Kayaking can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. It's an all-inclusive sport.
Some days Bay rivers are so crowded with young kayakers, it is hard for Olympians Luuka Jones and Mike Dawson to get a spot on the water.
But rather than being annoyed at the vanloads of youngsters training at places including Kopurererua Stream in Tauranga and Okere Falls at Rotorua, the crowds make Jones' and Dawson's hearts soar.
"It puts a smile on our faces," says silver medallist Jones. "[The sport] is definitely growing."
Dawson says the number of school children paddling at Okere Falls where he is based is phenomenal.
"Someone did say to me that the price of kayaks went up on Trade Me after the Olympics," she tells 48 Hours with a laugh.
However, both her and Dawson say the real credit lies with an army of parent volunteers who have developed a strong club and training programme for young kayaking in the Bay.
Among those is Sue Clarke, president of Canoe Slalom Bay of Plenty and mum to two Olympic canoe slalom competitors, Bryden and Ella Nicholas, who represented the Cook Islands at Rio last year.
Clarke's third child, Jane Nicholas, is also a national canoe slalom paddler and like both her siblings, is a doctor at Tauranga Hospital.
Clarke says she always touts the benefits of competitive kayaking to other parents. "It's been a fantastic journey for my family and they've all succeeded despite time off [study] and the commitment."
It's evolving the sport not just nationally, but internationally. And it's such a cool sport.
Canoe Slalom BOP was established in 2008, growing out of River Adventures Club, which was started by Tauranga Boys' College teacher Rob Sperling with a few students keen to try whitewater kayaking.
Now, more than 70 children aged between 9 and 18 participate in programmes run by Canoe Slalom BOP, training with coaches from the likes of Slovakia and France.
The young athletes work through levels of a Paddle Passport, beginning on flat water at Waimarino and Kopurererua Stream before moving on to whitewater at Okere Falls and Wairoa River (when the floodgates are open on the latter).
There are also canoe slalom gates on the Tarawera River at Kawerau and the new Vector Wero Whitewater Park in Auckland offers a further training ground for the elite.
Clarke says nearly all the country's top canoe slalom athletes come from the Bay and she credits it to the coaching pathway, richness of the region's river resources, and the mentorship of local Olympians.
"Mike Dawson and Luuka have always been an inspiration for everyone and it gives the young ones starting out belief that they can get there," says Clarke.
"They can make it to the Olympics and even win a medal."
INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION Mike Dawson says the Bay - and in particular, the Kaituna - is developing an enviable reputation as a kayaking destination.
He says a growing number of leading international kayakers are spending the northern winter at Okere Falls, coming from big cities such as London and Prague.
"Here, I think they get a lot back from it," Dawson says. "The Kaituna is a beautiful place and there's a cool community vibe, and of course, the river is flowing all the time."
With the addition of Wero in Auckland, overseas athletes now had two world-class facilities within a couple of hours of each other.
EMBRACING THE OCEAN Dave Atkins, owner of specialist store Canoe & Kayak Bay of Plenty, says sea kayaking is another type of kayaking burgeoning in popularity.
"It's a cost-effective way of getting out on the water. It's much cheaper than buying a boat."
Katikati-based Atkins does canoe slalom competitively but loves sea kayaking and tries to paddle the ocean two or three times a week.
"You can get out there and away from everything. It's the peace and quiet," he says.
His favourite spots are Mount Maunganui and Waihi beaches.
"As long as you look at the weather forecast and don't go out in conditions that are above your ability, it's not a dangerous sport."
The club requires members to do a safety course and recommends ones run by licensed operators at Canoe & Kayak in Auckland and Taupo (there is no course available in the Bay).
It's a cost-effective way of getting out on the water. It's much cheaper than buying a boat.
Skills taught include how to cope if your kayak capsizes and Leyshon says the club regularly meets to practise such skills, including doing a rescue session at Tauranga Marina this week.
Leyshon, 40, says she was a relative latecomer to kayaking, taking it up in her mid 20s, but is now confident on all types of water and like her partner, enjoys the escapism. "You get in a kayak and it genuinely makes you switch off. [And in Tauranga] we can paddle in parts right by the city centre and you feel a world away."
She says as a region, the Bay is incredibly spoilt for choice, with Tauranga Harbour, the Rotorua Lakes and the Coromandel on our doorstep. For those who have never kayaked before and want to give it a go, she recommends hiring a kayak for a few hours from Waimarino or Pilot Bay. Joining the Yakity Yak club would be a next step, she says.
GUIDED KAYAK TRIPS Justin Hutton, owner of Rotorua's River Rats Raft & Kayak, says guided kayak trips are also increasingly popular. He says about half the clientele on ones his company offers on Lake Rotoiti are New Zealanders and the trips offer a good option for beginners lacking confidence.
Participants get to visit hot pools only accessible from the water and in eight years, only one person had capsized.
Evening trips were attracting growing numbers and Hutton says the Rotorua lakes also offer many great opportunities for freedom kayakers, including overnight trips on Lake Tarawera.
"You can do anything from an hour to a couple of days," he says.
However, he warned that the big thing when kayaking the Rotorua Lakes was "not pushing your limits with the weather".
Lifejackets were essential and Lake Rotorua in particular was deceptive.
"It's got a steep, short chop and changes quickly because it is an exposed lake." Hutton has been involved in the rafting and kayaking business almost two decades and says there is nothing better than paddling across Lake Rotoiti with a group of people at sunset.
Other kayaking companies in the Bay offering guided trips include Kaituna Kayaks and Waimarino Kayak Tours.