It's almost 11am and we're sitting off Otago Bay waiting for the wind to die down so we can head in to our berth at Port Chalmers. The captain says the wind is gusting up to 70 knots and it's just too dangerous at the moment. There's a container ship off to port, also waiting for a break. The Pacific Pearl has already left. Our captain has said, smugly, that the Pearl doesn't have the manoeuvrability to cope with this situation so they're off looking for calmer conditions.
Meanwhile, we wait. Those who've booked on day excursions are starting to fidget. It looks like their day is ruined. And, of course, the locals can see their anticipated profits blowing in the wind. Apparently, Dunedin is having its Christmas Parade today and a lot of our passengers were looking forward to seeing it. I can't imagine why.
Last night we were treated to an Australian singer called Colleen Austen - brassy, big voice but quite a good act. I don't understand why some singers think it's appropriate to show pictures of their children and relate, breathlessly, how they met their husband. But Colleen did.
She sang songs made famous by female singers: Dionne Warwick, Helen Reddy, Shania Twain (OMG!) etc but her best medley was songs by Dusty Springfield. A bit too much screeching for my taste but the songs are fantastic. In one Burt Bacharach song, she couldn't quite reach in high note. She gave it a good try and each time she missed it she muttered under her breath 'Close.' But, all-in-all, a good performance.
One interesting story she told was about how she got on this ship. She flew to Singapore and joined the Radiance of the Seas, got off somewhere and joined Rhapsody, off at Port Hedland and flew to Sydney for a Queensland cruise, off at Brisbane and flew to Wellington to join Voyager. What a life!
We've passed the halfway mark of the cruise. We've eaten well, been entertained well, won trivia (just once and with a score of only 12) and we're very relaxed. As always, we've made resolutions for the future - to simplify our lives, avoid taking on more responsibility and make more time for ourselves. Let's hope it works this time
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