Bernard had arranged for us to be picked up at 6:30 a.m. by Keith Dunlop of the Department of Conservation (DOC) who was going to take us out in one of their boats. Bernard had packed up the electronics shop that his room becomes when he is not out on the water and had a stack of gear piled high outside of his motel room door as Keith pulled into the driveway in his pickup truck. Trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake the other guests, we loaded everything into the back of the truck and headed off to pick up the boat on its trailer. Driving through the streets of Kaikoura at 6:30 in the morning reminded me that there are still places in the world where 24 hour convenience stores or supermarkets that never close are not the rule. Although I appreciated the quiet of the morning, there was a part of me that had hoped that we would have passed a place that offered hot coffee. All of us believed the weather report that we had heard predicting the winds to pick up by noon, so we assumed that we would be home by lunchtime. consequently, none of us had thought to bring along much in the way of food.

We made our way around the Kaikoura peninsula until we reached the boat launching facility which looked like a parking lot, but rather than being filled with cars, was filled with boats of every kind. In most harbors that I have ever visited, boats are usually moored IN the water. However here in Kaikoura, every single boat that I saw was docked onshore at night. All the fishing boats, pleasure boats and Whale Watch boats were resting comfortably on large trailers parked on the asphalt or gravel of the parking lot. Next to most boats was a large tractor. I was soon to learn that launching a boat in Kaikoura not only requires the usual assortment of maritime skills, but also demands the ability to drive tractors, trucks or cars into the ocean. While we were getting our boat ready, one of the local fishing boats, pulled by a giant blue tractor, drove past us. After making a few adjustments to the trailer they drove full speed - in reverse - directly into the sea. Just when I thought the tractor was going to start plowing the bottom of the bay, it stopped and the boat slid gently off the trailer and into the sea.

Keith jumped onboard our boat, Bernard slid behind the wheel of the truck and I got out the way with the excuse that I wanted to document the process with my camera. The truck's engine roared as Bernard backed it down the ramp and just as the tires were no longer visible, he slammed on the brakes and the bright yellow DOC boat slid into the water. Keith started the boat's outboard engine and headed over to the dock to pick us up as Bernard parked the truck .