Heartbreaking footage shows man's last moments as he leaves family before attempting to kayak 994 miles
Heartbreaking footage of a man leaving his family before attempting to kayak 994 miles has resurfaced.
Back in 2007, an Australian adventurer embarked on his toughest feat yet as he attempted to kayak across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
It was Andrew McAuley's biggest challenge, one he had been preparing for for a long while.
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What's so dangerous about the Tasman sea you may ask? Well, the merging of the currents of the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Oceans, each of which vary in temperatures.
This makes for some unpredictable conditions.
Andrew first attempted the ambitious trip in December 2006, but that was cut short after just one day as freezing conditions caused him to develop hypothermia.
He tried again just weeks later on January 11 2007 - this time with a properly insulated kayak which he could sleep in. Unfortunately, the trip turned out to be Andrew's last adventure.
And thanks to an X post by Morbid Knowledge, footage of Andrew's last moments with his family have resurfaced.
In the clip, Andrew said his farewells to his family, including his young son.
Andrew then set on his way in his kayak, appearing very emotional as he takes to the water. His young son can be heard shouting 'bye daddy'.
And that was the last time Andrew saw his family.
The trip began extremely encouragingly, with Andrew regularly giving updates on his progress.
In one video early on in the journey, he could be heard saying it's 'an excellent, excellent, excellent adventure… provided I make it'.
However, he seemed to question whether he'd taken it too far at one point, admitting: "It’s more full-on than anything I could imagine. It’s a true, true, stunning, stunning adventure. I just hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew, because there’s a few little things going wrong, but I mean, I still feel pretty good… hopefully I’ll get there very soon because right now I just want it to be over with.
"When I get older, I’ll look back and I’ll be stoked. I’ll be stoked, stoked, stoked that I did it but… it’s hard. It’s hard going."
Tragically, Andrew never completed his journey after his kayak was discovered just 30 miles short of his final destination.
His body was never recovered.
The kayaker first made a name for himself in the early 2000s for his adventures and crazy stunts.
In 2003, he became the first person to kayak the notoriously treacherous Bass Strait, completing the whopping 136-mile challenge in just 25 hours.
On top of that, Andrew embarked on a 330-mile trip across the Gulf of Carpentaria - something which landed him the Adventurer of the Year award in 2005.
Topics: World News, Australia, Travel
Callum Jones