By Lauren Howie, The University of Melbourne
4 months is a daunting amount of time. When I first heard that our summer holiday would stretch the whole of November to March I was slightly concerned – how would I fill all those weeks?
Well not to stress, there is more than enough things to do in summer, whether it is going to festivals, finding an internship or travelling – you name it the list is endless!
Festivals
If you are partial to a boogie in the Australia bush then a few festivals I can recommend are Strawberry Fields, Rainbow Serpent, Beyond the Valley and Hopkins Creek. Some of these have only 700 people, which makes for a completely different experience to festivals back in the UK! If you also want to save some cash then I would suggest volunteering, the hours are short and normally the work isn’t too tedious.
INTERNSHIPS
Study Abroad is also a great time to pursue some of your interests! I’ve recently been considering doing a masters in visual anthropology, so I got in touch with a local production company in Melbourne to see if I could get some experience. I spent a month working for Dynamic Visuals, meeting clients, editing videos and learning the inside world of film! I loved the experience and would highly recommend using your summer to find an internship in something that captures your imagination.
ROAD TRIPS
After my internship I headed to New Zealand to spend christmas with my Kiwi relatives. While there I road tripped round NZ’s jaw droppingly beautiful south island. My favourite spots included the infamous Milford sounds as well as the cutesy streets of Arrowtown – an old fashioned mining village just outside of Queenstown!
In January my housemates and I hired a campervan and set off for an adventure along the East Coast. We had the most incredible month lazing on beaches, partying in hostels, cruising the Whitsundays and spotting/ hiding from Aussie wildlife. If you get the chance to go away for a few weeks during your holiday then I would hands down recommend road tripping as your form of transport, not only is it economic but it is a great way to make unforgettable memories!
That’s all for now!