Sam Florio, 2012 New Zealand & Sydney Sustainability student blogger, writes:

I have to say, the near 30 hours of traveling weren’t terrible…I didn’t think it possible to entertain myself for 13 hours on a plane, but the outcome was here in the most BEAUTIFUL place on Earth, so I really can’t complain.

So far I have visited Auckland, Dunedin, Te Anau, and today I am in Queenstown, New Zealand. It is still hard to believe that I’ve been in New Zealand almost a week, but I cannot even begin to describe the beauty that this country possesses. Everywhere I turn looks like a painting.

Royal albatross flying overhead

Every adventure we have gone on so far is worth telling you about, but a few days ago in Dunedin was so amazing that it perfectly sums up the kind of excitement I have had the entire program. Our alarm clocks sounded early, before sunrise (which is much different than home I may add), and after breakfast we were quickly split into groups. Tony, our tour guide, rushed eight of us onto a small van and pulled away. We really had no idea where we were going, but just the drive could have sufficed. The van glided around the lake and I felt like I was in a movie, it was a stunning view.

We arrived at the Royal Albatross Centre, a quick stop before the rest of the day’s journey. For those of you who don’t know, a royal albatross is a rare bird and has a wingspan averaging three meters (for us Americans, that’s almost 10 feet).

View from mountain

Groups that visit the center rarely spot a royal albatross, so imagine my group’s excitement when one flew directly over our heads to feed it’s young, something that can happen only once every three weeks or more. Tony and our group were so excited for the rest of the day, and for good reason. We spent the next four hours standing just a few feet away in the wild from sea lions, fur seals, sheep and even yellow-eyed penguins.

After such an amazing day I couldn’t have expected anything better to follow, but the view as the sun set, over the top of the mountain we hiked to made my heart melt. And each city has been just as exciting, if not better, than the last.

Hiking at sunset

Last night I sat on the edge of Lake Te Anau after going for a run with my classmates and watched the sun go down. I can’t believe that me, a twenty-year-old college student, is getting to be a part of amazing things that some people don’t see in a lifetime. I think it was that moment, and now when I am reliving it, that I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. It is going to take a lot for me to click my heels and get home; I’m not sure I am going to ever want to leave.