Blooooooooooooooooooooooooog

From the farm, our group travelled to Te Anau for the beginning of our free travel. For our first activity, we hiked a portion of the Kepler Track that led to one of the highest peaks bordering Lake Te Anau. It took all day but the view from the top was completely worth the strenuous walk. The first portion of the hike ended at a hut near the summmit where we took a break and ate. From the hut, a majority of our group soldiered on and made it to the top. The next day, we we continued with our exploration of the outdoors by embarking on a cruise of the Milford Sound, which is said to be among the most beautiful places in the world. After our cruise we went on another hike around the Milford Sound where we kayaked to the beginning of the trail. Despite the constant attack by swarms of sandflies, the scenery was breathtaking and we kayaked amongst a pod of dolphins on our return which made a great grand finale for a beautiful day. From Te Anau we continued to our next destination of Queenstown. We were in Queenstown over Guy Fox day and many people in the city celebrated by shooting off fireworks. Our group discovered a new love: Fergburger- a famous and memorable (as well as positively delicious) burger venue on the main street, so much so that everybody ate multiple meals there. In Queenstown we did one group activity known as jet boating. We rode on a jet boat through the Shotover River with beautiful scenery and rocky features. After a few days in Queenstown we boarded a plane and left New Zealand, a country we have grown to love over the past month, to depart for Sydney. We had a day to explore the city where many of us took advantage of a free city tour as well as went off to explore on our own. Next we went to the Mangrove Satyananda Yoga Ashram for our retreat. Every morning we woke up at 5 to start our 5:30 yoga class, which included learning how to "salute the sun", chanting, and various other exercises. After breakfast we practiced karma yoga for an hour, a practice where one selflessly gives their time to serve others while retaining a yogic attitude. Our group became a constant presence in the kitchen where we helped to chop vegetables and do other various jobs. Another part of our daily routine was Yoga Nidra, which is basically where you lie down in a sleeping position for 30 minutes but attempt to retain consciousness while your body rests. It is commonly known around the ashram as "nap time" and we all loved it. Our other activities varied from day to day- one morning we all used neti pots to clear out our nasal passages and improve balance and breathing... we drank the most amazing chai ever produced on the porch of a farm before a havan ceremony, which involved chanting mantras and giving thanks to nature over a fire. There was a huge thunderstorm during the ceremony and the rain perfectly coincided with the practice. We also went on an Om walk, a bushwalk to the caves on our last day, practiced singing kirta, and every night we participated in mouna (complete silence) until the end of breakfast the next day. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening and amazing experience for all of us and we all left with new knowledge and an appreciation for the practice of yoga.
Love from Australia!
Catherine and Nick

Home, home on the range..

   I find that sometimes it is those completely unplanned, random moments that stick with me throughout the trip. It might be squeezing into a horse trailer on the way to the farm or having a conversation about organic food with Graham (the owner) or even finding yourself in a cemetery on Halloween surrounded by people you've come to know and love. Clearly our time on the farm was indeed superb. We were welcomed with opened arms by Graham. He was not only extremely inviting to us, he also shared his knowledge with us on farming, eating organic food and having a good work ethic. The work was strenuous and difficult at times, but I must say that it was quite rewarding. Some painted windows while others weeded gardens and planted vegetables. And I mustn't forget about our other great responsibility at the farm: taking care of the lambs, chickens, dogs and cats. Everyone also spent some of their mornings and afternoons all day in the kitchen making lunch or dinner for at least twelve people. The home-cooked meals were not only delicious, but made us all feel more at home.
      Although Halloween is not celebrated in New Zealand, we all took advantage of the fact that we had the farm to ourselves that day. Laura made us some delightful goodie bags with chocolate and candy and although we couldn't carve any pumpkins, Greg and Nina made us some delicious pumpkin pie for dessert. Shortly after the sun went down, Casey and Stefan took us all on an adventure to gaze and the unbelievable stars. We were surrounded by the sounds of sheep crying out and the only thing visible besides the stars in the sky was one single candle that had been lit. We told ghost stories in honor of the holiday until we became too tired and headed back to the farm.
    As we all piled into our two rented vans and headed for Te Anau, I looked back at what we were leaving behind. Our journey on this trip thus far has been incredible, but our stay on the Marama Organic Farm was an experience I know none of us will forget.

And in case you were curious...
-Alex F. and Laura spent an entire morning and afternoon tailing sheep
-Alex W. fed the wee lamb everyday and nursed it back to health
-Michelle made two furry friends named Clyde and Tiger (two of the cuddliest farm cats)
-Stefan and Casey took a long drive up to Queenstown to pick up the two vans that we will driving in all through free travel. Thanks to them for going so far out of their way to pick them up for us!
-Catherine cooked lunch and dinner for us at least six times (and it was always delicious of course)
-Nick was always up for the most interesting and unique jobs.
-Nina ate pumpkin pie for the first time!
-Greg was fantastic at handling the oh-so-scary puppy-dogs.

That's all for now.

Sincerely,
Michelle Blau