TracPlus, created by Dunedin company TracPlus Global Ltd, uses an integrated GPS and satellite telemetry terminal mounted on the aircraft to send information on the aircraft's location and status to a data centre in the South Island, allowing aircraft operators to monitor their entire fleet at a glance.

Heliworks General Manager Dave Kershaw says "While there are several systems in the market place. TracPlus has several advantages and works well for our business. We have all seen over the last year searches costing millions of dollars to locate missing aircraft. It's a basic safety issue and a nationwide tracking solution gives peace of mind to our company and our clients".

"Heliworks flies to very remote locations throughout the Southern Alps, Fiordland and the Sub Antartic Islands, where there is often little communications coverage, but it doesn't seem to faze the system at all".

"This system gives us enhanced safety for our pilots and clients, and enables us to be more pro-active in search and rescue by way of monitoring flight paths of our aircraft," Mr Kershaw says.

Richard Black, the driving force behind the system for Heliworks says "We are very happy with TracPlus and the ongoing support from TracPlus Global."

"It's smart, effective and easy to use. Our flight following is so accurately supplemented, it's difficult to happily imagine operating without it."

"Their outstanding backup service reinforces their solid product which is perfect for our everyday operating needs and we look forward to future developments of the system."

A key consideration was the ability of others - from family and support team, to rescue authorities and shipping operators - to be able to know exactly where they were. To do that they turned to TracPlus, Daestra New Zealand's exciting global tracking system.

TracPlus took data from a satellite tracking terminal in the bow of the kayak, pin-pointed the pair's location and reported it to expedition HQ.

But the real beauty of TracPlus lies in its ability to seamlessly share information with a wide range of operating systems. That meant that in the twinkling of an eye it delivered that same information to maritime and aviation rescue authorities on both sides of the Tasman, as well as to the expedition website, where their progress was tracked.

Daestra New Zealand CEO says it greatly increases the safety margins, particularly for waterborne craft.

"Systems like this are now small enough to fit on a kayak so there is an utterly compelling case for the widespread use of this essential safety equipment by both commercial and recreational maritime users."

Patrick Brothers, the managing director of Race Recon, which provided decision-making and technological support for the expedition, says TracPlus was fundamental to the overall success of the venture, by adding piece of mind and allowing the world to see how James and Justin were progressing as they battled their way wave by wave.

"Knowing very accurately where they were, how fast they were moving and in what direction they were going meant we were able to overlay that information with oceanographic and meteorological data to see what the conditions were doing to them," he says.

"And because rescue co-ordination centres in Australia and New Zealand are using TracPlus it would have expedited any rescue effort."

Crossing the Ditch proved to be an excellent showcase for Daestra's technology. Brothers says Race Recon's focus is on using new technology and media in extreme expeditions and action sport, so they took TracPlus and embedded it in the expedition website to create an interactive platform.

"More and more people are saying they would rather watch this than some reality TV show," says Brothers.

The reliability and robustness of the tracking unit and supporting software has also impressed him.

"The unit was mounted in the front of the kayak, so it was submerged numerous times and pounded by 10-metre waves, but it still tracked them 3,000km without even a glitch."

Race Recon is now in the throes of planning other events where they will use TracPlus.

"It is going to add a whole new dimension to expeditions and action sports."

But one of the most important things TracPlus brought to the whole expedition was peace of mind for family, friends and supporters of the adventurous pair.

James says it was absolutely fantastic to know that loved-ones could see exactly where they were.

"In the old days adventurers would head out the door and say 'I'm going - see you in 50 or 60 days'. Those days are gone now and I think it has made the whole thing much more bearable for family and friends."

Justin echoes those comments saying TracPlus really helped them turn it into a live expedition.

"The tracking, in tandem with our podcasts, really made family, friends and supporters feel they were part of the expedition," he says.

"It was surprising how much it seemed to keep them calm. Although they were far from us they felt like they were actually quite close to us."

Roderick Jones, Justin's father, says the TracPlus gave him great confidence and his wife Chintra great comfort.

"It was a lot better than not hearing from them for long periods. As long as we kept getting the signals we knew they were afloat and okay," he says.

"We also knew it could pinpoint their position very quickly if there had to be a rescue."

He says his wife made the remark that "it was the first time in years that she had known exactly where Justin was".

"Trac Plus is the only way forward for flight following. Finally, we have a flight following system for our back country pilots who operate in very remote mountainous terrain. Having the ability to track our helicopters from the office and have GPS coordinates of their exact location and ETA to base has turned our lives around. We now have peace of mind and the anxiety of not having direct helicopter to base communications in these area has been eliminated. A big thank you to Daestra for this excellent system and their great service!!" -