Kayakers arrive in NZ after 62 days
Sunday, 13 January 2008 22:22Two adventurers who spent two months paddling across the Tasman Sea in a kayak arrived in New Zealand today, becoming the first people to kayak there from Australia.
Several thousand people crowded the shore at Ngamotu Beach, near New Plymouth on New Zealand's west coast, to greet James Castrission, 25, and Justin Jones, 24.
A fleet of Maori wakas (canoes) sailed out to welcome them.
The two Australians, exhausted, sleepless and unsteady on their feet after 62 days in cramped conditions, had hoped to complete the 2,200km journey from Sydney by Christmas but were battered by strong winds and currents and spent days rowing in circles. In the end they travelled more than 3,300km.
Once on dry land the two greeted their families. After completing customs formalities, they headed to a local hospital for health checks, with leg muscle deterioration from lack of exercise the main concern.
They had been reduced to one meal a day as food supplies dwindled.
'We're just going to go off to hospital now to get a check-up, but we're so, so happy,' Mr Castrission told supporters.
Another Australian, Andrew McCauley, went missing last year on an attempt to kayak solo across the Tasman Sea.
