New Zealand

My latest trip was to New Zealand last March. I have friends there that I have met on other trips. It's a wonderful gift from traveling in small group tours that you make friends with those from other countries. There always seems to be at least one person that I connect with and end up hanging out with. It's so easy now to stay in touch with people across the world with email and Facebook.
It was a trip I took on my own, booking my own hotels, flights, ferries and trains. I had help planning my vacation because one of my NZ friends is a travel agent and another is a tour guide! I met Gemma and Mike on my Toucan Travel trip to South America. I decided to take Mike's tour of the South Island with Stray Travel so I could visit with him and, at the same time, see the sights without having to rent a car. It was a great way to travel and widened my experience staying in hostels! In the North Island, I stayed a few days with Kathleen and Bob, a couple I met on my Peregrine tour to China on their ranch. They spent two days driving me around to see the sights, up the Coromandel Penninsula and out to the hot springs and mud pools of Rotorua. We watched rugby games on TV, ate white bait fritters and ate honey ice cream -- it was like visiting your favorite family members.
It was a very special, personal trip. I am going back next March to travel with my good friend, Chris. She is Australian and we met on a Peregrine trip to Antartica in 2002. We have each visited each other and traveled together to China. We will definitely visit Kathleen and Bob, and Chris is anxious to see all the "Lord of the Rings" locations and Hobbiton, which I missed.
I'm itching to get back on the road again.