Some of the deck crew saw some whales blowing in the distance. The weather has definitely changed from mid pacific – a little cloudier and chillier, at night we have jackets on. The Southern Cross constellation is also a consistent reminder that we are now well down south.

It’s been a busy week as we prepare for our arrival and also for the next phase of the expedition. We stowed The Yellow Thing today, it deserves a rest having worked hard the whole transit collecting samples - enough to keep our scientists back at our Exeter science unit very very busy. The gangway is now down and ready to go over the side and welcome our Kiwi friends onboard, and tonight we rehearsed our song for tomorrow’s arrival [Editor’s Note: So much for Sara’s surprise!].

You see, we are being honoured with a Powhiri. This is a welcoming ritual that requires us to sing. Captain Pete began the trip with the idea of turning the Beaufort scale into a musical. For the non-nautical folk out there – let me enlighten you. The Beaufort scale categorises wind/sea state. Force 0 represents a calm sea with no wind and Force 12 a hurricane - however, its a little more elaborate and poetic than that. [Editor’s note – check it out on wikipedia. Invented by an Irishman no less, it probably sounds quite nice set to a fiddle and tin pipe]. He liked the idea of us starting out calm then singing a hurricane... well, interesting idea... but didn’t really take off.

Marc, our outboard mechanic and recently-appointed crews’ musical composer is suddenly living out some alter-ego he has of being a soul brother. But he has made what we originally thought was an impossible song to sing possible - I mean not everyone can sing gospel like Aretha. Personally, I was hoping we would go down the sea shanty route. I am happy to report that tonight’s rehearsal was extremely promising: we all managed to sing the same words, at the same time… no small achievement. Lets see if tomorrow we can do that and sing in tune. Looking forward to what our Greenpeace colleagues on land come up with.

Mal, from new zealand greenpeace,explained the Powhiri in an email:

The Powhiri is the ritual ceremony of encounter or welcome. Traditionally the process served to discover whether the visiting party were friend or foe – its origins lay partly in military necessity. As the ceremony progressed, and after friendly intent was established, it became a formal welcoming of guests by the hosts (tangata whenua or home people). As the ceremony progresses also, the tapu or sacredness surrounding guests is removed, and they become one with the tangata whenua.

It begins with the karanga, the high pitched voices of women from the hosts, calling of the guests to exhange information to begin to establish intent and the purpose of the visit. This will happen as the ship comes alongside the wharf.

The tangata whenua will perform the haka powhiri, a chant and dance of welcome, during which the crew quietly come down the gangway and assemble facing the tangata whenua on the wharf. The chant uses the symbolism of hauling a waka or canoe onto the shore.

Next is the mihi or exchange of greetings by the orators – in this case, Greenpeace New Zealand Kaumatua (elder) and the Captain of the Esperanza. During the speeches, links between the ancestors and the living are made, and genealogical links between tangata whenua and guests are emphasised. The purpose (kaupapa) of the occasion will be discussed.

Each speech is directly followed by the performance of a waiata (song by the orator’s support group) – Greenpeace New Zealand office staff and ships crew supporting the Captain, respectively.

Once the captain has spoken and the crew have sung their song, they will move across the wharf in a line to hongi with the tangata whenua. The hongi is a gentle pressing of the noses, and signifies the mingling together of the sacred breath of life, and two sides become one.

The powhiri concludes with the sharing of food, called hakari. The food removed the tabu or sacredness from the guests, so that the two sides may complete the coming together. As in all cultures the sharing of food signifies a binding together.

So am sure the crew are in for somewhat of a sensory overload after one month on this big blue boat, surrounded by a very big blue sea and a big blue sky.. punctuated by sunrises and sunsets, occasional seabirds and clouds.

Okay, see you tomorrow, quayside. If you watch the webcam around 9am NZ time you will see us sailing into Auckland Harbour. around 11am we will be having the ceremony.

[Editor’s note: that’s Monday 8th January at 20:00 GMT, 21:00 Central European Time, 12:00 noon for United States PST, 15:00 United States EST, 07:00 Tuesday 9th January for AEDT. Confused? Try http://www.timeanddate.com].