Now you see it . . .

The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior III passes the beacon at the entrance to Bluff Harbour about 5.45pm yesterday. The 58m-tall twin-masted sailing ship was built in Poland in 2011 and is making its first visit to New Zealand.

It has spent the past week documenting wildlife in the Subantarctic Auckland and Snares Island and will leave Bluff today bound for Wellington. Last month, Greenpeace cancelled the yacht's visits to Stewart Island and Bluff because of unexpected maintenance, and a visit to Port Chalmers because it was too tall to fit under an aerial cable across Otago Harbour.