rova
The Story behind Jono Ridler’s remarkable 1367km North Island Swim

This week is an incredibly special episode with Jono Ridler - the open water, ultra marathon swimmer who, on Saturday 4 April, 2026, completed a 1367 kilometre swim - the length of the North Island. Jono didn’t do this swim for accolades or records, he did this swim because of his love for the ocean, and to raise awareness that we aren’t doing enough to protect it. Jono’s Swim4TheOcean campaign is a call to end bottom trawling - because we are the last country still doing it in the south Pacific High seas. Hear how he got through the hard days, the jellyfish stings, the shark sightings, the vomiting, the cold water, the rough seas. This is a remarkable story, and in my opinion, will go down as one of the greatest endurance feats ever by a New Zealander.