Day One on the RV Tangaroa

We left Wellington a little late as there were a few engineering problems to sort out. On our way just after 4pm, a glorious day! Very strange heading straight out of Wellington Harbour rather than turning right towards Picton. I forgot how big the south coast of the North Island is! A lot of land to the right (or left!) of Wairarapa.

We headed south for a bit and then took the first CTD samples out in Cook Strait. This is something I got to do quite often on the trip.

Up on deck, I was amazed to see, while land was in sight, little fairies (dandelion seeds) blowing around. You almost wish them well, having travelled so far! 

After this, we were rewarded in a splendid sunset over the Kaikouras.