Six volunteer surf lifeguards circumnavigating New Zealand in a pair of inflatable rescue boats are braced for a challenging ride between Haast and Bluff.
The men made the most of bad weather to take a rest day in Haast yesterday, to prepare their equipment - and their minds - for the trip around Fiordland.
Their voyage is part of Surf Life Saving New Zealand's centenary celebrations.
The crew leaves today for the 124km ride to Milford before making for a barge at Breaksea Sound, an isolated spot deep in Fiordland National Park where their fuel and food will arrive by helicopter.
Team member Anthony Morgan yesterday said the leg would be the most challenging since starting the 5200km round trip in Auckland on January 5.
Their boats would hug the coastline so close they would run in water that was not detailed in maps, and the crew would have to watch for waves bouncing off the cliffs.
They had cellphones, satellite phones, and radios to keep in touch with their two land-based support vehicles - but the roads those vehicles travelled would no longer be near the coast.
"We've been looking forward to this leg for ages, and it will be challenging, but we've planned for it and trained for it and the challenge is why we're doing it," the Papamoa-based driver said.
By yesterday, the men, who travel in two teams of two while two take a rest, had navigated 2194km of coastline, travelling about 220km a day.
They were five days ahead of schedule, but had to be prepared to wait out bad weather before leaving for the notoriously windy and choppy Foveaux Strait, and Te Waewae Bay.
They were due in Nugget Point and St Clair on the way back up the country, after stops in Bluff and Halfmoon Bay. Spokeswoman Emma Darwen said those dates would be confirmed later.
