Man rescued after treading water off Auckland waterfront for 20 minutes

A man has been rescued from the Waitemata Harbour near the Auckland waterfront after treading water for about 20 minutes.

A 111 caller alerted police to the man after seeing him floating in the water, about 100m north of The Cloud in the CBD, about 11.50am.

He was plucked to safety and was assessed by paramedics at the scene as having minor injuries.

He was kayaking with a group of about four other people when he got into trouble and ended up in the water, a police spokeswoman said.

The man was wearing a lifejacket when he was rescued.

The rest of the group, who were also wearing lifejackets, made their own way to shore.

A police spokeswoman said it was still unclear what the group were doing or how the man ended up in the water, but he was believed to have been there for about 20 minutes when he was rescued.