In 1960, having relocated to Dunedin from the Waikaka Valley, near Gore, to study, Jocelyn Morrison found herself as one of a group of young women studying home science practising how to ride elephants.
Now living in Queenstown, she recounted the events that have influenced this year's travel bucket list.
In 1960, Farry's clothing shop arranged to get seven home science students to wear Farry's jackets and ride elephants from the circus that was in town.
''So we rode our very elaborate bikes down to the clothing shop and tried on our jackets, and we practised elephant riding.
''The next day, we rode our bikes down to the circus.''
They were then taken to the front of the hospital before proceeding to ride ''down the main street of Dunedin, [then] we stopped outside Farry's fashion shop and they had a wee set of steps and at that point we were given bouquets of flowers. Then we proceeded to ride back to the circus and then we got on our bikes and rode home.''
She said the university's student union was paid money for the event.
The money went towards the Colombo Plan, which helped bring foreign students to study in Otago.
After the elephant experience, Ms Morrison thought ''that was the end of the story'' but a photo of the seven students appeared on the front page of the Otago Daily Times on April 1, 1960.
Her mother found out and told her that was not what she went to university for, but ''I was let off because it was for charity''.
''So now I will be in Thailand in October [and] on my bucket list is that I will ride another elephant, because the significance is that I'm 71 now and I was 17 then.''
However, the timing was ''complete coincidence'' and the ride was part of wider travel plans.
Ms Morrison left New Zealand yesterday.
''Last year, I swam with sharks and stingrays in Tahiti - every holiday has to have a bucket list achievement, and this time it's riding an elephant.''
