BULA BULA!

Hey Y’all!! Rita, Connie, and Sadie here. Writing to you in downtown Nadi (nandi).  Yesterday was our first full day in Fiji, arriving at 430am (Fiji time) while all of you, our friends and families, were enjoying a nice afternoon in the states. We have had some real great group bonding adventures along with getting to know our surroundings. We all have learned a new word BULA, which means hello,… Read More

Earthquake “near” Fiji

Just as a heads up to parents and vicarious adventurers out there – a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck about 300 miles off the SE coast of Fiji today.  The group is fine and there’s nothing to be concerned about for tsunamis nor their safety, but for those who are curious, check out the following link for information. http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/recent-earthquake-unrelated-2014/ Yours, Ethan Knight… Read More
Well, to all the parents, friends, and vicarious travelers, it’s official: WALKABOUT is in da house!  As far as group unions go this one was incredibly painless and I think I can safely say it’s an auspicious beginning to 3 months of a journey none of us will forget. May it be a fruitful, safe, inspired, and profound trip. Yours in heart, Ethan Knight, Executive Director… Read More

Hello Walkabout!

Hey Walkabout family! We are super excited to meet all of you – only 5 days and counting! Back at HQ, we’re like busy bees, buzzing around the office, making sure we’re as prepared as can be for our upcoming adventure! The weather in Portland is surprisingly hot, getting us pumped for our first stop, Fiji! We can’t wait to get to know you and hear all your stories. During… Read More

The Journey Onward

Greetings and Goodbye, my friends. We find ourselves now back in the old familiar places – those places that seemed so comfortable and cozy when we were preparing for a whirlwind trip with twelve strangers. Now we’re a family that’s been strewn back across the states – physically distant but with new bonds that can’t be broken by space and time. Think of all of us often, and reach out… Read More
And here is Hannah’s… Memory:  Originally, I’d say something like horseback riding or scuba diving were my favorite memories. but now, upon returning home, looking back with an outside perspective my favorite memories are the ones when we were together as a family. when we had a hostel room together in Nadi. when we all made it to the top of mt. doom, together. when all snuggled at the Marae.… Read More
Well I feel like a complete arse I totally forgot about Christine’s and Cliff’s quotes…please forgive me I haven’t slept in 2 days. Christine-   Memory:  It is so hard to sum up these past three months and pick one memory but if I must it has to be our time on the Routeburn.  It was filled with fun. adventures and family.                   What’s Next-  I have had a blast over… Read More
Hello Everybody, David here, writing the final blog of our journey.  I am writing from my home in Evanston, IL.  It is 4:30 in the morning on Sunday the 8th of May and I haven’t been able to sleep because I can’t stop thinking about the amazing journey that we have just completed.  I am thinking about the bumpy car rides in Nananu when we would sit in the back… Read More

Amazing Blog Job By Gordon Peterson

Oh hey, what’s up?   Let me first start off by introducing myself…  Hi, I’m Gordon.  Alright cool.    Where did the past three months go?  It feels like no matter how full our days are the weeks keep getting shorter and shorter.  This last week was spent at the Satyananda Mangrove Retreat Center, a few kilometres outside of Gosford.  Before I say anything, let me just say this, it… Read More

Groovy Grape!

G'day Mates!   This week we have a special tag team blog for you, brought to you by Emily and Kelsey.   We spent the last 7 days traveling getting in touch with our hippie roots travelling on the Groovy Grape bus through the Outback. We left Adelaide in the early morning, picked up 4 more passengers (Boris and Peter from Switzerland, Laura from Germany, and Laurence from Belgium) and drove most… Read More
Hello Everybody, David Horwitz here.  We are all back in Adelaide after our group split in two to go and do separate CVA projects.  I am here reporting on behalf of my group which was, me, Gordon, Lucy, Dylan, Christine, Kelsey, and Cliff.  We traveled 8 hours in a little van/bus to Streaky Bay, where we set-up camp in a trailer park.  Our leader on the trip was Geoff a… Read More

Notes of Australia.

Disclaimer Blogs are almost inherently dishonest as it is impossible for anyone to write the truth about himself without alteration  or a situation without bias. So it is with a humble undertaking in which I attempt to write a objective , and unbiased recording of Carpe Diems Fanz trip. I’m sorry as I’ve I already lied to all of you I’m not humbled to write this, and of Course I… Read More

Week 7 Already (part 2)

Hey all,   Boy what a last few days we have had! Arriving in Queenstown on Wednesday afternoon was really nice. The flight in was quite fun as well. Aside from the scenery change going from the North to South Island, during our descent the plane went down at a much steeper angle than usual, and each time we would get close to the ground, it turned out to be more… Read More

Week 7 already!!

Hey all,   After departing our unforgettable time at OPC (thank you again to Mark and Ken,) we returned to the Extreme Backpackers Hostel for the night. Many of us chose to do laundry, connect with family and friends on the internet, watch episodes of friends, roam around Turangi, play Bananagrams (a variation of scrabble,) and make dinner in the hostels kitchen. Not surprisingly, we were all fairly worn out from… Read More
Hello Family and Friends,   Hope everything back in the U.S. is thriving. We Kiwis have just returned from a life changing 5 days at the Sir Edmund Hilary Outdoor Pursuits Center.  To say tour time there was epic would be an understatement, to say our time there was tough would be an understatement, to say that we reached the summit of Mt.  Doom in 3 hours would be dead on.   … Read More
Kia Ora!   We left the marae (spelled it wrong before) this morning and are spending the night here in Tanganui at the Extreme Backpackers hostel, which includes a climbing wall that Cliff and Karen have been enjoying. Today has been nice down time for us all to do some laundry  or catch up on e-mail. Emily was very excited because she finally got her long lusted after Kinder egg. Tonight… Read More