Bula Bula From Mango Bay

Bula (hello) to all! The FANZ Walkabout group is safe and sound in the Mango bay resort nestled within the Tadrawai  Valley, so all of those worried parents can take a big sigh of relief. We are currently begining day four of our jouney in the South Pacific and what an eventful four days it has been! After crossing the international dateline we landed in Nadi to be greeted by… Read More

Bula Vinaka!

Hey Everyone, Great news! I have heard from Alex and Brooke and everything is going well in Fiji. The group arrived yesterday and they are all already perusing the markets of Sigatoka on the South Coast of Viti Levu as they delve deeper into their orientation. Everyone is gelling well and having a great time! This will most likely be my last post for awhile as from here on out… Read More

Walkabout has left the building!

Technically they are actually still here, however I am no longer able to see them as they have proceeded through checkout and will be boarding soon for their flight to Fiji! Its a long one, but on the other end the Fijian Islands beckon along with a beautiful new adventure. The group was all smiles and laughter as they left me behind and I do not doubt those positive feelings… Read More
Dear Carpe Diem Students and Parents, It’s just a few more days until all our to-be travelers and Overseas Educators will be departing for destinations across the globe. We have been busy preparing the OE’s over the last two weeks while getting all the last minute preparations finished! We are all feeling really great and ready to embark on the myriad journeys that will take place over the next 3… Read More

So it begins…

Kia Ora FANZ friends and family! Here is a shout out from Mt Hood, near Portland,OR. Your fearless leaders, Alex Liethen and Brooke Balla, are busy finalizing itineraries, refreshing wilderness medicine skills and sowing the seeds of friendship with the Carpe Diem family. We both couldn’t be more excited about the journey that awaits us all. This is the blog!  It will be totally run and updated by you, the… Read More

Final “Official” Post

  Well we’ve come to that point when the students wrap up their trip, they fly home, and the leaders regain a sense of what it’s like to exist without a troupe of amazing friends/students to hang with. ~Sigh~ The trip has ended and we’ve all sat back I’m sure to recall the last leg of the trip: What a fantastic way to end Australia. We flew from Adelaide to… Read More

The Outback

Hello All, First off, I think the group will agree that Groovy Grape was definitely a memorable experience. Not just by the things we saw but also the people that we were with. Our tour guide, Leith, was quite the interesting character and full of energy! A couple mornings we were able to experience him with coffee… almost frightening how energetic he was. Anyways, we started off our journey in… Read More

Update From Brisbane

A quick update from your Walk About Bloggers.  Currently we have completed four days of conservation work about an hour outside of Brisbane near Tawoomba planting trees that are intended to reconnect Koala habitats that have been broken up by farmers.  Our work inlcuded taking mattics or palaskies and clearing out about 4 foot wide circles in the grass, then digging a foot deep hole and finally planting one of… Read More

G’Day Mates from Brisbane

It’s your bloggers here with your daily scoop from the South Pacific.  After a memorable four days in Sydney we hopped on a plane to Brisbane this morning where we will be spending a week with the Conservation Volunteers of Australia.  Today we got to spend the day soaking in some sun and BBQ’ing at the South Bank Park and Lagoon/Pool, with some of Justin’s friends from when he lived… Read More

Oh my…Look at the Opera House!

Hello all from way Down Under! We have spent the past few days exploring the (large) city of Sydney! Our group has had basically a second week of free travel as we all enter our final stretch with each other *sob*. Coming from up in the Blue Mountains, it has been nice to delve into the urban scene (and food) these past three days. Last night we saw a Macbeth… Read More

Lovin’ The Land Down Unda!

After a few plane delays and travel complications we finally made it to Australia! Right away we went to our spiritualy retreat which was a wonderful break from the hectic free travel!  For a few of us we meditated for the first time, we spent a little over a day in silence, (which proved to be tough for a few of us) and had a lot of time to reflect… Read More

Free Travel Success!

Greetings friends, family and loved ones! You will be glad to know we had an amazing week of free travel! The group spent the past few days road tripping up the west coast of the southern island, sea kayaking and hiking the Abel Tasman and checking out the Franz Joseph glacier! Oh, can’t forget our “puzzling” adventures and illusions at Puzzle World, New Zealand… We soon found out how challenging… Read More

The Blue Mountain Adventure Centre

The FANZ Walkabout group has just completed a four day stint at the Blue Mountain Adventure Centre in National Park, New Zealand.  The week was amazing as our guides Bevan and Simon took us all over the area doing awesome activities.  Activities included a high ropes course, white water rafting, caving, kayaking, canyoneering, jumping waterfalls, repelling or also known as abseiling and some leadership building activities.  Highlights from the week… Read More
Hello from PJ and Tom’s farm! We arrived at the farm on Friday around midday, and will be here until Saturday the 10th for the Blue Mountain Adventure Center. Each day we have been broken up into small groups of two in order to complete daily tasks assigned to us. Day one was pretty rough with the wind and rain but we all chugged on through. The two Adams went… Read More

Slow down a minute…We’re on Fiji time!

Greetings from Rabulu, Fiji! We have spent the past few weeks living, eating and sleeping in our new home and what an experience it has been! It is safe to say our group has really been put to the test of adapting to a completely different culture than the comfort of our homes in the States…With great rewards! After a day of getting settled into our home-stays, we immediately delved… Read More

BULA from Sigatoka!!!!!

After meeting at a McDonalds in LAX, a 10 1/2 hour flight and a phenomenal stay at the Mango Bay Resort the Walkabout group is on their way to the Romulu village.  Our first four days on our journey through the South Pacific were a bit of a vacation as we were able to swim in the ocean, kayak, snorkel, make coconut jewelry and watch Polynesian  fire dancers as we… Read More

Bula! Fiji is great!

Just a quick hello from Fiji to all our fans in the Carpe Diem family.  The group has safely arrived to Fiji.  Orientation is going super well at Mango Bay and other than the occasional rain the weather is great and pretty mild.  The group is shaping up nicely and Justin and Jessica are feeling the vibe of a big love fest already.  Get ready for memories and life long… Read More

Goodbye LA, Bula Bula Fiji!

Its official!  The group is all together, bags are checked, smiles are prolific, they are through the gates, and in about 30 minutes they will embark on a very, very long flight to Nadi, FIji! A journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step – 8 new travel companions along with Jessica and Justin just took that very first step.  On the surface the journey will take them through… Read More

And they’re off!

And so begins a wonderful semester!  The group is together and giddy with excitement about these next three months.  Everyone’s met at the airport … sadly, one of the women had to bow out at the last minute because of an unexpected medical issue – so we wish her the best and speediest of recoveries and hope she can share in this journey if only by following you all in… Read More