The Walkabout group has all found each other (minus Nils who they will be meeting in Auckland) and they are off and heading towards the South Pacific! Everyone is feeling so excited for the journey that they are even dancing together already. Its going to be a great trip ahead 🙂… Read More
Kia Ora Team Walkabout, family and friends!!
Greetings from staff training in Portland! We have been working hard to prepare for our adventure ahead and are sure that you all have been preparing in your own way for this trip that is right around the corner. The journey we are heading towards is sure to be filled with endless exploration as we wind our way through mountains, beaches, cultures, conversations,… Read More
“Travel leaves you speechless, and then turns you into a story teller,” said the famous Arab wanderer, Ibn Battuta.
There’s a certain sense of quiet that fills you on those first steps back onto familiar ground, back home. It’s as if there’s a space opened up within you, and only silence and reflection can fill it. This is a good thing.
For the past three months we’ve all grown together… Read More
The Walkabout group has departed! All safe and sound and on their way through security and towards HOME. What a wonderful journey this has been.… Read More
How ya goin’, Mate?
This past week, we embarked on our long awaited scuba/snorkel adventure in the Great Barrier Reef. For those of you who don’t know, the Great Barrier Reef, located of the coast of Queensland is the largest coral system on Earth. It can even able to be seen from space! When it comes to scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef is widely regarded as one of the… Read More
Salutations! We just finished a great week in the Daintree Rainforest! We started off by staying at a local ice cream company, where we participated in a reforestation project while enjoying fresh exotic fruit ice cream. We planted over 100 trees in the course of two days!
After the ice cream company, we traveled down the road to the Botanical Ark where we stayed for two days! Previously a cattle… Read More
For our student directed travel time in Fiji, we stayed in a house on the coral coast and relaxed after our village homestays. The house had an amazing view of the ocean and plenty of room for activities.
After leaving the house we said “Moce” (goodbye) to Fiji and hopped on a plane to Brisbane! After a day in the city, we hopped on a train Chenrezig Institute for a… Read More
Bula Vinaka!
We are very sad to be leaving the beautiful village of Nakuku tomorrow. Our group came to this small Fijian village with the goal of building a footpath, but we have learned and accomplished much more. Our first day we were welcomed into the village by means of a formal ceremony, and then were split up into groups of two to meet our host families. After settling in,… Read More
Bula! We have arrived safely in Fiji, after our unforgettable experience in New Zealand!
The few days we spent at the marae with the Ngai Tahu iwi (tribe) was the perfect way to finish our journey in the South Island. Manaia, our host at the marae, taught us about a chemical free way to cultivate potatoes, the history and spirit of the land, and the future of the Ngai Tahu… Read More
Kia Ora! We are finally settling down here in a Marae outside of Christchurch nestled on the harbor banks following our four day experience with student directed travel! After leaving Family Farm, we bussed down to Wellington and spent two days exploring New Zealand’s city life. Wellington is the capital of NZ and reminds us of a small San Fran meets Seattle with endless coffee houses, bookstores and vintage shops.… Read More
Over the last week we’ve stepped into the shoes of a farmer spending mornings milking cows, feeding pigs, and collecting eggs. Greg and Rachel Hart welcomed us into their lakeside lodge showing us a glimpse into their daily lives on the farm. Rachel taught us new amazing recipes to take back home filled with fresh ingredients and love. We worked with Greg to create new trails through the rolling green… Read More
Upon arriving at Blue Mountain Adventure Center the group was challenged with team building activities that forced us to grow both independently and together. Our leaders for the week Paddy and Sally outfitted us in the best gear for our high mountain tramp through Mordor. We set out for five days and four nights in the wilderness with a backdrop of sweeping views of the snowcapped Mount Doom (for those… Read More
After we left the Kokiri Center, which is a communal living space for the Maori people, on the 23rd, we went to a small farm run by a couple named Rick and Liz. One of our group leaders, Lolly, had stayed with Rick and Liz before this trip so it was amazing to see them reunited. At the farm, we learned about permaculture and how they farm according to the… Read More
The end of our first week together is fast approaching and it has been filled with name games, intention setting and the start of new friendships! After meeting each other at LAX and enduring a twelve hour flight, we headed to Solscape, our first destination of many. Solscape is an eco-hostel set on the side of Karioi mountain over looking the sea in Whaingaroa.
For our first three days we… Read More
I just heard from Simon and Lolly that the group has successfully made their way through customs and is currently en route to Raglan to being their orientation! They are sleepy but excited. More to come soon 🙂… Read More
The Walkabout Group has officially come together at last…after traveling far and wide from all around North America. They are together as a group for the first time! They are checked in for their flight to New Zealand and are getting ready to head through security and begin their journey together. Everyone is excited, and happy to finally meet one another. We wish them much learning, laughter, joy and adventure… Read More
Kia Ora! Bula! G’day! (That’s hello in Maori, Fijian, and Australian!)
First things first- we want to take this opportunity and tell you guys how EXCITED we are to be going on this trip with you! There’s so many incredible things we’re going to experience together this fall, so many amazing people and places we’ll get to encounter and explore- we can hardly contain ourselves!
After we meet at the… Read More
How can we begin to describe this journey? Challenging, wonderful, hard, beautiful, it is a weighty task to try and put the past three months into words that can possibly convey its different shapes and forms. Our group has changed and shifted throughout these three months, and every single student has created their path and growth in many different ways. As we hugged our dear friends Carly and Anna goodbye,… Read More
The past week has been full of exotic jungle and inspiration. We also bid farewell to Junior, as he had to jet off to meet the Pope in Rome. Despite our dwindling numbers-there are now only two students- we were kept in good spirits by the incredible people we encountered. Our week in the Daintree began with meeting John Rumney, a major contributing force in protecting the Great Barrier Reef,… Read More
Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef: it’s on everyone’s bucket list, and something we were lucky enough to do this week. Five days ago we met our scuba instructor, Louis, at Cairns Dive Center., and began our training. We spent two days alternating from the pool and the classroom, learning cool hand signals and blowing bubbles. We tested our skills in the shallow and deep end of the pool… Read More
