Hello from the WWOOFers!

So its official we are all WWOOFers now :).
WWOOF stands for willing workers on organic farm. The farm we have been working on the last week is called Marama farm. Marama farm is a sheep farm on the south island of New Zealand. Our time spent here has been a whirlwind of new experiences and has definitely brought our already cozy group even closer together. For starters we ate the most delicious sausages i have ever has in my life made from sheep from Marama farm. The owner Graham Clarke has been a fantastic host and we have learned so much about what it means to run a farm in the past week. If it werent for all the new adventures waiting for us in Australia I would say that I would love to stay here longer and learn more. Graham has been working on this farm since he was 20 years old and has been farming his entire life. On this particular farm there are 10,000 or more lambs born every year. More than 6,500 of these end up at the butcher :/. Amazing how shepards used to tend to and make a living off of only one flock of sheep. Our first day was spent removing the tails and castrating lambs. The process involves stretching a super tight rubber band around each appendage to cut off blood flow so they will fall off. The sheep are often full of feces and are visibly shaking and terrified. This type of work involved holding each lamb against ones chest so that the bands could be applied. The level of intimacy required to do this job properly was certainly slighty out of my comfort zone but I, like my wonderful group members, was able to embrace it. Our group rose to the ocasion and we were able to get through 1000 lambs in one day of work. The remainder of our stay here involved building about a half mile of fence and doing some gardening work. As you can imagine a farm as large as this one has hundreds of miles of fence. The fence we tore down and replaced was more than 70 years old. Fencing is far less mentally and emotionally draining than taling sheep and is actually very theraputic. Spending hours with the gorgeous New Zealand landscape in the background hammering in staples to string up wire between fence posts is very rewarding and neccesary work. I find myself stopping several times a day to marvel at the breathtaking and often 360 degrees of beautiful landscape in any given place in this marvelous country. The gardening project was a success as having a garden available on a farm is very ideal. I tried parsnips for the first time that I can remember. They are delicious and go very well with lamb. We are off to Queenstown tomorrow and then to Sydney after that! All is well
-Dan

Ki Ora!

Out from OPC and on to the Bay of Islands for some r & r. A few days in we took a tour to some sights in the Bay of Islands. Our first stop was to hug a huge tree that is supposed to bring the hugger happiness. A later stop was to go dune surfing. Under good conditions a surfer can get up to around 30 mph. The speed resulted in some nice wipeouts from a few of us. The days after that were spent parasailing, kayaking, and relaxing at the hostel. We drove back to Auckland after that to hit the town for a little bit then caught a plane to the South Island where we've been living on a Maori reservation. We spent most of the time rooting out invasive species to clear up a mountain trail. Amanda, Steven, and a few of the boys kept tradition alive by jumping off the dock at a mudai during a tour we were given. One night we all got to witness the intensity that was rugby in the semifinal between Cantebury and Hawk's Bay. Next we're taking a bus down to a farm for more work.

Carpe Diem

O.P.C. Maori's and more!

Hello everyone! The group is currently enjoying some much needed downtime in the beautiful bay of islands!
After arriving in New Zealand and staying in Auckland for a few days, the group set out for the Sir Edmund Hilary Outdoor Pursuits Center. Little did we know, everyone was in for quite an experience. Though we spent the week hiking mountains, climbing ropes courses, and camping in the bush, we were not spared from bad weather. The group had to tough it through hurricane gusts of wind and horizontal rain for the duration of the stay, needless to say everyone got soaked to the bone! But with the help of our grizzly guide, Brett and a little team spirit we all pulled through and felt a little bit stronger afterwards.
After O.P.C. was behind us we set our sights on the Maori restoration project, which was located outside of Roturura. Aided with beautiful weather, the group helped clean up an incredible nature reserve. There was plenty of lawn mowing, weed wacking, and trail cleaning to go around. In between work the gropu got to learn small pieces of Maori culture and tradition, even the traditional war dance, the hakka.
So that brings us back to Paihia (in the Bay of islands) where the group is taking a quick breather and spending the days hiking, sailing, swimming, biking, and anything else the imagination can conjure.
From a Foreign Land,
the carpe diem crew

ello friends.

oh hey you! FANZ has been traveling up a storm. One country down, two more to go! Our last day in Fiji we went to a white sand beach. Some of the boys rented surfboards and "attempted" to take on the gnarly waves. The beach was really nice and secluded (...the 7th best beach in the world apparently) We were delayed at the Fijian airport for quite a while, but the flight over to New Zealand was really nice. The view flying in was breathtaking, greeneverywhere and gorgeous rolling hills. Right now we're staying in a hostel in the center of Auckland. The hostel is really nice... with a lounge, clean showers (that aren't buckets!!), and a kitchen. We are all feeling a huge culture shock, coming from a very underdeveloped country to a very vibrant fastpaced city.

