In fact, Tim Taylor's paddle was one of the few pieces of equipment not stolen while he was camping at All Day Bay in North Otago at the weekend.
He has been paddling from Tauranga for the past six weeks, on a 5500km journey around the coast which is expected to take up to six months.
Mr Taylor (24) said his journey had been plain paddling, until he went to sleep at All Day Bay on Saturday night.
"While I was sleeping, someone took my spot tracking device, my helmet with my Go-pro camera mounted on it, and my paddling clothes - like my board shorts.
"They even took my dirty, wet undies.
"I couldn't believe it. That's pretty gross.
"I can't imagine why they would want to touch them."
The loss of his spot tracking device was a safety issue because it sent out a continuous signal to satellites to regularly update his position.
People could follow his progress because the device plotted his position on Google Earth.
He still has a GPS unit and an emergency locater beacon.
Mr Taylor said the adventure was something he had always wanted to do, and it was a break from his job as a tractor driver for a Tauranga agricultural firm.
Mr Taylor will continue his journey south today and hopes to arrive at St Clair beach this afternoon.
