Trying Everything Once: Nature and Discovery in New Zealand

I loved my trip to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook National Park. It was one of the first weekends in New Zealand, so this my first time traveling outside of Christchurch. My friends and I learned a ton this weekend.

We went on a really long hike that had gorgeous views at the top in Mount Cook National Park and stargazed at night. We also learned that, unlike the U.S., all of the restaurants in New Zealand close very early, so we had to rely on cooking for ourselves if we wanted to eat after 7pm. The views from this trip were so incredible, and since it was winter there were almost no other people, which made it my favorite excursion during my time abroad.

I chose New Zealand because I love to get out in nature. I’m an Earth and Climate Science major and Biology minor, so the natural aspect of New Zealand really stood out to me when I was looking at programs. I decided to go with Arcadia Abroad for my program because they had so many planned excursions for us while we were in NZ as well as a really great support system. 

I had meetings with the team months before I left the U.S., and the program coordinator in New Zealand was extremely helpful. They also had a student advisor, who was a Kiwi student at the same university. I thought this was a really cool concept because she was able to answer any questions we had about school and Christchurch in general. 

I chose Christchurch as opposed to the other locations in NZ for a couple of reasons. It is big enough to still have a city like feel to it, but not as big as Auckland. It is also centrally located on the South Island, so it was only a few hours away from all the prettiest natural sites (Milford Sound, Abel Tasman, West Coast, etc).

My greatest takeaway is to try everything at least once. There were so many things I did for the first time in New Zealand that I never thought I would be brave enough to try. New Zealand is an adrenaline filled country, and I think the only way to truly experience all it has to offer is to get out of your comfort zone. I went on longer hikes than I thought I was possible of doing, ziplined, volunteered, and tried so many more incredible things. 

My favorite memories from my time abroad are from these times when I tried something brand new. I was super apprehensive about a lot of them at first but ended up loving most of them. Even if they ended up not being my favorite activity, I was still super glad that I tried and am definitely taking that mindset with me as I come back to the United States.

How did this program affect your career interests or next steps after graduation?

Image

This program helped me narrow my focus for what I want to pursue after graduation. I knew going in that I want to eventually go to vet school. However, while abroad, I volunteered weekly at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve with kiwi birds and other native species. This was an incredibly unique experience, and I learned so much. 

It helped me narrow down my interests to wanting to work with wildlife species as a vet. I wouldn’t have been able to have this experience volunteering with kiwis had I not gone abroad, so I was incredibly thankful that I pushed myself to try new things and get involved while in New Zealand.