Follow the Journey

Hey everyone!
Pistol Pete and Madeleine here, with the latest update from your favourite Carpe group. We began this week finishing up our conservation work in the very lush and moist Daintree rainforest with ecowarrior Hugh Spenser. After spending a week hacking out invasive species, picking up beach litter, planting seedlings, and working with everyone's most liked plant- guinea grass with Hugh, I can happily attest he belongs in ecowarrior category. Although he is quite quirky and has two pet giant fruit bats, one of which is lovingly named Edwina, he is incredibly passionate about what he does and about saving his beloved Daintree, and is willing to do whatever it takes to try. Even if it means he is doing it alone. Which is why he ws very greatful to have a group of 14 talented and muscular Americans to help him out. He also taught us all a lot about dematerialization and reducing our footprint on the Earth- things such as using our phones less and starting a compost pile or growing some of our own food- which I am confident a lot of us will go home and do. The Daintree is a very unique rainforest, and it was truly an amazing experience to feel like we were making a difference in such an endangered environment. After tearfully saying our goodbyes top Hugh and his forest (and the other Carpe group!), our crew arrived in Cairns for a week of Scuba in the Great Barrier reef. There were a good number of the group who could not or did not get certified for various reasons, including your faithful bloggers, but the two of us along with some others still had an amazing time snorkling, and chased quite a few sea turtles and reef sharks. I've snorkled some amazing places before, including a river in Florida where I was surrounded by giant manatees, but nothing even comes close to The Great Barrier. Especially the Three Sisters. We also were fortunate enough to spend a day and night at the lux and comfortable Fitzroy Island Resort, which was a wonderful relaxation before our journey to our final destination- The Outback. This is met with mixed emotions. We are all excited to see our friends and families again, but very sad to say goodbye to our adventures. Wish us luck on our last adventure, and we will see you all soon!
Madeleine and Pete