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Local ultra-marathon swimmer and environmentalist Jono Ridler set off on an audacious mission, to swim from Karaka Bay on Aotea, Great Barrier Island, all the way to Campbells Bay on Auckland's North Shore, a distance of 99.1km according to Jono's tracker.
It was a record-breaking non-stop ultra-distance open water swim, blowing the previous New Zealand record of 80.8km out of the water, which was a double-crossing of Lake Taupō.
In the final stages of the record-breaking swim, the 33-year-old Jono pushed through "extremely challenging" conditions of more than 25-knot winds and choppy seas.
Ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler. Photo: Supplied