G'day Mates!

We're here to deliver you a little ditty
From this wonderful place called Adelaide
It's Australia's fifth largest city
Near the world's largest uranium reserve, where much of Oz's money gets made!

It's hard to imagine that four days ago
We were at Govinda Valley exploring our spiritual sides
At first bummed to not be studying Buddhism,
We soon found ourselves pleasantly surprised

To learn how to access our kundalini energy
From Patrick, our compassionate yoga teacher
We even got to analyze our astrological charts
From Andre, our very own vedic philosophy preacher

From Matt's chart, he received confirmation
That he'd pursue a career in the film biz
While Maxx became pretty adventurous
Tasting all sorts of new vegetarian dishes

Sarah and Coco really got into the yoga
Contorting themselves in all sorts of poses
They even enjoyed the breathing exercises
Letting the prana flow in and out of their noses

Shelby sure did love all the yoga
But was definitely the most thrilled
When she discovered a rugby ball
And got to play with it in the Aussie hills

The two Beccas rose before the sun
To check out the visiting Vedanta clan
They sat and listened to Sanskrit chanting
Language barrier and all, they maintained a good attention span

We even got to celebrate Jordin's birthday
At our beautifully peaceful retreat
The group and the generous staff there
Got together and made her a delicious treat

One day after class with Andre
Patrick drove us all to the zoo
Where we finally got to see it,
Our very first kangaroo!

Govinda Valley came in perfect time
As our nomadism was starting to take a toll
We were feeling a bit stressed out and tired
But now we're relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to roll

Back to Sydney we then went
To explore a world famous city
Botanical gardens, opera house, harbour cruise
That we had to leave so soon was really a pity

We are only hours away
From our intense outback excursion
Where we work to save Australia's wombats
What a cool conservational immersion

You may or may not have realized
That there's been a bit of a swap
Your previous rhymers have been replaced
Those originals, of course we can't top!

Becca.C and Jordin

We've finally made it to the land Down Under,
Which means we got through free travel without too many a blunder.
Tekapo, site of the world's best stars,
Was covered in clouds, which made viewing them hard.
At Mount Cook the next day the weather was nice,
We hiked near a glacier and tried to touch the ice!
To Wanaka next our caravan drove,
And into our hostel's hot tub we dove.
At the Rob Roy Glacier rain once again foiled our plans,
But rainforests and rivers were seen by our clan.
Then back in the van to Queenstown we went,
Where "Dennis" was returned with only one dent!
The next day we hopped on a bus to Milford Sound,
where on top of our cruise ship the waterfalls did pound.
While in the fjords the mountains surrounded,
and by the foggy views we were astounded.
Yesterday we jetted to the land of OZ,
and almost missed our flight--april fools was the cause.
And this morning one of ranks joins the Crimson Class
and next fall through the Harvard gates she will pass.
Of her all of us couldn't be prouder
but we would've died last night had our hostel been louder.
Today to govinda we take the train at two,
And after a week of yoga, we'll report back to you.

Ode to Lyttelton

There once was a woman in Lyttelton

Named Dee whose house we are livin' in

Tonight she's having a barbie for us all

and since she's in charge we know we'll have a ball.

Dee has a neighbor named Sue,

Who's hosting some of our crew,

And also a bestie named Ann,

Who's housing the rest of our clan.

Lyttelton harbor is a picturesque place

located near an old volcano's base.

Here we work with fences and dirt,

to restore the land is our main effort.

On Monday we went to help out Yvette,

And Maxx and Gavin made a fence for her piggy pet (s).

She taught us all about Maori culture and tradition,

And with Jordin's help cooked us lunch in her kitchen.

On Tuesday we hiked to a house on the hill,

Where Peter showed us which invasive plants we could kill.

Armed with deadly blue goo and clippers alike,

We made the land much more pleasurable to hike.

While we hacked away at weeds galore,

stinging nettles attacked and gave Matt a sore.

On Wednesday we went out to Godley Head,

and through this old army post we were led.

We planted some grass and ripped out a fence,

Andy and Shelby made sure a pinecone war commence (d).

