Hello friends and family of the Hongi group!
We had a great start into our free travel week as we left the Marae and headed to Tekapo for the night. While in Tekapo, we lounged on the beach and soaked in hot springs. It was a quick stay but surely relaxing. Then it was off to the fun city of Queenstown, just for the night, to prepare for our couple of days spent in Te Anau. On Tuesday morning, we arrived to rainy Te Anau. We spent the rest of the day mostly keeping warm inside our hostel called Backpacker Lodge. The next morning we were well rested and ready for a hike around Lake Te Anau. By the time we got back to the Backpackers Lodge, we were all ready for a movie night. Some of us chose to watch Lord of the Rings 2 and some The Grudge. Falling asleep was pretty difficult that night. Thursday morning we woke up and had a two hour bus tour on the way to Milford Sound where we went on a boat cruise. The cruise was quite the highlight of the week. Many of us didn’t mind getting damp while standing at the front of the boat; being splashed with waves and going under waterfalls. On Friday, it was back to Queenstown for two days at Base Travel hostel once again. We tied up all of our loose ends, did some shopping, and soaked in our last few days in New Zealand. Although it was sad to say goodbye to New Zealand, we are all so excited for our adventure in Fiji and anxious to see what’s in store.
We arrived yesterday safe and sound and the updated report is that it is hot here!