KEY POINTS:
New Zealand rescue authorities suspended the search for a renowned Australian adventurer last night despite political pressure from across the Tasman to keep the probe going.
Two fixed-wing aircraft searching off the Fiordland coast found no sign of Andrew McAuley, who was in the final stages of an
inaugural transtasman crossing by kayak when he disappeared.
Searchers conceded the hopes of finding the 39-year-old alive were all but gone. His anxious family gathered in Fiordland, including wife Vicki and 3-year-old son Finlay, were starting to "prepare for the worst", said family spokeswoman Jen Peedom.
"Obviously the prospects of finding him [alive] are diminishing every hour. It will be difficult for any [family members] to accept it without seeing a body."
Peter Williams, Maritime New Zealand deputy director safety and response services, said last night that about 25,000sq km of ocean west of Milford had been searched over the past three days, by plane, helicopter and ship.
"Taking into account the wide search area that has been covered, and bearing in mind that Andrew has now most likely been in 15-degree seas for around 70 hours, we have decided to suspend the aerial search," he said.
Mr McAuley's kayak, locator beacon and GPS tracking system were found about 80km west of Milford Sound on Saturday.
It is believed he may have been tipped out of the kayak by a freak wave.
Searchers picked up a distress call from Mr McAuley on Friday night which spoke of the boat sinking.
While he may still have a life jacket, he was not expected to last long in the cold waters without a full-body immersion suit.
The Australian Government, through its high commission in New Zealand, yesterday asked authorities here to keep the search going.
A spokesman for the Australian High Commission said the commission had contacted the offices of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Police Minister Annette King and they had "very willingly" agreed the search would continue.
A spokesman for Ms King said the request from the Australians had been passed on to the Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ, but it was not considered pressure.
Centre spokeswoman Julia Lang said she was aware of the conversations, but a decision had been made by rescue authorities - free of political interference - to keep searching yesterday because an area still needed to be covered.
Ms Peedom said the support from the Australian Government was "totally unexpected".
The family was "incredibly grateful" to authorities for keeping the search going.
"We realise it was a stretch to continue searching [yesterday]."
A family friend's helicopter had been offered, but Ms Peedom said a private search was considered unlikely at this stage.
Mr McAuley had dreamed for years of crossing the Tasman Sea in a kayak.
The Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2005, he was under no illusions about the risks before the 1600km trip.
"The ocean doesn't care what my experience is," he said on his website.
"When I'm out there, the Tasman will throw whatever it has at me regardless of how much paddling I've done."