The other night Gaby and I cooked everyone pasta and we went to a comedy club. There were 10 comedians and they were all hysterical, everyone had a great time. Auckland is amazing, everyone has said at least once that they want to move here. We are sort of running around the city like chickens without heads. I'm speaking for all the girls when I say it's a good thing we are leaving Auckland tomorrow, because we have spent way too much money shopping. The shopping here is great, no wonder everyone in New Zealand is so stylish. Last night Amanda took us up to the top of the sky tower (the tallest structure in the south pacific) and it was ridiculous. It was a great view of the city. Tomorrow we leave Auckland and are headed to the Edmund Hilary outdoor center. Everyone is very excited. It should be fun (and very cold). Hope all is well back home. We're crossing our fingers for the US economy...but on the bright side...the US dollar is really strong here in New Zealand!

--Kim

Moce Fiji, It's Been Lovely!

Hey there Family & Friends, its Becky the token Canadian writing to you this week! So lets get straight into this update, we are currently in Suva on our second free travel day in Fiji. In the past week we have finished the Togovere driveway, Climbed a mountain, Trekked through the Fijian Rain Forrest and of course made tons of new friends. The Highlights have been on Sunday which was "Maqu Day" the North American equivalent to Father's Day. It was basically a day to spend with your hot family, relax, eat lots of food and take even more naps. And not to be forgotten was Kim's extremely memorable 18th birthday celebrated in the village, she was dressed head to toe in traditional clothing, the pictures are priceless. We finished up the driveway on Monday so we had the rest of the week for activities. On Tuesday majority of the group braved the Strong winds and climbed Mt. Nakovandra (that's a 5 hour trek there and back!!) Lots of stories and laughs from that trip. On Wednesday we were fortunate enough to go to the Fiji Water plant for a tour in the morning then to Drauniivi Public School in the afternoon. I'll never forget how the children swarmed us as we got out of the truck. We were overwhelmed with smiling faces, whispering kids and loud laughter. In the classroom the kids were so happy just to play a couple rounds of "Heads Up, 7 Up" with us. That night we put on visitor night for our village. Boy! Do we know how to show them a night of fun! Thanks to Kara's organization we SUCCESSFULLY put on a fashion show demonstrating all the different ways to wear a sarong, a couple musical performances by our very own FANZ-tastic band consisting of the guitar stylings of Stephen, Myself (Becky) on vocals, and the man with the rhythm, Ben J. on drums. It was a night to remember. On the following night was the villages farewell to us. I'm happy to say I think I've drank my last bowl of Kava. For those that don't know (like I didn't) Kava is a traditional drink made from pepper root. Its served at the traditional welcoming and farewell ceremonies, lets just say its an acquired taste! After a night of Kava and dancing we were off to sleep for our last night in Togovere. With an emotional send off on Friday morning, saying goodbye to our loving host families, our Nau & Maqus (Mom & Dads), we were off to Suva, Fiji's capital. We are now at the Rain tree Lodge just outside of Suva soaking up the last little bit of Fijian Culture that we can till we are off once again to New Zealand. To give our group a Triangle Check (as Amanda would say)
Our Minds- are with the ones we love and yet thinking of the next leg in our adventure, Auckland NZ

Bodies - Mosquito bitten, a little burnt (and peeling in some cases) but feeling refreshed.

Spirits - optimistic, hopeful and encouraged.

The end this lovely view into our days, I leave you with some Fijian words of wisdom.
"Wele Mele" meaning Chill out!! :)

Till next time,
Becky Vandekleut

Fijian Village

Bula,
Fiji is awesome! We are all having the time of our lives, and we hope that all is going well at home, wherever that is. This week we were introduced to our village and our Fijian families. I think we all feel right at home as we were welcomed very warmly and enthusiastically. Everyone is extremely nice, sometimes overwhelmingly so, and we have found that the kids fallow us everywhere.
The work we are doing is good honest work but does not seem this way because the atmosphere is lots of fun. Who knew building a driveway was so slow and so much work. What would take a day with a cement truck and proper materials takes weeks here. It is alright though we are learning to appreciate even the smallest bits of infrastructure in a small village like this.
Houses are small and the food is different but i, and i think the whole group, find it very enjoyable. I dont think many of us even miss most of the small luxuries that are taken for granted in everyday living in the US. All is well.

Bula from Fiji

Bula! Hello! Gaby here-
What a dream it has been over the last few days! (Besides for the 10 hour plane ride of course.) All of us met safely at LAX and were ready to start our adventure. After the exhausting plane ride and the experience at customs we were ready to see our beach side paradise. After one car ride of driving on the wrong side of the road and a relaxing boat ride in the crystal clear blue water, we arrived at the Bekana Gardens (which i must say completely exceeded all of our expectations.) From the breath taking beautiful beach (that is 10 steps away from our room), to the magnificently friendly staff, to the exquisite food and luscious plants that surround the island, we couldn't have dreamed of a more heavenly place to get to know each other and start what is seeming to be a life changing trip. All of us are getting along great, like we have been friends forever. Our talks only seem to get more interesting and we all get a little bit closer with every one. So for all those parents (including mine) who are worried for even the smallest reason about your baby; were great. The next adventure we are about to embark on is in a small village where we are going to be staying with Fijian families for about a week or so. We most likely wont be able to write when we are there. However the next possible chance we get you will be receiving more info. Well thats all for now!

Sincerely,
The newly claimed Fijian,
Gaby Fusco