New Zealand Tour

We arrived at the airport bright and early trying not to fall asleep in the security line, filled with nervous excitement.

Once we arrived in Auckland we met our wonderful tour guide, Gracie who welcomed us to her home country and began by giving us a tour of her beloved city. 

We made our way down the North Island stopping in Rotorua, to Leo’s disgust, where we bathed in the geothermal mud baths which had a unique smell. 

The highlight for many in Rotorua was Zorbing where we rolled down a hill in a big ball filled with water, trying not to die. 

That night we immersed ourselves with a cultural experience done by the local Māori people which included a traditional dinner called Hāngī. We were invited to view the local dances of the Māori, our highlight being the Haka before we set off to explore for glow worms which was sadly unsuccessful.

We continued our journey to windy Wellington where we hopped on our propellered flight landing in Christchurch ready for a Mexican buffet. 

After dinner we headed to the Botanic gardens where we experienced a fascinating light show before we resumed our journey to Queenstown. Before we reached our destination we had several overnight stops at beautiful small towns, national parks and lakes, one of the most memorable being our very wet weather hike in Mount Cook. 

After long hours of bus rides in torrential rain we finally reached Queenstown, which we all automatically fell in love with. It’s stunning mountain ranges and atmosphere appealed to us, spending two days of free time shopping, Lugeing and eating from the infamous Ferg Bakery and burger restaurant. 

Amelia, Ethan, Steven, Joss and Millie shared their experience going up the Gondola to Luge, spending their day racing with Joss ultimately taking the win and Steven coming dead last. They then headed back to the group where we took a ferry to a farm meeting some unique animals and watching a live sheep sheared. After dinner the group headed to a haunted house where some hilarious photos were taken. 

For our final stretch we took the long drive back to Christchurch. We finished the trip off with one final story from Gracie before we hopped on our final flights, sad to say our goodbyes but filled with lots of cherished memories of tortillas and our favourite bus driver Andrew. 

- Millie Thomas, Year 9

* See below for more photos of our wonderful New Zealand trip!