The day after the canyon swing we all had a bit of a lie in, and then met up with Kate at Fergbakery. If we thought Fergburger was good the pies here were something else. Seriously need to stop eating in this country!!

We decided to be productive with our day and got the gondola up the mountain where you could see the whole of Queenstown. We had a ticket for 5 luge rides which was great fun and bought out the inner speed demon in us all, apart from when we tried to pose for a picture and nearly got knocked off the track. Oops. (Ryan -this reminds me you owe me two beers for beating you!) In the evening we headed to the world bar again to meet Adrian and Anita who were staying at a different hostel. More teapots ensued and then it was on to the buffalo bar where ginger night was happening. As a redhead I got 2 for 1 drinks and free shots for anyone who kissed me. Who knew my hair colour would be an advantage!

The following day was Anita and Adrian's last day in QTown, so we all met up for a last lunch as our group which was sad as we've all been together for so long now. I can't explain the bond you get with people you are travelling with for a few days, never mind a couple of weeks. As corny as it sounds I know I've made friends for life whilst I've been here. The rest of us booked ourselves in for ski passes the next day and had to pick up all our items, everyone got quite nice outfits; I got something from the 90's… typical!

We were meant to be having a night out for Anita and Adrian's last night, but no one could handle it so instead we all met up at cookie time and had milk and cookies together as we said our farewells.

Bright and early we were up and on a bus to Cadrona ski area, it was about an hour drive so I got a good nap in on the bus. Chloe and Roxanne went off for a lesson and Kate, Ryan, Manon and I headed up the piste. It felt so bizarre snowboarding in August! The snow wasn't the greatest but it was so good to get back on a board (even a hire one) and get the old snow legs back. I realised I was probably pushing myself a bit much with my leg injury and the fact It wasn't a snowboarding holiday, I wasn't going home in a few days, so called it a day but was happy with how I got on and was really glad we did it. Excited for when I head back to Les Arcs in December!

We got back and decided to join a bar crawl as it was Chloe, Roxanne and Ryan's last night. This included a trip to the ice bar, which is a bar made completely of ice, even the cups. You have to wear a massive coat and gloves when you go in.. was fun but we got a bit cold after a while and were ready to head back to the warm! The rest of the night was a bit of a drunken blur for all but I think we sent the guys off in a proper fashion…

It's safe to say I wasn't feeling the greatest the next day, once I had found all my worldly possessions in the hostel lost property bin, including my shoes which I don't even want to know how I lost, Manon, Maria and I headed out for a fry up. I couldn't really cope with much so headed back to the hostel after and curled up under my duvet in the tv room (the hostel has its own cinema pretty much) and ended up watching 5 movies. Highly productive day… it was mine and Manon's last night but there was no way we could face going out so had an early one. How rock and roll!

To keep up with my schedule to get my flight from Auckland, I had to book a flight to Wellington so I could spend extra days in Queenstown. It actually didn't work out much more expensive than if I was getting the ferry from Picton and I'm glad I spent a bit longer there. I headed up to Wellington and it was strange being back in a city after many small towns. I had a wander round but it felt alien to not have all the guys with me as I was with them for so long. Miss them already! I've also managed to catch a cold so am feeling a bit sorry for myself; I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. On top of being ill I had a dramatic morning when it turned out my Stray bus had left without me as they had updated the timetable without informing me. After some heated phone calls and a few tears, the receptionist at the hostel kindly booked me a flight to Auckland which hopefully Stray will reimburse me for. I am now in Auckland after what ended up being my 9th flight of my trip. Roll on flight 10 tomorrow to Japan to see Helen! Let's just hope I can handle making my way to meet her in Tokyo after an 11 hour flight… roll on the challenge…

Big love to everyone at home! xx