KEY POINTS:
Australian adventurer Andrew McAuley plans to start paddling from Tasmania this month in an attempt to become the first kayaker to cross the Tasman Sea.
He plans to complete the 1600km voyage from Tasmania in 30 days, and to arrive at Milford Sound, the Blue Mountains Gazette newspaper reported.
"My planned route from Tasmania is probably the shortest route between Australia and New Zealand," he said.
"It is also in the Roaring 40s. The weather can be wild ... but it's generally favourable."
The weather has been blamed for the failure of earlier attempts to kayak across the Tasman.
New Zealander Paul Caffyn, a West Coast geologist who completed the first kayak circumnavigation of the South Island and kayaked around the North Island, was stymied by bad weather on both of his attempts to kayak from Tasmania to New Zealand about 20 years ago.
McAuley said he would navigate by both compass and GPS to hit Milford Sound, where his family would be waiting so that they could visit Fiordland together.
"That will be emotional for sure," he said.
McAuley was awarded Australian Geographic's Adventurer of the Year award in 2005 and has climbed in the Himalayas, paddled solo across the Gulf of Carpentaria, and recently kayaked down the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
"The other trips have definitely been fantastic trips in themselves and just amazing experiences - but I've consciously been building my experience for the Tasman," said McAuley, who used to commute to work in a kayak, a two-hour trip each way on Sydney Harbour.
"You have to be prepared for anything out there."
"They [the waves] can get very big," he said.
"They can get a lot bigger than the kayak."
His Mirage sea kayak has been modified, with a self-righting system and a bubble cover to allow him to batten down the hatches and sleep inside.
He will carry all his food, half his water and will occasionally have to swim for extra provisions stored in the kayak's bow.
For the second half of his trip, he will also have to desalinate water - which he says is not much fun after paddling for 14 hours.
"I've done a lot of tests to make sure the boat can handle all of that."
- NZPA
