MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Australians arrive in NZ by kayak after 62 days

Two Australians have become the first people to paddle to New Zealand across the Tasman Sea in a kayak.

The 62-day, 3,300km (2,050-mile) journey from New South Wales was half as long again as they had planned. Strong winds and tides meant James Castrission, 25, and Justin Jones, 25, were swept in huge circles, and had to abandon hopes of reaching Auckland. Instead, they landed at New Plymouth in the west of New Zealand, greeted by a fleet of Maori canoes and a beer each. "NZ, thank you, thank you, you guys rock," said Jones, acknowledging the 2,000-strong crowd which gathered at Ngamotu Beach to welcome the pair. "This is bloody strange, but I am liking this feeling," he added, as he downed the beer. The pair's specially-designed kayak was hit by powerful winds as it crossed the Tasman Sea, and spending three weeks longer than planned at sea left their food supplies low. Some days they stayed inside the kayak's tiny cabin and put out a sea anchor, when the conditions were too rough for effective paddling. Their transponder stopped working in early December, and they were reduced to tiny navigation lights at night. Castrission and Jones paid tribute to another Australian kayaker, Andrew McAuley, 39, who disappeared while attempting the same crossing solo last February. His kayak was later found, but his body was never recovered; his camera showed that he had come within sight of New Zealand before he vanished. "We have only got a small, small idea of what Andrew went through out there," said Castrission. "Some nights when we were out there, we had each other to hold through the difficult moments." After a celebratory chorus of Waltzing Matilda, the pair were taken for medical checks, but they appeared to be in good health, correspondents said. (BBC)