Last days in NZed

Well, my last days in Aotearoa are finally coming to a close. It's still hard to really believe they are finally over. I just keep reminding myself that all good things eventually come to an end.

Nga, another host-mum for some girls in the group, taught us how to weave flax into flowers and also some Cook Island dancing. It was so fun.

We also hiked Rangitoto, the most recent and largest volcano in Auckland at 800 years old. I've been wanting to do this the whole time I've been here and finally crossed it off my list! It is a Maori name meaning "Bloody Sky." So, that was pretty cool. We had to ride a ferry over to the island and it was a pretty steep walk up to the summit. The view of Auckland City from the top was amazing. One last look over the city that I've grown to love was a perfect farewell activity for me. We also trudged through some lava caves and explored around for a while.


And, of course the enjoyable chore of packing and strategically placing my cornucopia of stuff into my not-ever-big-enough suitcases is my current activity. It's like clothes/souvenirs tetrus. But I'm determined to bring it all back with me one way or another.

I leave Friday morning, the 9th of April, to fly to Sydney and then I'm catching a flight with some other people in my group up to Cairns where the Great Barrier Reef is. We will spend a few days there and then fly back to Sydney and spend a few more days there. Kamaea, my kiwi sister, will be there so I'm excited to see her again. After Australia I head to the kingdom of Tonga for 4 days before returning to reality in the good ol' US of A.