The weather’s about to turn so after a couple of dives in the morning on Challenger and some good results, we head for Wellington. Our good luck continues as we end up in a bubble of calm seas, while all around us things are getting pretty choppy. The swell is pushing us back to shore for much of the 48 hour transit.
It’s pretty strange to see land after two weeks of just an open blue expanse, but as we head into the Cook Strait we’re welcomed back by pods of dolphins off the bow. While our captain doesn’t feel great about being back on land, everyone else is looking forward to getting some fresh fruit and veggies back on board, and getting our step count back up with a long stretch of the legs.
On arrival, there’s a bit of a waiting game to see if the weather will give us a big enough window to get out to what will likely be our final site – on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island.
There are a whole bunch of sites out in this area we’d like to visit, but with only a few days left with our vessel we’ll have to prioritise. By Wednesday, the decision is made – we’ll head out and do our best to survey a site on the East Coast before we wrap.
A few key crew members leave the vessel, as they’re not required for this last leg of the journey. Those that are left celebrate our deckhand’s birthday and get ready for the final part of the voyage.
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