Volendam day four Thursday 27/10/11

Woke up to a fairly calm but overcast day which rapidly deteriorated to continuous rain and quite heavy seas, making the ship pitch and roll quite a bit. Things calmed down a bit as we approached land. Carol had a go at tossing quoits over a champagne bottle and managed to win the bottle despite stiff opposition. Arrived in Napier early afternoon and as it was still raining we decided Windows Live movie maker workshop was preferable. When that was over the rain had eased al little and we ventured ashore to have a look at the art deco architecture. Bit like walking in to a large museum! Very soon the rain started in earnest and we got the shuttle bus back to the port. Briefly admired the classic cars and classically dressed drivers at the foot of the gangway and back aboard. Cup of tea (missed afternoon tea by hours!) and biscuits then on to a Wii tenpin bowling challenge, at which we were both pretty useless but got ships lapel badges for our efforts. Dressed a little smarter for dinner in the dining room and shared a table with a couple from Brisbane and one from Illinois. Panic attempts to contact the mobile phone network before we got out of range without luck, although the modem worked fine, both phones failed to connect. Weird. Heading south with a F4 easterly producing some rather uncomfortable seas so we aren't in for a comfortable night I fear.