Hello everyone,

It’s a beautiful sunny Saturday here in Dunedin. Although the New Zealand winter is in full swing and the weather has been quite temperamental so far, I’ve almost been too hot in my coat as I’ve wandered around town today. Two years of chilly Durham winters has definitely taught me how to layer up.

I am now just coming to the end of week 4 of my first semester as a student at the University of Otago which means that I have been in New Zealand for just over a month. It feels so strange to say that as I still walk around the city amazed that I live here now and will do for the next year. I am still as excited as the first day I arrived when I dragged my very heavy suitcase up the steep front path to knock on my new front door. Although I’ve moved to the other side of the world the friendly and welcoming attitude of everyone here has made the move seem less daunting. I didn’t have much chance to blog during my first few weeks but I jotted down some thoughts here if you are interested.

Over my time here so far I’ve been finding lots of different things to see and do around the city. There are great views up Signal Hill across the whole town. Every weekend I make sure to wander through the Botanic Gardens on my way to the supermarket for its great scenery and most importantly the ducks.

This morning I visited the weekly Farmer’s Market in the old train station to pick up some seasonal fruit and veg grown locally in the Otago region. At the moment it’s mostly apples and pears but I’m excited to see what else I’ll be able to find there throughout the year.  Earlier this week I visited the beach at St Kilda for one of my classes and the geographer in me got very (very) excited knowing that as I looked out towards the horizon there was nothing but ocean between me and Antarctica.

Apples, pears and pumpkins are all in season at the moment

I am really looking forward to sharing the rest of my time here in New Zealand with you all. In the coming months I hope to be exploring more of the city as well as venturing outside of Dunedin to other parts of the country. The first month has been amazing and jam-packed with so many new faces and new places – I can’t wait to see what the next eleven will bring!