Dunedin was our last stop in New Zealand. We left port later than anticipated because the ship supply truck was late. We are now on our way to Tasmania, which requires us to be at sea for two days as we cross the Tasman Sea. The weather is overcast and the ship is rolling with the waves between 4-6 feet high and 61 degrees. Not enough to be sea sick, but enough to wobble and hold on when walking. We all look like we’re a little toasted. We learned from the captain that it will get rough tonight. Our days are filled with eating, movies, lounging, lectures, reading, laundry, chatting with friends. All we see for miles is water. I’m still dying to see a whale, dolphin, or something in the water. The horizon is deceiving as we think we see land, but it never moves, changes, or gets closer.

Day 8, all 17 of us had dinner together for the first time. We were split across two tables and there was a lot of storytelling, travel success and horror stories, renovations, difference between river and ocean cruises, snow and happiness about not being home now. We have such wonderful,people in our group.

At 10:15pm we went to the top deck for some star gazing. The temperature wasn’t bad, but the wind was crazy. We were able to see the southern cross, before wisps of clouds covered some of the stars. Once you know what to look for, the stars are easily distinguishable from the brightness and formation of the 5 stars. The collection of stars belongs to the constellation of Crux. It can be used as a navigational tool to locate the South Pole. It appears on both the Australian and New Zealand flag. After seeing it, we went inside for fear we’d be blown off the boat.

Day 9 was another relaxing day at sea. The sea was still rough, and impacted us all a little more with lack of sleep (feeling like you might roll,out of bed), or challenges walking down the hall. People had tea, listened to the violinists, went to the Dome, napped, read, got a massage, or booked additional excursions. We are also adjusting to additional time changes. Australia is two time zones different than New Zealand. Since we were at sea two,days, we shifted an hour back each day. The men had a cruise pub crawl. MyLisa and I booked our a Great Barrier Reef tour on a 20 person catamaran, and 30 minute helicopter ride over the reef.

Tomorrow we arrive in Tasmania. We all have to get off the ship for customs.