Written by Mary and Sushi, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia New Zealand South Pacific semester 2024 Our beloved belayers, queens of the Daintree, goddesses of Aotearoa, BBs. Our dearest SOPAC ’24, Wow, what an incredible, magical journey we have embarked on together through the South Pacific. We are so proud of each and every one of you for the leadership, the growth, the openness, the… Read More

  Written by JT and Gabe, students on the Carpe Diem gap year New Zealand adventure South Pacific semester at Whenua Iti What’s New in Our Journey? So many things happened this week, as Whenua Iti was packed with incredible experiences. We got to sea kayak in a fierce rainstorm and treacherous waters, participated in a high ropes course, walked 12 miles in Able Tasman National Park, spent time caving… Read More

  Written by Julia M and Clivia, students on the Carpe Diem gap year New Zealand farm volunteer program near Napier and Wellington What’s New in Our Journey? This past week, we volunteered at the Hart Family Farm, a livestock farm near Napier. We learned about sustainable agriculture practices and humane livestock farming from Greg and Rachel, who have owned the farm for almost thirty years! Along with Greg and… Read More

  Written by Ash and Grace, students on the Carpe Diem gap year New Zealand Maori culture program in Raglan, Waitomo, and Lake Taupo What’s New in Our Journey? Hello there from your LOW’s, Ash and Grace! We are sad to say we have left Raglan but are happy to report the many fun activities that have taken place since the last blog. Starting off, we took a trip to… Read More

Written by Ash and Clivia, students on the Carpe Diem gap year New Zealand Maori culture program in Raglan and Wellington What’s New in Our Journey? After a few wonderful weeks in Australia, we continued our journey by hopping on a plane to New Zealand! We flew from Cairns to Auckland, and then from Auckland to Wellington. We crashed in Wellington for the night, after wandering aimlessly through the streets… Read More

  Written by JT and Julia M, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia Great Barrier Reef scuba diving program in the South Pacific semester What’s New in Our Journey? This week the SoPac group got to explore the Great Barrier Reef and earn our scuba certifications! We spent time building a connection to the water and learning how to navigate the depths safely. We grew physically and mentally,… Read More

Written by Grace and Gabe, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia Daintree program volunteering at ClimateForce in the South Pacific semester What’s New in Our Journey? Hello from your friends Gabe and Grace, the current leaders of the week! It has been a whole week since the last blog, and boy oh boy, are there updates! Starting off the week, we completed our second food shop of the… Read More

Written by Caroline and Susannah, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia Daintree conservation program volunteering at ClimateForce What’s New in Our Journey? Hello, world!! Greetings from your Leaders of the Week, Caroline and Susannah. We’ve had another great week here in the Daintree Rainforest and are excited to share our adventures with you. We started our week at SheOak Ridge and continued our work with our lovely hosts,… Read More

Written by Grace and Caroline, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia Daintree rainforest program at SheOak Ridge in the South Pacific semester What’s New in Our Journey? After our long flights, we safely arrived in Cairns! Mary and Sushi bravely drove on the opposite side of the road for the first time and got us to our lovely hostel. For lunch, we ventured to our first Australian shopping… Read More

Written by Mary and Sushi, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia New Zealand South Pacific semester Welcome to the gap year Australia New Zealand 2024 SoPac semester, where our cohort kicks off an adventure with Overseas Educators Mary and Sushi! We are super excited to journey with you this semester in Australia & New Zealand! 😊 Mary (she/her) and Sushi (she/they) here, your Overseas Educators! Mary is… Read More

Written by Soumya and Forrest, Overseas Educators, this gap year Australia New Zealand farewell closes out a 70-day SoPac semester full of unforgettable moments. To my beloved superpoopers, We came together like the Daintree River and parted ways many moons later like its many tributaries. Along the way, we lived and laughed through seventy beautiful, challenging, sweaty, hilarious, eye-opening, wild and wonderful days. There are so many moments I look… Read More

Written by Madeleine N. and Treavor O., this South Pacific gap year kayaking recap covers nine days of caving, hiking, and sea kayaking at Whenua Iti in New Zealand with leaders Joe and Michael. Our group traveled to our last contact, Whenua Iti. We spent the next 9 days caving, hiking and sea kayaking. With our leaders Joe and Michael, we participated in many group bonding activities; we learned more… Read More

South Pacific student directed travel heads from Raglan to Wellington with caving, a trapeze jump, and a cultural museum stop before the South Island. We drove from Raglan down to Wellington over a few days while doing a practice run of our student directed travel. We spent a day in a very culturally significant museum in Wellington before we departed towards the South Island. What have been the three highlights… Read More

Written by Talia M. and Madeleine N., this South Pacific Maori culture immersion update covers their final week in Raglan with Tiaki, Madisyn, Rob, and Rangi Marie. Over the past week we had our final stretch outside of Raglan with the Māori. We spent time with knowledgeable Māori community members, Tiaki and Madisyn. We also spent two days at the home Rob and Rangi Marie who combine many Native American… Read More

Written by Stella K. and Asa P., this New Zealand Maori culture Raglan update covers waterfall hikes in Tongariro National Park, marae visits, traditional instrument making, and a Halloween celebration before student directed travel. Post Hart Farm, we got back on the road and headed to Tangariro National Park for a waterfall hike, mini golf, and a wide view of Mount Doom. Next up: Raglan! We found our way to… Read More

Written by Andy and Kyla, this New Zealand farm volunteer update covers a week of cattle herding, forest maintenance, flamethrower weeding, and group dinners at the Hart family farm. We arrived at the Hart family farm in New Zealand. This is where we met Greg and Rachel, the amazing hosts that run the cattle farm we worked on. Every morning, part of the group would go with Greg and do… Read More

Written by Josie G. and Nolan S., this Daintree rainforest conservation volunteer update covers their final days at ClimateForce, a Mossman Gorge excursion, and arrival at the Hart Family Farm in New Zealand. We continued our journey at ClimateForce, immersing ourselves in the magic that is the Daintree rainforest. We’ve been mixing our time with physical work for ClimateForce (weeding, fence making, beach cleanups and tending to their tree nursery),… Read More

Written by Treavor O. and Tasha B., this Great Barrier Reef scuba diving update covers three days of open water certification before joining ClimateForce to restore the Daintree rainforest. With our instructors, Martin and Chad, we were able to get certified in scuba diving. We spent one day learning in a pool and two days scuba diving in the magical great barrier reef. After our tiring, but rewarding, three days,… Read More

Written by Talia M. and RJ L., this South Pacific Daintree rainforest update covers a week of wildlife encounters, conservation lessons, and off-grid living at Sheoak Ridge. We spent last week at the lovely Sheoak Ridge in the Daintree rainforest. Hosted by Claire and Marcus, two passionate and accomplished conversationalists. We had some amazing wilderness experiences including cuddles with wallabies and educational nature walks. What have been the three highlights… Read More

Written by Forrest, Overseas Educator on the South Pacific semester, this Australia arrival update covers the group’s unexpected Sydney stopover, SheOak Ridge orientation, and first wildlife encounters with Claire and Marcus. On September 20th, thirteen strangers got on a plane with the intent of making their way to Cairns, Australia. After a 15 hour flight the group decided they liked Sydney so much that they’d stay there a little while.… Read More