Lawrence (top left) with a Nadgee Solo Kayak

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Lawrence, the owner-operator of Nadgee Kayaks, arguably Australia’s best locally-made sea kayaks. He’d driven up from his home near Bega on the south coast to deliver the first Nadgee Kayak to Sydney Harbour Kayaks, who are now distributing these awesome sea kayaks.

Lawrence is a fascinating guy. He’s a friendly unassuming fella who has paddled such amazing places as Antarctica and the Bass Straight. He uses solar power to run his kayak workshop. He built his own house. He also makes incredibly beautiful, and if the rumours are correct, superbly functional sea kayaks.

I got Lawrence to show me the Nadgee Solo he’d just delivered. His passion for the boat is infectious, and in his words, “I love sea kayaking, and wanted to build an awesome sea kayaker’s boat”. It only takes a quick glance at his customer list and you can see that some of the world’s best paddlers share the same view of his kayaks. Justine Curgeven, of This is the Sea fame, paddled a rudderless and skegless version of the Solo across Bass Straight (ie mainland Australia to Tasmania), a true testament to its paddling credentials.

Now I’ve yet to paddle it myself, so I can’t review it. I can tell you it looks damn sexy though, has incredible attention to detail, and that I will most definitely be reviewing it as soon as I can get some time in it!

For sales, a test paddle, or just more information on Nadgee kayaks , visit Sydney Harbour Kayaks.

Nadgee Kayaks - beautiful!