Hi guys! I am a third year Mathematics student and I just got back from a semester exchange at The University of Adelaide in Australia. I can honestly say that it was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I am so grateful that I was able to travel around my dream destinations: Australia and New Zealand.
I left for Australia at the start of February after the first semester exams in Southampton. Since Australian university terms are different to the UK (their first semester is March-July), I had a whole month before classes start. I took this opportunity to travel for two and a half weeks before I had to start studying. I visited Melbourne and Sydney with a couple of friends and had an awesome time. Here are the highlights of my trip.
Melbourne:
-There is amazing street art around every corner and frequent markets around the CBD area.
-The Great Ocean Road is a 243km stretch of road along the beautiful coast between Adelaide to Melbourne. Along the road is the very popular attraction, The Twelve Apostles. The drive was really long but the views were definitely worth it.
-I went surfing for the first time along the Great Ocean Road near Torquay and managed to stand on the board in the first session!
-The adorable wallabies and kangaroos at the Moonlight Sanctuary.
Sydney:
-It was surreal to see the Sydney Opera House up close and to actually go inside.
-Just an hour or two from the city, the Blue Mountains was a great day trip to take a hike.
I really liked how the cities in Australia are very different to each other and are unique in their own way. After my trip, I settled into Adelaide and the semester started. I am also going to list a few of my favourite things about Adelaide.
Adelaide:
-The University of Adelaide has a gorgeous campus filled with a combination of modern and historical buildings right in the heart of the city. This is the quiet study area, Barr Smith Reading Room.
-The kitchen area in campus. There are grills, microwave and hot water which allows you to bring a variety of food to university to heat up. This allowed me to save a lot of money which were used on travelling instead.
-The river that is just behind the campus. It was really nice for short breaks between lectures.
-The river has a path along it which leads all the way to Henley Beach. It is a great cycling and walking route (although it can take 3 hours to walk it!). Adelaide has free bikes that you can hire from a lot of places in the CBD.
-The free trams within the CBD area.
I was also able to travel to New Zealand during the mid-semester break in April! It was the most amazing holiday that I have ever taken. The landscape was absolutely stunning and just unreal. I also went skydiving which is the scariest and yet the most incredible experience. Here are some pictures since words cannot describe the views there.
I thoroughly enjoyed studying in Australia and will remember it forever. The people there are extremely friendly and I met a lot of wonderful people from all over the world. I am really thankful I was able to go on this exchange at such an amazing country and university. I would strongly recommend everyone to study abroad if they have the opportunity to!