"We came here for the Rugby World Cup and to travel around your beautiful country for a while. Everything has been really amazing fun. Apart from the rugby final, of course ..." business student Thibaut Denos (22), of Niort, said.
"Although, we didn't mind losing too much. Because we were happy in 1999 and 2007," Jeremy Nogues (25), of Pyrenees, added with a Gallic grin.
The three French amis have been travelling the South Island together since they met while working on a Blenheim vineyard two months ago. They began packing up for their journey north yesterday, after spending Sunday night at the Dunedin Holiday Park.
"We spent New Year in Queenstown. It was so much fun. There were lots of girls and parties," business student Simon Bastiere (21), of Poitiers, said.
"We met a lot of new friends. It was a very friendly and beautiful atmosphere."
The Frenchmen said there were many similarities between New Zealand and home.
"It reminds me of Corsica here, in the South Island," Mr Denos said.
"But there's less animal life than we thought we'd see. Although we thought we saw a hedgehog yesterday."
The trio plan to travel up the east coast of the South Island back to Auckland, before returning home to France in April.
