I have arrived in Invercargill. The weather is glorious.

Even before arriving at the rendezvous hotel, I had  already met others going on the expedition; inevitable, I guess, that there would be fellow travellers who would be on my flight from Christchurch. As it turned out, there were three of us sitting in the same row – what a coincidence!

So, last night we all met for dinner.

And today we board the ship.

This will be a poignant moment for me, as it was just over two years ago that Glen and I were at the Bluff, boarding the ferry for Stewart Island. He actually commented at the time that a ship headed for the Antarctic would leave from the same place. I remember thinking wistfully that I would really like to do that.

And here I am. About to board that ship, and do the trip that we had talked of for many years.

There will be tears, I know.