A New Zealand man has become the first person to kayak solo across the Tasman Sea. Scott Donaldson looked weary and a little bedraggled when he raised his arms in jubilation on Monday night. He was helped up a beach by supporters after arriving at the New Zealand town of New Plymouth, two months after leaving from Coffs Harbour on Australia's east coast. The 48-year-old said the journey was "epic" and his arrival was giving him sensory overload. "I've seen water for the last, I don't know how many days it was, and that's all you see," he said. "A couple of birds, some fish, but it's just water." He said his journey included surviving a lightning storm and at one point coming close to what he said was a large and "frisky" shark. "On a good day, you're paddling for 16 hours," Mr Donaldson said. "On a bad day, you're stuck in the cabin. And on a worse day, you're going backward." Mr Donaldson said there was an upside to being alone on the ocean without any screens or other worldly distractions. "It's very pure." He added that he needed a shower. He was then processed by border control officials. A map shows Mr Donaldson's route from Coffs Harbour to New Plymouth. ( Supplied: Tasman Kayak 'We just need to finish that job off' The 2,200-kilometre passage is regularly hit by fierce storms and Mr Donaldson was forced to abandon a previous attempt in 2014. He came within 80 kilometres of New Zealand and was within site of Mount Taranaki when he was famously winched to safety. "We just need to finish that job off," Mr Donaldson said before he set off from Coffs Harbour in April. "We got a bit smashed out there and all the safety gear was basically wrecked and our safety options were dwindling, so we had to make the call and it was a once in 40-year storm blowing us back to Australia at that time." Mr Donaldson was hoping to arrive at New Plymouth within 70 days of his departure. ( AP: Tasman Kayak An unrepairable rudder made him late and put extra pressure on the gear before he was rescued. This time Mr Donaldson had an improved carbon fibre kayak which weighed significantly less than the old model, and he carried dehydrated food for the 62-day journey. "I have a bit of a magic mix of carbohydrate and protein and electrolyte drinks, which all sounds very easy but when you've got to have two hands on a kayak paddle, it can get quite tricky sometimes," he said prior to his departure. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 21 seconds 21 s Adventurer Scott Donaldson is kayaking solo from Australia to New Zealand ( ABC Mid North Coast: Luisa Rubbo ) ABC/AP<doc-sep>New Zealander Scott Donaldson has made history as the first person to kayak solo across the Tasman Sea. He arrived on the shores of New Plymouth at about 8:40pm on Monday evening to fireworks and cheers from supporters gathered on Ngamotu Beach. He left Coffs Harbour in New South Wales six weeks ago. The trip has been a gruelling task, and he was even forced to see out a storm near Lord Howe Island. Predictably, the journey has been one of physical exhaustion, but Mr Donaldson's wife, Sarah, says it's also been an emotional rollercoaster. "It has been a very interesting ride. [We] had a few family deaths as well, including my father, so it's been quite taxing on a number of different levels." After 61 days of blood, blisters and sunburn, Mr Donaldson has finally arrived home. He's even had to go through Customs.<doc-sep>The first footage of trans-tasman kayaker Scott Donaldson powering towards NZ shows he's had interesting company on his two month journey from Australia. The 48-year-old is now 65km off the coast of New Plymouth and is expected to make landfall at Ngamotu beach late on Monday. Scott Donaldson's support team, who have just returned from dropping off supplies, took cellphone footage showing gannets surrounding the former Rotorua man in calm seas. "Scott found some company, he's paddling 18-20 hours a day, and sleeping just 4-6 hours a night," says spokesman Freddy Foote. He's aiming to be the first person to cross the Tasman solo in a kayak; his first attempt was thwarted in 2014 when he was injured in big seas just 80km from New Zealand. Mr Donaldson's wife Sarah and eight-year-old son Zac will have "pies and a beer" waiting when he comes ashore. The kayaker is raising funds for asthma research, as his son has the condition. Newshub.<doc-sep>
After two months alone at sea, there are two things Scott Donaldson is looking forward to: a shower and some family time. The 48-year-old has become the first person to kayak the more than 2000km from Australia to New Zealand alone. He departed Coffs Harbour in NSW on 2 May and put his feet on New Zealand soil on Monday night, guided by lights and welcomed by a cheering crowd. Wife Sarah and son Zac ran out into the water at New Plymouth for a hug before Donaldson was carried through the whistling spectators. “I need a shower,” the Kiwi expat told the gathering after catching his breath. Over the eight weeks, Donaldson paddled up to 16 hours some days, navigating six-metre swells and sharks attacking his rudder. “On a worse day you’re going backwards,” he told reporters on Monday. The attempt was not Donaldson’s first. In 2014 he came painfully close. More than 80 days into his trip and only 80km from land he had to abandon kayak, battered by a once-in-a-generation storm. “Based on last time we all know what can happen, so I refused to think about it until I was at the beach, so it hasn’t sunk in yet,” he replied when asked about his success on Monday. “Last time was an adventure, this time was a race.” Donaldson moved to Coffs Harbour four years ago in preparation for the first attempt and Sarah this week spoke of nine years of emotional and financial investment that had gone into the effort. An asthma sufferer, Donaldson has used the journey as a way to raise money for asthma research.