UK rower set to reach Stewart Island from Tasmania

The British adventurer rowing from Tasmania to Stewart Island expects to arrive there tomorrow.

Oliver Hicks left Tasmania nearly 100 days ago, and has been battling huge seas, stormy conditions, and fierce winds for much of the time since then.

Speaking to the Southland Times from aboard his boat, The Flying Carrot, Hicks said he was feeling "pretty good" and wasn't in a hurry to get off just yet.

He still had plenty of books to read and music to listen to, he said.

Originally setting out to circumnavigate Antarctica aboard his $500,000 rowboat, those plans were scuttled by weather and boat performance, he said.

On reaching Stewart Island, Hicks said he planned to have a rest, a beer, and "go back to the drawing board".

"We are going to treat this trip as a sea trial and try again another time," he said.

- NZPA