I’m Trent Lee and three weeks ago I was approved to do work placement at the Mudgee Guardian for a fortnight.

I had only visited Mudgee once before so my expectations were limited, and although I wasn’t too keen on leaving the comfort of my own home, the warm weather and warm welcome at the Guardian will weigh heavily on my final assessment of the town.

Despite only being here for a week, my first impressions on the town of Mudgee are quite positive.

To be able to experience 21-degree weather in Mudgee last Thursday was a great change compared to Bathurst where Im used walking to my car in the morning to find the windscreen covered in ice.

In my first week at the Guardian I visited the hospital to see the NSW Premier, attended court, dropped in at Mudgee McDonald’s to talk to the new owner and generally explore the town.

These experiences and my interactions with the Mudgee people have led to my positive perspective on the town.

My experience driving from Bathurst to Mudgee highlighted an initial unpleasant feeling as I felt this one-and-a-half-hour drive was average at best.

What felt like one long and winding road, to finally arrive in Mudgee was a great relief as I no longer had to look at the same thing constantly.

One of the first things I had noticed once I got to experience my first full day was the friendliness and hospitality of the people.

From people willing to answer questions from the paper, to the worker at the Woolworths self-serve assisting me, to the bloke who sold my mate a $2 cat playground, everyone has been very approachable.

While I love being from the Central Coast where the list of things to do or places to eat is endless, there is something cool about only having to drive five minutes to go to where I want.

Every day while I’ve been here the opportunity to walk to a local café or just to Woolies has taken me an even shorter time and the food that I have eaten has been highly rated – special mention to the chicken pasta salad from Market Street Takeaway.

For a town where I didn’t have any expectations or any ideas what there was to do, I have been pleasantly surprised and after my first week in the town, I’ve got nothing but high praise for Mudgee.