New Zealand Police have apologised for assuming a man whose kayak was strapped sideways to his car was Irish.

Waikato District police said it pulled over an Irish tourist on State Highway 25A between Kopu and Hikuai on Sunday afternoon.

Police said the tourist had tied his kayak sideways across the roof of his car, causing a potentially dangerous situation, adding "the Irish tourist's actions were beyond belief".

But Jonathan Waters - who is from Auckland in New Zealand - said he was amazed when police made a public statement about the incident and said he was Irish.

In a facebook post, Jonathan says: "So apparently I am an Irish tourist who decided that tying my kayak onto the car sideways was the plan A of the day. Good old Kiwi cops and their direct quotes of immense untruthfulness.

"And no mention of the twisted metal that was the roof racks, nor the storm that caused it. Sigh. Go back to reporting on hedgehogs with McFlurry cups on their heads TV ONE. At least that may have been remotely accurate."

Waters told stuff.co.nz that high winds forced the kayak to swing around sideways on the roof of the car, and he was already pulling over to fix it when the police car stopped.

In today's police statement, Waikato district road policing manager Inspector Freda Grace apologised to "any persons of Irish descent" for any offence.

"While the man was a visitor to the region, he was not Irish and as a result Waikato police wish to offer an unreserved apology to any persons of Irish descent we may have offended," she said.

Mrs Grace said the man was not issued a ticket because he appeared to have a foreign accent.

"In this case the officer believed obtaining compliance from the motorist and preventing a crash was a more effective outcome than issuing the driver a fine and she believed she was enhancing foreign relations."

The statement said the officer had not checked the driver's identity documents.