Paradise, Help me Out!!

University of queensland isnt in NZ, its over the ditch haha. University of canterbury is in christchurch which has been hit hard by earthquakes (that could turn you off going there). Not sure which uni is better placed for surfing and mountain biking though. I hope this was useful!

haha oh damn you're right. I just assumed University of Queensland was in Queenstown. Earthquakes don't turn me off...remember I'm a geo major that's why I'm coming to NZ haha.

Might be worth you having a look at Victoria University in Wellington. I'm pretty sure they have a decent geological department - see here http://www.victoria.ac.nz/sgees/

Wellington's pretty legit, although I'm biased having lived here a long, long time. There's an enormous mountainbike park, with something like the most singletrack in Australasia. Plus there's reasonable surfing although it's apparently pretty intermittent.

Good to hear. I guess Wellington has some pretty amazing nightlife from what I hear. I'll be sure to check it out.

University of Otago is a great uni. I don't know anything about your degree haha but I'm sure Otago could cater well for it. Plus Dunedin has some pretty good surf, nice down hill tracks, and is only a few hours from Queenstown which again has some really good mountain biking.

I would definitely recommend Canterbury Uni. The geo course there is really really excellent, they have awesome teaching staff.

Skiing is the best around here. You have everything from the clubs to commercial and the CHILL pass is super legit if you want to explore. Up to twelve field across the south island all on one pass, and it's really good value.


As far as biking goes, Christchurch has some pretty awesome trails. Craigieburn and castle hill are just an hour away and the coastal crew came in February for a product shoot, as above.
Queenstown and Wanaka are a good weekend trip away in the winter and summer if you want to use the gondola for lift accessed biking or to ski some park.

PM me if you need any more info

 

Awesome, thanks for the input guys!! Getting really excited about this trip now. Kinda leaning towards Canterbury right now, but everyday I change my mind haha.

yo what i would say is that dunedin can be a pretty average place to live - the weather is generally crap (even in 'summer') and you will probably be in a dingy flat. that said, i live in a shitty dunedin flat and still absolutely love the place. there is outstanding surf within a ten minute drive, and more than you could ever want within a 30min drive (though you'll need a decent wetsuit). i can't say much for mtb as im not really into it, but the terrain around dunedin is much hillier than chch, which is pretty much dead flat. also a deal breaker for a lot of people is night life, and speaking from very recent experience in both cities, atm there is virtually no night life in christchurch. there is no town as the cbd is still in ruins, and any parties you try and have tend to get shut down (aggressively, believe me haha) by the police at around 11

bumpin this back up.

Congrats man NZ is the shit.  If you are looking mostly for surfing, go to the North Island for sure, if there is a college on the West coast.  Christchurch is definitely the skiing spot, and U of canterbury seems pretty legit for Geology.  WHen I was there I lived with a geo phd candidate and he was doing some super interesting stuff.  The South island has cooler outdoors stuff in my opinion, and is basically one giant national park.  So damn beautiful.   The surfing is shit on the south island though.  Either way, the country is fuckng sick.  Good luck man.

Thanks man, I appreciate the advice and info! I'm leaving today and will be in Auckland by Feb 5th.

Fuckin sick man.  One thing I will suggest, that blew my mind out of the water is this: (I don't know if you are into this type of shit, but it changed my life) There is a meditation course on the tip of the north island, which can be found at http://www.dhamma.org

What it is, is a 10 day meditation retreat, spent all in silence.  They feed you, give you a private room to stay in and teach you meditation.  The whole thing is donation based, and you are only eligible to donate if you sat the entire thing.

Like I said, it's not for everyone, but it was exactly what I needed to cap off my lifechanging journey to this crazy ass country.  Sounds cliche for sure, but if you have any inclination towards this type of thing, give it a go.