Surfboard lost off Tasmania rides waves on a 1,490-mile sea odyssey to New Zealand

A surfboard lost off Australia's coast nearly 18 months ago has washed up on one of New Zealand's most famed surf beaches, thousands of kilometres from where it was last seen.

- Eva Corlett

Alvaro Bon, a French surfer based in New Zealand, was kite surfing in Raglan in the North Island's west coast on 15 October when his kite caught in the water and he began drifting out to sea. As he was being pulled out in the currents, he noticed something shining in the dunes at the northern end of the beach.

"I let go of my kite and started paddling towards the [beach] ... and that's where I found the board."

The board was a bit yellow, but had a new-looking wax job and was in relatively good condition, Bon said. He could tell the board was handmade and shaped for larger waves, but did not recognise its make. "Then I flipped it around and it was covered in barnacles and mussels."