Kayaking in Mallacoota: Kayak Hire, Prices and Where to Paddle

Mallacoota Hireboats and Buckland's Jetty Boat Hire both hire out kayaks. Mallacoota Hireboats also has SUPs.

Mallacoota Hireboats

Mallacoota Hireboats is family-run and has been going since 2012. Grant Cockburn hires out kayaks, SUPs and pedal boats, alongside power boats, the fast boat Kermit, the Inlet Barbie pontoon and bikes.

It's at 10 Buckland Drive, with the jetty at M38 Coulls Inlet, and it's open seven days, 7:30am to 6pm. Phone 0474 818 058.

Shorter hires start from $30 for a single kayak. Pedal boats are $10 a half hour, and fishing rods $10 a day. For power boats, Kermit and the Inlet Barbie, see our Mallacoota boat hire guide.

Buckland's Jetty Boat Hire

Buckland's Jetty Boat Hire is on Lakeside Drive and hires single and double kayaks. It's open seven days, daylight hours only, weather permitting. Phone 0428 580 660, which is also the number to ring if the shed is unattended. It takes cash or EFTPOS, and its website is bucklandsjettyboathire.com.

Prices can change, so check when you ring to book.

Not at Mallacoota Hireboats. No boat licence is needed for its kayaks, SUPs or pedal boats, or for its power boats. You only need a licence there for Kermit and the Inlet Barbie.

Guests at three of our houses can get to a launch point for a kayak or paddleboard from the house.

• 7 Allan Drive is waterfront and in town, and you can launch a kayak from it.
• Gabo Views is waterfront and in town, and you can launch a kayak from it.
• Four on Stingray Point has water views but isn't waterfront. You can launch a kayak from it, and it takes dogs (see our pet-friendly stays).

• The Narrows join Mallacoota's Top Lake and Bottom Lake.
• Double Creek Arm is a sheltered arm of the inlet, good for a sunrise paddle among overhanging trees and birdlife.
• Gipsy Point is up the inlet, a quieter, more remote stretch for paddling.

The inlet has white-bellied sea eagles, pelicans, black swans, cormorants and azure kingfishers. Dolphins and seals turn up from time to time near the inlet mouth, most often early in the morning.

If birds are the point of the trip, Dale runs guided birdwatching cruises on the inlet (see our birdwatching cruise guide), and the Mallacoota wildlife guide covers the rest.

• Stingrays are common over the inlet's sand flats, so look where you're walking when you hop out in the shallows.
• Book boat hire for Christmas and January as early as you can.
• Wear a life jacket, take water and sun protection, and check the wind forecast before a longer paddle.
• Put your phone in a dry bag.

The water is warmest in late January and February. If the kids would rather splash than paddle, the inlet shallows near the Main Wharf are calm and shallow, the best spot for little ones. Our Mallacoota beaches and swimming guide covers the rest of where to get in the water.