A fantastic local market, Southern Farmers Market has it all from delicious fresh produce and artisan products to a lovely local atmosphere and friendly stall holders. Get to know the locals and stock up on all your groceries at this superb Southland market.

The Gore Christmas Market is coming up! Expect a fantastic family-friendly market which includes a garage sale, play area and food and drinks. There’s a baking stall and raffles to purchase too.

A great place to pick up Christmas gifts for your loved ones, Southern Crafters Market has over 180 stalls so you’re bound to find something to covet here! There are loads of quality foods to enjoy whilst you’re there too.

A fantastic indoor market, Te Anau Community Market is a great place for organic and local veggies and fruit. You can also purchase lamb, pickles, jams and homemade cakes. You’ll delight in the arts and crafts, clothes and wools / yarns to purchase too.

For the best local produce in Gore there’s only one place to go … Gore Farmers’ Market. They have everything you need to fill the fridge and pantry, including meats, breads, fruits, vegetables and pickles. What’s not to love about this lovely local market.

A cute, quirky and colourful market, Hokitika Market has it all from woodcraft and jewellery to plants, baking and eggs. This place is definitely worth a visit to pick up some knitwear, garden art, herb and preserves too!

Who doesn’t love fresh, organic locally grown produce? Scrap the supermarket and support local growers and producers at the Westport Farmers Market. I particularly love the preserved fruit and veggies … great for the winter months when the variety of fruit and vege is limited.

If you love the idea of being a gypsy, or simply partaking in a gypsy extravaganza, then you must head to the gypsy market! Expect all the usual quirky and cute gifts, as well as loads of local entertainment including hoola hooping; a puppet show; tug of war and sack races.

A great community-based learning centre of adults, Karoro Learning Greymouth has a whole load of courses to take your pick from. Mythology, genealogy, Te Reo, yoga and flax weaving feature on the list of subjects, as well as defensive driving and learning how to make a lampshade. So much to learn and discover!

An amazing place of learning, Tai Poutini supports all sorts of adult learning including music short courses where you can learn how to make music. Their hospitality short courses are super popular, so too are their computing and trades classes.

Online learning at its best, Aoraki’s courses allow you to study and learn from home (this is particularly handy if you work full time and don’t want to give up your job for study!). Some online courses for you to partake in include Certificate in Business Ownership and Diploma in Childbirth Education.

Industry Training has an excellent array of courses that will help you boost your skills or add new skills to your repertoire. This is a specialised education provider which will help you excel in healthy and safety, gas testing and fire safety.

A great way to upskill and learn something new is by taking one of the many adult education courses at Southland Education. I particularly like their massive selection of courses, including Christmas Floral Art and Craft, Printmaking and Ukulele for Beginners.

There are really interesting courses to take at Southern REAP, from Treaty of Waitangi Training and Getting Work Ready to CV Preparation and First Aid. If you’re an adult wanting to get more out of life then I recommend these awesome life courses!

SIT is a very popular education institute, not just for their Zero-Fees scheme, but their short courses as well. They have an excellent array of adult education opportunities like architectural technology, art, design and photography, business / commerce and computing and IT.

A business school where you can learn and study online, NZIBS is a great way to learn journalism, creative writing and proof reading skills. The best part of all this is that you get to study at home and build a second career!

I love Otago Polytechnic particularly for their design short courses. Fancy taking courses like Laser Cutting, Pattern Making and Textile Printing? The opportunities here are endless if you’re in to design and fashion as much as I am!

The University has loads of fantastic continuing education and adult courses. At the moment the Theology and Religion department is running a workshop called ‘Suffering and Evil as a Challenge to Faith: Philosophical, Theological and Pastoral Responses’. Keep a look out on their website for more courses opening up over the year

Learn the best business skills at one of the country’s most esteemed universities. The University of Otago’s business school has a fantastic adult education programme designed to make you more confident in business.

For a range of writing courses, it’s hard to beat Creative Writing Dunedin. They have a series of online and face-to-face courses. Courses include topics like Finding Your Voice; Advanced Tools for Storytelling; Making Fine Poems and Writing Your Life. A wonderful way to kick start your writing career!

Want to become a beautician, early childhood teacher or journalist? Well, you can with the amazing short courses at Aoraki Polytechnic. The Dunedin Campus has a specialized selection of courses, lead by fantastic and knowledgeable teachers. A great way to upskill during the evenings!

Want to get ahead and learn a new skill? I love Risingholme Community Centre for their huge array of short courses. Risingholme is home to a huge range of Adult and Community Education classes, from cooking, computers and sewing to pilates, dress making and crochet, there isn’t a lot this place doesn’t cover. I particularly love the historic house, built in 1864 where the courses are held, although it’s currently earthquake damaged!

A great place for adult education and night class programmes, I love Hagley College for their sewing and language classes. Brush up on your mathematics or learn a performing art – your choices are endless!

If you’re an adult and want to learn something new, then give CPIT a try. They’re great for practical courses like furniture making and welding. The classes take place once a week across a period of 6-8 weeks and I always find the teachers to be so helpful, patience and knowledgable!

The six week courses are Papanui High School are awesome! Learn how to paint, or how to make buns, croissants, bagels and pizzas, or learn how to make coffee. There are so many fun courses it’s hard to choose where to start!

For a wide variety of adult education courses, I find Hillmorton is a great place to start your continuing education programme. For me the highlight is the Life Drawing class, or if you want to expand your personal development skills then there are some great courses focusing on how to improve yourself inside and out!