Two young adventurers completed an epic paddle of more than 3,300 kilometers on Jan. 13 to become the first people to travel from Australia to New Zealand by kayak.

Australians James Castrission, 25, and Justin Jones, 24, spent 62 days crossing the Tasman Sea in their custom-built fiberglass vessel, battling strong winds and tides that spun them in giant circles and forced them to change their original plans.

The two pulled in at Ngamotu Beach near the town of New Plymouth on New Zealand's west coast shortly after midday and were welcomed by a crowd of about 2,000 kayak enthusiasts.

Castrission paid tribute to Andrew McAuley, an Australian kayaker who vanished in February last year while trying to make a solo crossing of the Tasman.

"We have only got a small, small idea of what Andrew went through out there," Castrission told reporters. "Some nights when we were out there, we had each other to hold through the difficult moments."

During the trip, strong currents forced the pair to make huge circles to avoid being carried far off course, meaning their eventual journey was much farther than the 2,200 kilometers they had originally planned.

"It was obviously frustrating being stuck in the cabin and going in circles after two weeks in the Tasman, but we were going to get here－it was just a matter of time," Jones said.