Otago's Miss Universe New Zealand finalists are returning to the region, and to reality, after the contest final in Auckland on Saturday.
Miss Lambie, a fourth-year medical student, was named second runner-up and Miss Leonard won the entrepreneurial challenge after raising $10,700 for Variety - The Children's Charity.
Auckland finalist Holly Michelle Cassidy was crowned Miss Universe New Zealand and will compete in the Miss Universe contest in Moscow.
First runner-up was Kylee Tan, of Tauranga.
Miss Lambie said her third placing was a nice surprise, as she had been happy just to be selected as a finalist.
''It's been so much fun. The show and the final night were really exciting to be a part of.''
She returned to Dunedin last night and planned to resume her university study straight away.
Miss Leonard also returned to Otago from Auckland last night and looked forward to ''getting back to reality''.
''It was an awesome night and a wonderful experience but I'm definitely glad it's all over. The past few weeks have been a different world,'' she said.
The three Otago finalists travelled to Thailand as part of the competition, which was entered by hundreds of hopefuls from across New Zealand.
