On July 30^th, 7 am Sunday morning Australian time, the JR, pulled away from the Port of Townsville.  This was the start of an extraordinary adventure, with an amazing team of research scientists from around the world.  The scientists share a common aim, and that is to embark on this expedition to drill into the submerged lost continent of Zealandia. As the ship pulled away, there was an air of excitement and anticipation, but also just a hint of nerves.  After months, years of planning, no one knows what the next 2 months will hold. The adventure of a life time has begun for these researchers.

The first two days were packed with meetings, discussions and collaborative learning from the group of brilliant minds from around the world. This is a rare unique opportunity for these researchers to work together and piece the Zealandia puzzle together.  On August 3rd, the first cores will be coming up on the deck. Then the excitement will begin……