Not Quite Dunedin

Our onboard intranet is still greeting us with this photo of the pretty town of Dunedin

But that photo is the closest we will get to it today.  Overnight it turned out the wind and waves picked up and we were unable to enter the channel, as the winds were over 50 mph and it would not have been safe to put into port.  And, as we watch out the window, we see the waves getting higher and the clouds thickening.  This photo below was at 7:30 am:

And this is what it looked like three hours later:

Because of the weather, which is now predicted to get even worse and become a gale force, the captain has also cancelled our trip into the fjords of the national park and Milford Sound, which was scheduled for tomorrow.  Instead we are reversing course and sailing back up the east coast of New Zealand, where we will cut through the Cook Strait between the North and South Island.  From there we will head across the Tasman Sea to Hobart, Tasmania to arrive as scheduled on Saturday.  Even so, we have been told to expect rocky seas and stormy weather for the crossing, as the weather on the southwest side is very bad.

Fortunately there is an ample supply of movies on demand, food and trivia contests onboard.  Along with lectures, entertainment, classes and more activities.  We are sad to miss both the Fjordlands and Dunedin, but we have plenty to keep us busy and occupied.  I likely will not post here for a couple of days....but we'll be back when we have something to show you.