But a group of young Queenstown men arrived unconventionally in Dunedin yesterday in kayaks, for the start of their tertiary year.
Dunedin Polytechnic School of Adventure students Anthony Harris (18) and Luke Hardinge (20), School of Adventure graduate Harrison Greer (19) and University of Otago zoology student Jethro Hardinge (22) began their trip in Skippers Canyon last Friday as a way to raise awareness of alternative transport options.
The four paddled for up to 10 hours a day down the Shotover and the Kawarau Rivers to Lake Dunstan.
They carried their kayaks around dams and past the more dangerous rapids, and continued kayaking down the Clutha River to the ocean near Inch Clutha.
They then kayaked up the coast and came ashore at the St Kilda Surf Life Saving Club in Dunedin yesterday afternoon.
The 349km trip was expected to take up to seven days, but strong winds and flooding rivers meant they were able to complete the journey in five and a-half days.
While the idea was to paddle almost the entire distance, they appeared to cheat a little.
"We got the fly from one of our tents and tied it to our paddles and used it as a sail on Lake Dunstan," Luke said.
"It was definitely faster, but more to the point, it was a lot more relaxing than kayaking.
"It's not cheating - it's just another form of alternative transport."
Apart from some nasty blisters, numb backsides and "mad chafing" under their arms, all four were in good spirits when they arrived yesterday and were looking forward to a long hot shower.
A highlight had been watching a pod of dolphins, which followed the group for the last hour of their journey up the Otago coast.
