Written By OEs, Bria & Dave Greetings from the Other Side!
Here we are, writing the final dispatch from Bilbo Bloggins, as we look out over the nearby cloud-capped peak of Mt. Doom. Here at the One Bean to Rule Them All Cafe, the guy at the table next to me sports a familiarly flowing white beard, and the guy in line had hairy bare feet… but that might just… Read More
Written By Ryan Our last week was just like so many others in that it was memorable, adventurous, and exhausting. I’m going to miss being on the constant go, traveling somewhere new and different every few days, but I think everyone is also ready to depart, return home, and slow down.
After our retreat at Chenrezig, the group including myself enjoyed our night out in Brisbane watching and later singing… Read More
Written By Laura G’day, mates!
Our adventures this week began with a couple of very long travel days as we made our way from Fiji to Australia. This included a layover in Auckland, New Zealand, which gave us one day where we were in three different countries! We also had the opportunity to spend a night in our most luxurious accommodation yet: The Brisbane Airport. Sleeping in an airport, as… Read More
Written By Lydia After a sad farewell to Nakuku, we piled in the truck to head back to Savusavu, where we went scuba diving for a few days. For most of us, it was our first time diving, and the experience was surreal. We saw so many cool fish and beautiful coral, and we learned many skills to get our open water certifications. While we were diving we stayed at… Read More
Written By Lydia Bula from Fiji! Lydia here, reporting to you from the shores of Savusavu on Vanua Levu, the smaller of the two big islands that are a part of the 300 plus islands that make up Fiji as a whole. We’re soaking up the sun and have been thoroughly enjoying our time thus far. Once we left Auckland on the 27th, we traveled to Nadi, which we soon… Read More
Written By Savannah At the beginning of this week we helped garden one more time at Solscape and then we packed our things and said goodbye to our awesome little tipis, as well as everyone we met there. We then met up with Tiaki and reflected on everything we had learned from him over the past week. To show our gratitude we sang him the song “Imagine” by John Lennon,… Read More
Written By George At the start of this week we were still at the Hart family farm. We said our goodbyes on the 11th and woke up and headed straight for Ragland after picking up a massive van for the group to travel in over the next two weeks. After our painstakingly long 3 hour drive to Raglan, we ended up at an awesome backpackers hostel right up the road… Read More
Written By Tayva Our week at the Harts family farm started with an early morning March fourth to catch a ferry from Picton to Wellington, a two hour drive from the cute town of Nelson where we have been staying for a few nights. The ferry ride was long but very pretty, many of us slept, enjoyed the views of the bay between the North and South Island as well… Read More
Written By Noah This week was a long and interesting week which was for the most part spent with the Whenua Iti organization. To begin his week we started off by going on a caving trip, which was uncomfortable to some and not so much for others. We split up into groups of seven and went into the cave through two separate entrances, where we spent a few hours underground… Read More
Written By Ryan We arrived in Christchurch after a long flight full of naps and movies. Our time in Christchurch was brief but very helpful, as we mapped and planned out our itinerary week by week. All the while continuing to get to one another through fun group bonding activities.
After a few adventurous days in Christchurch exploring the city, the group set off to Nelson and met up with… Read More
Dear Friends and Family of the Carpe Diem Hongi Group:
The Hongi group has landed safely in Christchurch, New Zealand, and have settled into their new downtown accommodation. They will spend the day exploring their area of the city, finding some local food, and resting from the long journey.
Moving forward, the Hongi group will have the opportunity to update this blog and share their amazing stories with you. Be… Read More
Hongi Friends and Family:
We wanted to let you know that the Hongi group has come together at last, safe and sound in the LAX airport. Once going through security, the group will be diving into a few introduction and orientation activities with their Overseas Educators, Bria and Dave. They will then embark upon the long journey over to Christchurch, New Zealand.
We will update you again once the group… Read More
Hey Hongi Team!
In just one short week we will all be meeting as a group for the first time in the LAX airport, about to hop on a (very looong) flight to New Zealand! We hope these last few weeks have been filled with family, friends, and general excitement for the upcoming adventure ahead!
Here are a few words of wisdom from us regarding packing…
Dave: “Headlamp or bust!’… Read More
Cheers, Hongi 2018! We did it!
Somehow, December 6th came and went. It feels like just a few days ago that we were all circling up (in the first of many circles) at the SFO airport – but, according to the length of the girls’ hair and the boys’ beards, more than just a few days have passed since then.
And what a journey we shared – 12 weeks filled… Read More
In our final week of our long journey through the South Pacific, we were lucky enough to stay on the Hart Family Farm and spend time with our amazing hosts Greg, Rachel, their kids George, Bill and Emma, as well as their four dogs. This week was a real eye opener for many of us, learning a lot about the way we make and consume food and how unsustainable this… Read More
Over the course of the last week Hongi 2018 had the privilege of learning from and living with the Maori people. My main takeaway from the experience is that people are amazing. I have always admired people because I think the things they do are incredible, but this week I felt like I was just in continuous awe of how this culture lives. We arrived in Ragland (or Whāingaroa as… Read More
Hello all!
We have just finished an amazing yet tiring week of student directed travel. Over the past three days we have spent fifteen hours in vans and three on a boat if that paints a picture for you. After finishing a fantastic week with Whenua Iti, we embarked on our self made journey. However, our plan quickly wen haywire when we found out the main road we needed to… Read More
By Sarah Mckenzie Hello family and friends and anyone else viewing this blog! Sorry I am writing this a little late, but we just spent the last week doing some pretty awesome stuff. When we first arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand last week we spent two days exploring the city. Then we flew to Nelson which is at the top of the south island and was picked up by a… Read More
By Eric Sale After we exited Savu Savu we headed the Vuadomo village. As soon as we hopped off the transport we were greeted by dozens of villagers singing, clapping, and showering us with a welcome we will never forget. We were seated (on the ground) inside a shed (it wasn’t really a shed but they called it that for some reason) and were introduced to the village by Kali… Read More