Come Thursday to Godley Head we went back,

and the Beccas, in style, moved brush into stacks.

Decked out in weird hats, they were quite a sight,

wearing 3-D glasses to block out sunlight.

Suze, meanwhile, remained reliable and funny,

though the outlook on her parasites isn't so sunny.

And today, it's Friday (but thursday for you)

We're having fun in Christchurch, but we miss you too.

Tomorrow we leave on our free travel trip,

to Mt. Cook and Wanaka after a Tekapo dip.

With Andy and Suze at the wheel of our van,

We'll end up in Queenstown, or at least that's the plan.

So now you've reached the end of this blog,

and we've run out of rhymes, our minds are afog.

And if we make it through free travel without going loco,

there will be an update next week from Sarah and Coco.

OPC

Hello again everybody!
We just got into Christchurch after a week at the Outdoor Pursuits Center and a full day of travel. I know we're all glad to finally be off that six hour bus and into Christchurch. Our time at the OPC was sweet as though! I know many of us arrived at the OPC with some less than enthusiastic attitudes, but our leader, Julian, changed those attitudes right quick. Between abseiling (rappelling), the high ropes course, caving at night, and a seriously cold overnight, I think our time there was something we'll never forget. On our overnight, the weather was all great until Wednesday night when we all basically froze. It got down in the negatives and none of us were ready for that one. Overall though our time at the OPC was an awesome experience. Friday we headed out back to Wellington for the night, but our hostel reservation got slightly messed up so we had to scrounge up a place to stay for the night. Everything worked out fine in the end though. Saturday was spent completely in travel. A huge two hour ferry ride and then a six hour bus ride to get to Christchurch. Starting tomorrow we're with our Kiwi families for a week long home stay here. I know we're all very excited to be staying with our families and are looking forward to our free travel plans next week.

Love to all our families and friends!
- Shelby

Check out our photobucket for new photos!

http://s1044.photobucket.com/albums/b442/FANZ_2010/

Wellington

Hello again everyone!
As we say our goodbyes to Graham and Giselle and all of Marama Organics, we look forward to Wellington and Sir Edmund Hilary's Outdoor Pursuits Center. We'll definitely all miss the fun we had on the farm. Flying out of Dunedin, Wellington was having a spot of rough weather. Despite the weather, I know many of us were more than happy to be back in the city. Friday and Saturday nights in Wellington are crazy. Lots of things going on and the city is awake all night. Saturday, being our only full day in this city, was full of activity. Most of us made it over to the Te Papa museum at some point during the day. Matt organized a sweet tour for anyone who wanted to go. Becca C, Jordin, Matt, and I ended up having a blast re-enacting scenes from The Lord if the Rings for a few hours, just your average day being a Hobbit. Tody we're off to the Outdoor Pursuits Center (OPC) for a week of ropes courses and rock climbing and hiking and who knows what else is in store for us! Wish us luck as we take on the challenging activities at the OPC!

Game on.

- Shelby

Check Out Pictures on Photobucket!

http://s1044.photobucket.com/albums/b442/FANZ_2010/

Marama Organics!

Hello everyone! The group arrived safely in Dunedin last Thursday after a very early morning flight out of Auckland. It was a bittersweet goodbye as we said farewell to a fantastic city as well as two of our friends, Ethan and Kyle. We hope they are doing well! After a few fun shopping stops and a lunch in Dunedin, we snagged a bus out to Marama. The bus actually dropped us off at some remote intersection. From there, Graham and Sonya picked us up in a couple trucks to take as to our home for the week, Marama Organics. All week we've been doing various jobs from weighing thousands of sheep to painting an entire wool shed! It's been very exciting. We've been pairing up into teams cooking and clean up the meals everyday. Gavin and Jordin are always eager to work with the sheep. Becca C. spent some time being lifted on a tractor to paint the high parts onthe wool shed. Matt and Maxx have become quite good painters during our time here. Sarah has been letting us eat her amazing cooking. Coco and Becca O always seem to be finding new things for us to do on our free travel (which is coming up in a few weeks here). Everyone is working hard and having tons of fun while we're at it!

Love to all of our families!

-Shelby