abusive staff! This morning my family and I made arrangements to rent a couple of kayaks from Kayak Nature Adventures in Gulfport. When we arrived I gave the attendant my credit card for payment. I did not sign a voucher because I assumed that the card was left open for security until our return. While we were out on the water my son asked why I had allowed the attendant to write down my credit card number on a piece of paper. I was not aware that he had physically written the number down on something other than a credit card voucher and was understandably concerned at this obvious breach of security in credit card handling. When we returned I asked the attendant for a credit card voucher to sign. He said that he did not have one. He said that he had called another person and given them my credit card information to run the card. I asked about the paper that he had written the credit card number on and he told me that he had torn it up. When I said that I would like to see the paper and get a receipt for the charges he instantly became very hostile. He told me that I would have to wait until he washed off the boats and the life jackets before he could walk up the eight foot ladder to the office and get the shredded paper for me. He told me that he had a job to do and this was not part of it. After waiting ten minutes for him to finish cleaning the boats and life jackets he walked up the stairs and got the garbage can from the office. He brought it down and handed it to me. He told me that I was free to go through it and see if I could find the shredded paper. When I told him that this was unacceptable he began to curse and threaten me. He told me that I wasn't going to get a receipt for the days charges and to get the f... of his docks. When we got to the car outside of the fence he continued to curse. He even went as far as insulting us for not leaving a tip. He told me that helped us into the water in the morning and then pulled my fat a** out of the water when we got back. I would caution anyone who is considering using this operation to think again. Poor customer service is one thing. Abusive employees are worse but writing a persons credit card number down on a piece of paper is a sign of total incompetence and indifference to standard business procedures. There are several other companies in the area that are more professional and friendly. If you don't mind being verbally abused and having your credit card information floating around somewhere give them a shot.

Our day with the kayaks began smoothly. Although the owner was out of town and his daughter and her friends were running the show, we did not allow that to deter us. We (3 adults and 3 children) set off on an unguided tour in the soft but steady rain.After about an hour in the mangroves, we ventured toward the beach. The girls had told us we would be able to pull up onto the beach to eat our picnic lunch. As we made our way there, suddenly one of the kayaks was getting tossed around, water thrashing everywhere. It was the scariest, traumatic thing any of us had ever gone through. We paddled as quickly as possible to get away from whatever was attacking us and pulled the kayaks up into someones backyard.After calming the firghtened members of our party, one of us set off on foot to return to Kayak Nature's boat.After 40 minutes, she returned and said that she waited there at the boat (along with a couple of other people who had a reservation) and no one was working there. The people with reservations left, and we were stuck having to carry 3 two-person (100 lbs each minimum) kayaks around 3/4ths of a mile back.With 200 yards left to walk, I walked over to the boat and found the daughter, explained what happened and asked her to help us. She laughed and said "Oh, it was a manatee, it happens all the time." I asked what they normally do when someone gets stranded and needs help, her response was "You are responsible for returning your own kayak."After calling the girl's father, he refused to refund ANY of the money we paid for the half day rental (that we used a single hour of).We will never rent from Kayak Nature Adventure's again.