We saw an epic predawn departure from Whangarei this morning, with many from the local Maori community waking up around 4 a.m. to see the crews of this escort canoe and Hokule’a leave the dock and head on their way. As I type this we’re heading down Whangarei Harbor (which feels more like a large, winding river) out toward the Pacific. We’ve had paddlers in outrigger canoes greet us and Maoris on the shore chant and wave as the sun rose and we cruised along in the AM chill.

There are seriously worse ways to spend a morning. This may come as a shock, but Aotearoa, aka New Zealand is a stunningly scenic place. There’s obviously more space to stretch out here, but it seems to be a place extremely less burdened by development than oh, say, Oahu.

Right now, Hikianalia is using its solar-powered electric motor and Hokule’a is getting a tow from a local sloop boat, the Tranquility. But once we’re out to sea the sails will go up — with Hokule’a stretching out her crab claws — and then it’s an approximately two-day journey down the New Zealand coast to a place Hokule’a has never ventured before: Auckland.

All the crew is noticeably happy to be back out on the water after a dizzying two weeks or so living at the dock and the marae, and introducing these canoes to hundreds of students and onlookers, back in Whangarei. This leg is light in the sailing, so we all want to make the most of the time that we have to learn on these canoes, and it shows in everyone’s demeanor.

Hikianalia is currently stacked with experience: Captains Onohi Paishon and Frank Kawe, as well as their fellow veterans Billy Richards, Dennis Chun, Pomai Bertelmann … You got to make the most of these opportunities and soak up their pointers and instruction like a sponge.

Once in the Auckland area, Hokule’a and Hikianalia plan to meet up with several of their sister voyaging canoes from around the Pacific — including several that will be sailing here from Australia. Yesterday I was talking to Stanley Conrad — he’s a veteran of the 1985 Hokule’a sail to New Zealand who has since gone on to help create and lead the local voyaging canoe community here. Conrad anticipates that the local media will be out in full force for this convergence of so many traditional “waka.”

So it’s going to be a crazy final week of this first, monthlong leg in Aotearoa. Buckle up and strap in your safety harnesses…

Finally, I’d like to dedicate this post to my $10 slippers from Longs, which took their final steps yesterday before breaking apart. Like the Mars rover, they lasted far longer on their mission than any of us could have ever dreamed. Mahalo, slippahs!