An epic circumnavigation of Australia by sea kayak has won Katoomba adventure guide Jason Beachcroft the Australian Geographic Adventurer of the Year award.
The 17-month, 18,000km voyage in a kayak - which for the first time included a treacherous trek across Bass Strait and back again - earned the 45-year-old guide the top gong at this week's Australian Geographic adventure awards.
"It's certainly an honour," he told the Gazette.
"I look at the list of who's won before and they're quite a prestigious bunch of people," he said.
Mr Beachcroft said he wasn't sure how he would mark the occasion. "Despite being told I've won it, it hasn't sunk in do you know," he said.
"I don't have any particular celebrations planned. It's not my normal evening," he said, with a laugh, about the glamour event on Wednesday night.
Mr Beachcroft, who did some of his training on Wentworth Falls Lake, left in January 2013 and paddled back into Sydney's Rose Bay on June 28 this year. The day after he arrived home, rather than resting on his laurels, he drove down to Jindabyne and the ski fields, getting back to guiding work and giving his lower body something to do after all those months.
There have been three previous mainland sea kayak circumnavigations - by New Zealander Paul Caffyn in 1982, German Freya Hoffmeister in 2009 and in 2011 another Mountains adventure-seeker, Faulconbridge's Stuart Trueman - but this was the first time Tasmania had been included.
A spokeswoman from Australian Geographic said "Jason negotiated two crossings of Bass Strait, a huge kayaking achievement in its own right, let alone twice. And unlike the other circumnavigations, his was largely unsupported, except for occasional food drops".
Mr Beachcroft said he had a passion for the journey after reading Caffyn's book The Dreamtime Voyage.
"The seed was planted ... the time had come for me to put my paddle in the water and undertake a great adventure," he said.
During his voyage he fended off crocodiles and sharks, sometimes resorting to smacking them with a paddle to move them along.
"Sharks are attracted to the rudder but once they realised they can't eat it they usually swim away," he said.
"But one stupid bronze whale shark kept biting so I had to whack it on the nose."
On one occasion, on Gregory Island, off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, Australia's own version of Bear Grylls, had to rescue his boat back from a two-metre saltwater crocodile.
"Looking back I think it's funny. I didn't think it was funny at the time, " he said laughing. "I was happy it wasn't a four metre croc because I needed to get my boat back off him."
He had no big sponsors to rely on and also regularly battled wild weather, fatigue, food shortages, big seas and other logistical dramas. The award could bring more support for his next endeavour.
"I've met a couple of previous winners - Andrew McCauley and John Muir - and that's one thing I've thought [about the award] it might make it easier for me to obtain sponsorship in the future."
Prior to this, his biggest endurance test was the 53-day, 750km traverse, skiing and walking the alpine trail from Victoria to the ACT.
As for his next adventure he's still contemplating.
"There's always ideas, I'm thinking of an east to west unsupported walk across Australia. It's a matter of finding the time, I've got to get back to work as per normal."