I ended yesterday’s post right after lunchtime… and wow, did things go downhill from there!
The ship was really rocking, so we spent the afternoon holed up in our stateroom streaming Netflix — not exactly the glamorous cruise life, but sometimes you just roll with it 🌊📺
As 5pm rolled around (aka our usual “get ready for the evening” time), we looked at each other and silently agreed: nope. Not happening. We stayed put and ordered room service for dinner instead. The seas were just too rough to enjoy a proper night out. Our room service waiter told us they were absolutely slammed — apparently we weren’t the only ones with this brilliant survival strategy!
At one point during the night, it got so rough that Debbie woke up in a fog thinking we were having an LA earthquake. It took her a moment to remember… oh right… we’re on a ship 😄 And the rocking continued right up until we docked this morning in Timaru. Honestly, we were surprised we even made it into port!
Today’s forecast shows an 80% chance of rain, and tomorrow’s penguin excursion in Dunedin? A cheerful 100% chance of rain. No bueno ☔🐧
Since we’re docked in a cargo port again, the ship provided a 10-minute shuttle into town. It was a chilly, breezy 50° — and this is their summer! A local told us that normally this time of year sees temps in the mid-80s with beaches full of people. In fact, he said today’s temperature is about as cold as it gets in their winter 😳 Clearly, the weather gods are not on our side this trip.
Timaru is a quaint town of about 40,000 and home to the Little Blue Penguins — the smallest penguins in the world. Unfortunately, they’re nocturnal and spend their days tucked deep into the port’s rock walls, so no daytime sightings for us. (The two penquin photos are from Google)
I checked their hideouts, but no luck!
I did spot these two European Goldfinches.
Tonight, we’re dining at Solis…
Details mañana 😉
