Two Tauranga men have begun an epic marine journey to paddle from Auckland to Mount Maunganui this morning.
Standup paddleboarder Brent Bourgeois and kayaker Nathan Pettigrew left Takapuna beach at 7.30am to venture on the trip across the Hauraki Gulf, around Coromandel Peninsula and down to Mount Maunganui.
Read more: Man to paddle from Auckland to Mount Maunganui
The men plan to take four days to complete the trip, which was Mr Bourgeois' brainchild after successful trips around Matakana Island and to Mayor Island.
Mr Bourgeois worked out the distance from Takapuna Beach to the Coromandel was about 60km and "do-able".