Heartbreaking footage shows kayaker's last tearful moments with family before he vanished

Heartbreaking video footage shows a kayaker's final moments with his loved ones before his expedition ended in tragedy.

Andrew McAuley, an Australian mountaineer and sea kayaker, had his heart set on becoming the first solo kayaker to travel the tumultuous Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand, spanning some 1,000 miles.

The 38-year old was no stranger to taking on extreme adventures, having completed peaks across the world with a preference to making his own exploratory routes and several nonstop kayaking expeditions - from the Bass Strait, where six sailors had died in a 1998 yacht race, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to paddling more than 800km in the Antarctic Circle.

However, his attempt to tackle the Tasman Sea in 2007 ended in tragedy.

The father-of-one promised he would keep in touch with his family and friends back on land throughout his travels by sending photographs and video updates.

He videoed himself discussing parts of his trip and in the now ominous footage, he could be heard saying he wanted the trip to be 'over with' while powerful storms battered his kayak to the point he had to lock himself inside it to avoid drowning.

Andrew trained for his Tasman Sea adventure (Fairfax Media via Getty Images via Getty Images)

In the first week of February, Andrew told his wife, Vicki, that he expected to arrive on land in a matter of days.

However, he never made it.

His welcome home party grew concerned for his welfare when the New Zealand Coast Guard said it had received a distress signal, where only the words 'help' and 'sinking' were decipherable.

Andrew's empty, capsized kayak was then found on February 10, around 30 nautical miles (56km) short of his destination with only his belongings, radio and, crucially, a memory card from his camera recovered from the vessel.

The memory card proved vital as it revealed Andrew's last days alive.

The last photograph of Andrew (Vicki McAuley)

The final image taken by Andrew is a selfie of his sun-cream smoothed face while the sun appears to be setting and a giant wave is towering behind him.

Now, heartbreaking footage has also resurfaced of Andrew's last moments with his family.

The clip, which has been shared on Reddit, shows Andrew's young son, Finlay, saying 'bye, dad', while he prepares for his voyage by the water.

Before entering his kayak, he says 'bye bye, little buddy' to his son and is then seen kissing and bidding farewell to his wife before paddling off into the distance.

The footage then switches to Andrew's point of view in the kayak, some meters away from the shore.

Here, Andrew is apparently overcome with emotion as he bursts into uncontrollable tears.

He utters the words 'I love you - ' while waving his last ever goodbye.

Though still visibly weeping, Andrew then turns back towards his mission and resumes paddling.

Although he is classed as missing, presumed dead, authorities believe Andrew died by way of drowning, perhaps after falling asleep in his kayak.

After Andrew's disappearance, a film covering his quest, titled Solo, was released, while his widow wrote a book, also called Solo, about her late husband and his thirst for extreme adventure.

• Nicole Kidman hit with heartbreaking family loss right before celebrating big film award in Venice
• Heartbreaking update on children who vanished with father four years ago and were spotted by hunters
• Sister of man who vanished with children four years ago gives insight into disappearance in heartbreaking first statement
• Gotti actor Spencer Lofranco's heartbreaking last post before brother announced his death aged 33