By Josh Heslop
The trans-Tasman rowers have arrived in Auckland 55 days after starting their mission in Sydney.
And it is a bitter-sweet achievement for the rowers, who had hoped to have done the trip in the fastest time but were hampered by weather conditions and injuries.
The sight of the Harbour Bridge was one the rowers had been waiting to see for months, and now the rowers are now back on dry land and back in the arms of loved ones.
“It’s absolutely amazing, absolutely incredible. It was the greatest adventure of my life. You can’t even begin to describe what it was like,” says Nigel Cherrie.
Crowds gathered at Wynyard Quarter to welcome Nigel Cherrie, Andrew McCowan and James Blake - absent was a team mate who was dropped off in the bay of islands.
“The last two kilometres really hurt actually. Andrew was sitting in front of me and pushing me the whole way. We were just rowing as fast as we possibly could,” says Cherrie.
Lady, Pippa Blake was proud to see her son achieve his goal.
“This is James’ thing. Peter wouldn’t have been mad enough to row across the Tasman,” says Lady Blake.
The team failed to achieve the quickest time across the Tasman, but right now a beer and shower are offering a pretty good reward.
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