CROSSING THE DITCH

'this is the gripping and inspirational account of two ordinary blokes ... double-handedly proving that the Age of Adventure is not over!' PEtER FItZSIMONS With more than two thousand kilometres of treacherous seas and dangerously unpredictable weather and currents it was little wonder no-one had ever successfully crossed the tasman by kayak. Australian adventurer Andrew McAuley had come close just months earlier - tragically though not near enough to save his life. But two young Sydneysiders James Castrission and Justin Jones reached the sand at New Plymouth - and a place in history - on 13 January 2008 62 days after they'd set off from Forster on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. In the process they had to face dwindling food supplies a string of technical problems 14 days trapped in a whirlpool and two terrifying close encounters with sharks. When they arrived in New Zealand their friendship stronger than ever they were sunburnt bearded physically and mentally wasted ... and most of all happy to be alive. ... nothing prepared them for the 62 days of rapture despair and euphoria ... ultimately this is a story of the triumph of the human spirit. Lincoln Hall