Yesterday’s inspection of the team’s equipment by DOC (NZ Department of Conservation) went well – no unwanted critters, seeds, etc. Here are a couple of pix which Glenn, KE4KY, took of the inspection process.
The equipment had to be unpacked from the shipping containers, inspected, cleaned if necessary, and then repacked into fish-crates, bagged or wrapped so that no unwanted contaminants could get in. Everyone had been very careful beforehand to clean their personal equipment, and similarly the radios, antennas, etc shipped from Australia were also shiny-clean. Result – a pleased DOC staff, and an inspection completed in less than half the expected time. So far, so good.
In the afternoon some of us took a drive down to the port of Bluff to check out the Evohe, the vessel we’re sailing south on. She has just returned from transporting a scientific team to the Auckland Islands, so it’s a quick turn-around for her crew and then off back down to the sub-antarctic with ZL9HR.