Follow the Journey

Bulaaa! Today the walkabout group made it safely to Auckland, New Zealand. We are here for one more day, then head to the organic farm with Tom and Pj for one week. We all had a fantastic time in Fiji, and miss it very much. Our time in Nadala was incredible and will always be cherished. Our community service project turned out great! We constructed a cement path leading from… Read More

Bula venaka everyone! After our orientation at Mango Bay Resort, the Walkabout group ventured to Nadala Village, Fiji. Nadala is way up in the Fijian mountains near Mt. Victoria, the highest mountain in Fiji. Our group was split up into pairs to stay with a homestay family. When we first arrived we had “Sevu Sevu” – a ceremony where we were welcomed by the chief and elders of the village.… Read More

What’s up everyone, scott and cat is here at the internet cafe. Just visited the hindu temple, which was sweet! We still have a few more items to scavenge but its all good here. I’m sure the other groups covered this in the other posts but we leave tomorrow or the next day to live in a Fijian village for almost 3 WEEKS! The village is called Nadali pronounced ‘Nandali’… Read More

Hey all! This Walker and Liv reporting to you from Fiji! Right now we are on a scavenger hunt in town. So far everything has gone fanztastic 🙂 We are both very grateful to be in such a beautiful place. We have been getting in touch with the Fijian culture through language lessons and trying new exotic foods. From morning yoga sessions, to breaking open coconuts, to taking a dip… Read More

Bula vinka-or a warm hello- from Brad, Brendan, and Lauren! We arrived in Nadi, Fiji on the 14th after crossing the international dateline. After a 2 hour bus ride through the country, the Walkabout group arrived at Mango Bay Resort. It is beautiful and located right on a little inlet overlooking the crystal blue ocean. Over the past two days we have gotten to know everyone in our group- Brendan,… Read More

Future scavenger hunt champs checking in! –Team Ben and Joe  … Read More

It is our third day here in Fiji and it is nothing but wonderful! We arrived here and took a bus through a curvy road for almost three hours to end up at a beautiful and peaceful resort called Mango Bay. It has been quite the learning experience so far full of new sights and new people. We have done everything from connecting with one another, morning yoga, afternoon ocean… Read More

After what must have been a LONG travel day for the group, they have officially checked into Mango Bay, their beautiful beachside orientation site where they will continue getting to know one another better and delving into the nuts and bolts of what makes for an amazing trip! In the words of our on the ground contact at Mango Bay, “I am already being flooded with great comments from the… Read More

  Grant, Brooke and the crew have all rendezvoused at the airport and after collecting the last student to show up have proceeded through security! Though their flight is a long one, on the other end the Fijian Islands beckon along with a beautiful new adventure. The group was all smiles and laughter as they left and I do not doubt those positive feelings will carry through out the rest… Read More

Carpe Diem staff training is in full swing here in sunny Portland and we couldn’t be more excited to meet the Walkabout group in just a few short days.  We’re busy with itineraries and maps and guide books…oh and bikes and frisbees and tea shops too…all so we can be prepared for an incredible semester.  Over the coming months this blog will be a place for the group to share… Read More

A warm hello to everyone reading back at home! The group just re-entered civilization after an awesome 5 day outback experience with WayOutback tours. Our guide, Tamara, took great care of us while we all got acclimated to the 40+ degree desert lifestyle. We left Alice Springs on December 1st bright and early in the morning so that we could get to camp in time to hike around the famous… Read More

G’day family and friends!   We’ve had an eventful week here in Australia that began in the lovely city of Brisbane! After arriving in Brisbane last Monday, we all headed out to explore the city. Some of us shopped, explored, went to museums, or just layed on the public “beach” and tanned. Our 3 days in Brisbane ended with a lovely Thanksgiving brunch with our new Carpe family. While this … Read More

So this is kind of a rap so bare with me, it’ll be a little awkward reading it through typing.   Happiness is the goalll, and suffering is a prison There ain’t no guards on patrolll, and the keys lie with wisdom Our minds are outta controolll, and the remedy is Buddhism. If we stop thinking and listen we might find nothings missin’ No senseless hate, anger or killin’ Just compassion… Read More

Greetings all from Sydney Australia! Its hard to believe that we are now in our 3rd and final Country. We had an incredible free travel week, a week completely planned by the students, to close up our time in New Zealand. We kicked off our week with a beautiful ferry ride from Wellington to the scenic south island! Our ferry arrived taking us through a maze of small islands in… Read More

Kia Ora (Hello) everyone! Tara (T. Banks) Cherwony, here to tell you all about our amazing stay with the Maori! October 28th was the day we started our stay at the Rongomaraeroa Marae, but our fisrt stop was the Porangahau festival. We spent the afternoon relaxing with the locals, trying new foods, and checking out local art creations. We met Ahuriri who organzined our stay at the Marae (communal sleeping… Read More

Hello everyone, its Nick here sending everyone greetings from National Park. Last Saturday we arrived in Haukes Bay after an 8 hour bus ride from Auckland. As we arrived at the farm we were greeted by the wonderful family of PJ and Tom and their children George,Ben,and Rosie. We were fed a wonderful homecooked meal and then we learned that we would be taking on different farming and housing duties… Read More

Hey everyone, Colin Martin here from the green country sides of New Zealand. We arrived in Auckland on the 10th and left bright and early this morning. While in Auckland we branched out and had a huge amount of experiences: some took a ferry to an island and hiked around for a day, while others took a look around the city and did some shopping in the opp shops(thrift stores),… Read More

Hello faithful blog followers! This is Jamo from Michigan here, updating you all on our final week in Rabulu and last few days in Fiji. We spent our 2nd week in Rabulu continuing to work on the cement pathway which we unfortunately did not finish due to the rainy conditions.  On the morning of the 4th we were given a tour of the Fiji water plant which is only a… Read More

  Hi, everyone! Lucy here (from an internet cafe in Tavua) to update you on our latest adventures!   We arrived in Rabulu (the location of our two week home-stay) last Monday after three bus rides that totaled about five hours of travel.  Luckily, once we arrived in the village, we were greeted with music and warmth, as well as a special “cava ceremony” where we got introduced to the… Read More