Students flooded to the University of Otago campus yesterday, as a good number of the about 20,000 who attend the institution annually turned up for the first time in 2016.
Yesterday was the first day of O Week, and much of the mass of new students headed for a tent city at the Otago Museum Reserve.
Banks were there, as were chemists, gymnasiums and car sales companies.
There were also services like Student Job Search on hand to provide students with jobs, and Christian organisations to provide for their souls.
Otago University Students' Association president Laura Harris said there was plenty on at the university, including the tent city and activities at the University Union building where free food was on offer.
At Forsyth Barr Stadium, the OUSA was busy preparing for last night's convocation and variety show.
Ms Harris described the feeling of the first day of O Week as "fantastic''.
"It's a big sort of community vibe, a lot of people getting to know each other, new friends that they've made in halls; it's a really enjoyable environment to be part of.''
As O Week took place, there was a similar "academic O Week'' running in parallel, where students could learn about the various academic disciplines, and what they could do in terms of study, she said.
Outside the Clocktower Building, new Selwyn College residents were busy "bonding'', college student president Jordan Sangster said.
That involved some serious fruit throwing, with all sorts of summer fruit being hurled at a group huddled in the centre of a large circle of students.
Mr Sangster said the "gentle'' barrage of fruit was part of a bonding session in which residents had to turn up with a red sock, a piece of fruit that described them and an object that had something to do with their degree.
Though the rules of engagement were unclear, a group that arrived last was picked as the one to suffer trial by fruit.
