We’re getting pretty good at our morning routine. This morning everyone was up, straight into the water and into ship chores. Awesome! We then got treated to another breakfast by our Captain Marcel before doing biosecurity gear checks and taking the tender to Urupukapuka Island to meet with Fletcher from Project Island Song.
Fletcher talked to us about the islands they looked after and the species that they had reintroduced to the islands (some of those birds sang loudly in the background his whole talk!). He then set us up to go and check and reset tracking tunnels for signs of weta punga. We came back to Orange Soup and homemade bread for lunch, again from our captain.
After lunch, we moved over to Deep Water Cove for a snorkel. On the way Maia took us through some marine mammal and underwater environment knowledge (see photo). When we got there, the visibility was all time and we saw lots of fish in the big blue. Once back, after a warm rinse and a hot drink, we had a navigation lesson while driving to Motuarohia for the night.
It’s been a big day and we are just about to have a surprise meet up with Haunui waka and captain and crew too. We’ll tell you more about that tomorrow and when we get home. For now, we’re halfway! Lots of love,
Us
