Welcome back

And all of a sudden we're back home... in a way our FANZ journey can all seem like a dream, eh? From dripping sweat in the heat and humidity of Cairns to back into the chill and Christmas lights of winter, our reality has changed rather abruptly. I trust you're all enjoying soft towels, your own beds, and a good home-cooked 'feed'. Take it easy on yourself over the next several days as you go through the 'fog' of transition. Enjoy revisiting the pictures that ignite your mind to all the memories of being together. And be in touch... our FANZ family continues on, though we've dispersed through the country. Be well, be happy and continue to be open to the amazing journey before you:)

Amanda & Steven

Curtain falling

It seems to be that it’s already time for that final blog entry. I figured I would start this blog and end it as well. But before we say our final goodbyes, here’s the recap of our latest adventures. After we left Adelaide we got picked up by the desert outback patrol. Which I’m pretty sure I can say was one of the more weirdly interesting parts of the trip. The program consisted of the group + 3 German girls + 1 Dutch guy stuck on a bus for SEVEN days straight, driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs. From stopping at every bathroom ever opened in that part of the outback, to visiting a man that can tell who you are as a person by the letters in your name, to watching the sunset at the most touristy place at Uluru, and being flooded in at all main roads and being stuck with sleeping in the rain or camping out in the magical place that some call… the Landry room. I’m sure you could only imagine how excited we were to get to the Alice Springs YHA.

With never staying in one place to long we packed up our bags once again and hoped on a plane from Alice Springs to Sydney, then to Sydney to Brisbane, spent one night there then jumped on a train to Chenrezig Buddhist Monastery. It was equipped with beautiful gardens and trees, a breath taking Gompa, nice and comfy bedrooms, and the biggest spiders and other insects some of us (Me) have ever seen in our lives! We learned about the basics of the Buddhist culture, did some yoga, eat some good (vegan) meals, and went to the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo.

And last but not least (after an excruciatingly long 30 hour train ride) we arrived to the Bohemian Central hostel in Cairns and is in the process of getting Scuba certified. Everyone is thrilled (even Kara) to go Scuba diving but is even more excited to get back home to see their families.

Into the land of Irwin, Jackman, and Ledger...

We have finally arrived in the last leg of our journey....AUSTRALIA!!! We flew into Sydney and spent two days. We went to the Aquarium and walked through a tunnel of sharks and huge sting rays. The last night in Sydney we all got dressed up and went to the legendery Opera House to see a performance of Mozart. One of the days in Sydney we went to Bondi beach and there was an art exhibit called "scultputes by the sea." All of the sculptures were really cool and intricate. After sydney we came to Adelaide and after a day at the really sweet yha (with a ping pong table!!) we found out that the group would be splitting up for a week. Everyone was really upset and worried because we have been together for two months straight. We each went our seperate ways with CVA (Conservations Volunteers Australia) off to different parts of the outback. Kim, Steven, Anna, Gaelen, and Becky traveled 3 hours away to survey wombats. From what i've heard it was very interesting. The house they stayed at had no electricity or water so it was almost like being in the fijian village all over again. They found out Obama was elected only because They were all huddled in the car listening to the radio. My group traveled 7 HOURS away to Leigh Creek to pull weeds and collect seeds. We saw lots of wallabies and kangaroos up close. On the last night we had a "barbie" (bbq) and roasted up some fresh "roo" (kangaroo that is!) When our work was done ww reunnited back at the sweet hostel in Adelaide to swap stories. We're induldging ourselves with target visits (!!), christmas parades, ping pong tournaments, and bike rides before heading back to the outback in 4 days. All is well here.

--Kara & Kim

ps. Sorry this is the worst blog ever... we made a really cool videoblog but we couldn't figure out how to put it up.

WWOOFing in New Zealand

Compliments of Graham--WWOOF host extraordinaire!

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

Notes from the airport

Well, it's official, they're together and ready! The group leaders just gave me a call and they have their full group - yes, everyone is there! In about three hours they'll be airborne and embarking on a journey of three-months and a thousand experiences.

Yours in spirit and adventure,
Ethan

Greetings from Amanda and Steven!!!

The sky is blue and spirits high here in Portland as we prepare for our upcoming trip. There are so many great adventures ahead of us, and we are so psyched to get to know each fellow adventurer and dig into our team journey through the South Pacific.


If you're feeling the pre-trip butterflies, enjoy them! Excitement comes in many flavors, and we appreciate them all.

Look for posts here about once a week as we soak in the Fijian culture, farm and haka in New Zealand, and melt through the Outback of Australia!

Cheers,
FANZ crew