2026 Tour Day 11: Heading Home to Minnesota

Kia ora! It’s Evelyn again!

I was a part of flight group one, so we left the hotel a little later for the last time. First up was the flight from Sydney to Auckland. During flights, many people slept, watched movies, talked, or played games to pass the time. Once we landed, we had a bit of time to grab some food and drinks at the Auckland airport before continuing on.

From there, it was Auckland to San Francisco. From there, we flew to Denver, then finally a short connection from Denver to MSP.

As we picked up our checked items, we said our goodbyes. While bittersweet, it’s a small world, and I have a feeling we’ll cross paths again with our graduated seniors. Of course, courtesy of travel, several of us (myself included) had delayed luggage, which gave us some extra time together before heading home.

This tour was an incredible experience I will never forget! I’m so grateful for all the memories I got to make with friends, and I’m looking forward to meeting even more people down the road! Thank you so much for reading, and thank you to everyone who made this trip so special!

Students posted 11 blogs throughout our 2026 tour! See what else we shared.

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Learn more about GTCYS’ 2026 tour to New Zealand and Australia.