Best Experience of My Life

When I did a semester abroad in Summer/Fall of 2012 at Otago, I was unsure of what to expect as New Zealand is a westernized nation and there was no language barrier to overcome. However, it turned out to be the greatest 5 months of my entire life. Although I arrived in the middle of winter and had to adjust to no central heating, it was everything I could have imagined. Dunedin was the perfect home base as it was a city with plenty to do for fun in within the city limits, and it was a perfect jumping-off point for all of the incredible adventures the South Island of New Zealand has to offer. In terms of day-to-day activities, we would explore the various mountains around the Dunedin area (both during the day and under the moonlight!). The city is host to the World's Steepest Street in the world that although is a strange boast to lay claim to, was quite a sight to see and even greater of a challenge to climb. The city had a plethora of restaurants and bars to stop at and a beautiful Botanic Gardens to walk through a few blocks from our flats. My friends and I played a couple rounds of golf on a beautiful public course overlooking the pacific ocean, and we also ventured to the beach to test our limits of staying in the frigid water for longer than a few seconds. The weekend adventures truly highlighted my experience, however. I took several trips to Queenstown (the adventure sports capital of world according to Kiwi's), partaking in hiking, biking, skiing, and even bungee jumping. I also went on two, life-changing backpack trips during my time. Our first trip spanned 9 days throughout the northern part of the island. We had to utilize crampons and ice-axes to traverse several alpine passes which led to breathtaking views and a true experience of what natural New Zealand was all about. My second backpack trip also lasted 9 days on the remote Stewart Island, just south of the South Island. A friend and I hitchhiked to Invercargill before ferrying over to the island. The track was difficult to follow with the immense amount of vegetation and tested us mentally with heavy rains for two of the days. We only saw 4 other people the entire trek and I could not have asked for a more perfect way to end my experience. With all of the solitude we had, it allowed me to reflect on my experience on a whole and cherish every moment I had in that beautiful country. Anyone who is interested in beautiful scenery, wonderfully nice people, and has an itch for adventure absolutely must go to New Zealand, because the country is quite literally your oyster.