Queenstown, 27/1 21.30

Today was the end of New Zealand Explorer! From now on we are all on our own, but we are all staying here a couple of days before heading in different directions in smaller groups, where I will be moving to Christchurch to get settled before uni starts February 22.

It has been nine days since my last post, and A LOT of things has happened in between. We had three days of tramping in Nelson Lakes National Park, which was absolutely terrific. Definitely one of the places I will be visiting again! We then drove to Kaikura to get up at 4.15 in the morning to go swimming with dolphins, another incredible experience. Our guides managed to find a group estimated to be around 500 dolphins, playing around and swimming really close to us if we sang to them! Apparently sounds make them interested, so we performed our best to keep them entertained.

Christchurch was next, an overnight visit at my aunt’s place, before heading to Mount Cook Village. Fabulous to sit in a proper living room again, and really nice to see my aunts. I am heading back to them on Sunday, and I am looking forward to staying there a few days before moving in at Ilam Apartments.

Mount Cook National Park offered us a two day trek over Ball Pass, a very early morning gave us the most spectacular views of the mountains in the changing morning sun and different clouds passing by. We spent another night in Mt. Cook Village after the trek, before heading to Queenstown for rafting, a last night out together and now the coming days in smaller groups doing all you need to do while in Queenstown. I will be doing a bungyjump tomorrow – in total seven of us are jumping – and the day after tomorrow four of us are going canyoning near Wanaka. Sunday I am catching a bus to Christchurch, and from then it is all about getting ready for uni, meeting new people and places, and hopefully continuing having heaps of fun.

I plan to post more detailed descriptions of our different trips during the next week or two, so stay tuned. Pictures and my Google Map will be updated as well at some point.