By Charlotte Shipman
Now is the hour as the song goes, Happy Feet is safely on board the boat which will take him to more familiar waters.
He will either go down a custom made hydro slide off the back of the ship or be dropped over the side of one of NIWA's smaller boats just above Campbell Island.
Gently guided, Happy Feet took his first steps towards freedom today.
After caring for him for 10 weeks, Wellington Zoo staff loaded up their precious cargo and said farewell to their most popular patient ever.
“I think he is quite charismatic and has brought a lot of hope for people and I think that's something we miss sometimes,” says Karen Fifield, chief executive of Wellington Zoo.
The live stream of Happy Feet in his enclosure has been viewed by around 300,000 people since it went live in June.
Loyal online fans watching his final waddle from the zoo included a woman in the US who had no power because of Hurricane Irene but logged on using wireless in a McDonald's carpark.
His vet says the emperor is a fighter and he will need to be to survive.
“He's pretty much got to take his chances with the rest of them and nature can be a bit cruel so it’s definitely survival of the fittest. And all we can do it hope because he's pretty special, so fingers crossed he's one of those fittest,” says Lisa Argilla, Happy Feet's vet.
It is too dangerous to have his beloved mirrors on board, but Ms Argilla's confident he will have enough to keep him interested during his four day voyage south.
Happy Feet's routine on board the Tangaroa will be similar to what he has been experiencing at the zoo. The ice will be changed every morning and in the afternoon he will be fed.
NIWA staff have had been trained to look after their very special passenger
“I've been told the people doing the training have already had a peck or two from Happy Feet so I guess he is reminding them who the VIP on this voyage really is,” says John Morgan, NIWA chief executive.
Voyage leader Richard O’Driscoll says there has never been so much public interest in an Antarctic trip.
“I've done some pretty impressive trips to Antarctica, and we've never had this sort of interest, even when we had Helen Clark on board, we've never had this kind of interest in a send off,” he says.
A send off that everyone is hoping will have a happy ending for this famous penguin.
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