Mourners hear kayaker's last tape

Andrew McAuley was within 65km (40 miles) of New Zealand

Mourners at a memorial service in Sydney, Australia, have been played the haunting last tape of an "extreme" kayaker lost in the Tasman Sea.

Andrew McAuley had been trying to become the first person to kayak from Australia to New Zealand.

The tape was found in the empty kayak near the New Zealand coast earlier this month. Mr McAuley has not been found.

"This really is extreme, it's full on. I really could die... It's an excellent adventure, [if] I make it," he says.

Wreaths

Mr McAuley's widow, Vicki, warned the 500 mourners at the memorial that they might find the recording upsetting.

He told how he had capsized in 30-knot winds and has had to bail 100 litres of seawater out of his kayak.

Right now I just want it to be over, to be truthfully honest Andrew McAuley

Mr McAuley, 39, said: "I've learned the meaning of the word extreme, this really is extreme.

"It's just wild, but it's a true, true stunning adventure. I just hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew."

The kayaker was within 65km (40 miles) of Milford Sound on the New Zealand coast.

Mr McAuley said he hoped to reach land soon.

"Right now I just want it to be over, to be truthfully honest," he said.

"I'm looking forward to finishing because it's hard, it's hard going."

Mr McAuley is believed to have drowned after his kayak capsized on 9 February while he was asleep.

Mrs McAuley, with the couple's three-year-old son, Finlay, led the mourners in throwing wreaths into the sea at the ceremony at Sydney's Macquarie Lighthouse.

"You'll go down in history," she said of her husband, "and will always be remembered."