When I arrived at the University of Otago, I was worried that there wouldn’t be anywhere for me to spend time in nature every day. This garden was a two minute walk from my flat, so I was very fortunate.
When I arrived at the University of Otago, I was worried that there wouldn’t be anywhere for me to spend time in nature every day. This garden was a two minute walk from my flat, so I was very fortunate.
I walked through here to relax and also to get to New World Market, which is the grocery store where I shopped. This place was very well kept, and it had greenhouses, statues, and really nice gardens. The people of New Zealand value their environment, and they work to keep it clean and unharmed. They have recycling everywhere, and they live sustainably as much as they can. In my flat, we had separate bins for all of our waste, and we put them on the curb each week. My parents came to visit me at the university, and they were really impressed by the nature and the sustainable living.
At the end of my stay in New Zealand it was their fall turning into their winter. In the United States, it was our winter turning to our spring. It’s very strange to realize how far away New Zealand is from the United States. The travel was very difficult, and I had to spend 24 hours going from one plane to the next. There are a lot of very pretty places in New Zealand to see. I went on a lot of hikes, through glaciers and up in the clouds. Nature is extremely important to the native people of New Zealand, the Maoris. I studied about this in my Maori Society class.
These are pictures of the beaches in New Zealand on the South Island. The image from below is one that I took on the plane coming into Dunedin, New Zealand. The hills are interesting, and I learned a lot about the convergent plates that formed them in my Environmental classes at the University of Otago.
The other pictures here are of my favorite beach in Dunedin, St. Claire’s Beach. When I first got to New Zealand, the semester hadn’t started yet. I realized that I could surf at St. Claire’s Beach, so I went every day for a while. Once classes started this was harder to do. They have good waves at the beach, and we were able to see a sea lion when my parents visited. The Esplanade is also at this beach, so you can eat after you surf. I spent time walking this beach too. It’s another example of how the people of New Zealand value and preserve their environment.
Hunter S. is an Environmental Studies major currently studying at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand
Comments are closed.