Today was our last full day in New Zealand! We went on an amazing hike this morning on Rangitoto Island which is an extinct volcano. It was about 4 km up and back which we think is about 3 miles. The scenery was awesome! Then for our last night together the whole group went on a dinner cruise on a sailboat in Auckland Harbor! It was so much fun. We got some great skyline views! We leave tomorrow afternoon to get on another 12 hour plane ride before we have a 5 hour layover in LA and then FINALLY make it home.

We got back from Rotorua yesterday! It was a pretty small city but we packed a lot in. We went to the Agrodom and got to see a sheep show. Sounds kind of boring, but it was actually really cool. They sheared the sheep and demonstrated sheep dog herding and all sorts of other things. Then some of the group went zorbing, which is basically getting inside a huge beach ball and rolling down a hill. It was really funny to watch!

We made it to Aukland. It was a 12 hour train ride! The city looks a lot like Seattle. The SkyTower is a lot like the Space Needle! We saw a bit of the city today and went to the Maritime Museum.

We made it to Wellington on Tuesday. We took a 5 hour train ride and 3 hour ferry ride. The ferry was HUGE!!

We only have a day left in Christchurch but we have seen/done a lot. Today we went to a wildlife center and got to see some actual kiwi birds which are very rare. Then we went up on a gondola ride to the top of some hills and there was an amazing view of the city on one side and the water on the other! It was amazing! In a couple days we will be taking a train and ferry up to Wellington for about 3 days.

We have been exploring Christchurch the past couple of days. They have some beautiful parks and gardens around as well as a lot of old architecture and artwork. The next couple of days we will be doing a number of activities including swimming with dolphins, taking a gondola ride, going to a wildlife center to see the Kiwis, and having high tea. It should be a fun last couple of days in Christchurch before we take the long train ride and ferry to Wellington.

We made it! The trip over was not the greatest thing in the world but it is beautiful!! The weather it perfect. Nice and warm but not too warm! Yesterday we did some sight seeing at the Antarctic Center which was a blast. We got to meet up with the other group (the group my boyfriend Mike is on) so it was fun to see all of them and have dinner. We have basically just been exploring the city so far! I'll write again soon!

I am so excited about going on this trip! I know it is going to be such a great experience...and what a beautiful country to travel to!! I am very excited to be away from Tacoma weather for awhile and get to spend a month in the sun! I think this will be such an eye-opening experience for me, given that I have never left North America before! I can't wait to see what else it out there!