A key part of our gap year in New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia is dedicating time to reflect on how we got to where we are today. For this exercise, we all thought back to the hey-day of our childhood. From quirky to serious, read on for bits of wisdom from the Hongi group! – Invest all of your Christmas money into Apple before iPhones. – Play more basketball and… Read More

Q: What is your happiest memory from being on the Hart family farm? Justin S: Probably the first day that we arrived when we were overwhelmed with the beauty all around us and the activities we were about to take part in. Q: What is the one lesson or value you took away from being at the farm? Holly B: It taught me that it’s possible for people to be… Read More

By Karinne Dadigan and Melissa Zegnoev This past week we found our home away from home at the Hart family farm (Mangarara). The owners, Rachel and Greg, along with Nikki and Shane, showed us how to work hard for a purpose and truly treated us like family. Every person in our group was impacted in so many ways. From domestic chores to manual labor outside (the best kind), we truly… Read More

Creamy – by Karinne Dadigan The farm was creamy, absolutely creamy. The walks outside, the view from the deck, the everyday early rituals and connection with the land and animals was all a creamy sensation. You look at the moments, and the views, and you want to eat them up. The oars in the water as you kayak, the soil that runs through your hands, the cup of tea that… Read More

G’day Everyone! This precocious group of young travelers have met up with Christian and Megan, their fearless overseas educators, and all are incredibly excited to begin their journey together. Stay tuned for updates when they land in Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud, more commonly referred to as New Zealand! With a lot of smiles and high energy they headed through security, next stop Auckland. Good luck team… Read More

Greetings, dingos! We’ve just spent an AUSSSSSOME day adventuring ’round the beautiful city of Portland, channeling our inner-explorers, consuming fine literature (children’s books count, right?) and overdosing on delicious coffee and funky donuts. It’s hard to believe we’ve only been friends #IRL for about a week – and we can’t (freakin’) wait to say the same thing about you all after we *finally* meet next Tuesday! As we enter… Read More