Van crosses Cook Strait

Two men have successfully crossed Cook Strait in an amphibious van.

Aeronautic machinists Adam Turnbull and Dan Melling made the nearly 10-hour trip in a 1990 four-wheel-drive Toyota Tarago van they converted last month. The van left Waikawa marina at 6am, entered Cook Strait at 10.20am and arrived at Mana marina about 3.45pm where supporters awaited.

The men had expected to arrive an hour earlier, but said they had decided to pass on the northern side of Mana Island to avoid choppy conditions to the south.

Overall conditions had been good and dolphins had joined them on the journey, they said.

Mr Melling said they had come up with the idea after seeing something similar on television.

"We sorta mucked around, put a prop on the back of it - front wheel drive on the land and rear wheel drive on the water," he told Radio New Zealand.

- NZPA