Blog

How often is it that you get to wake up at sunrise, in a tent, with a mother sheep and two lambs ten feet away, in a wide open field with ocean on one side, mountains on the other in New Zealand, with a family you've been with for over a month? I'd like to think that that's a once in a lifetime picture. A picture that perfectly describes Mimiwhangata (pronounced Mimifungata). It is a truly special place. By day, we became Thistle aficionados. This simple plant from Sco… Read more

It was becoming that time of year again. The heat was cooling off. Vacations were ending. People were going back to school. It was that time of year again, except people didn’t find me off dorm shopping or registering for classes. Instead, I single-handedly was keeping REI in business from my demanding gear list that would have been easily already covered by someone who went camping. Still, my excitement couldn’t be contained. For a few weeks straight, my shoes of choic… Read more

We’ve all heard the phrase “Get out of your comfort zone” way too many times that. It’s hard to not just pass it off as a cliché without giving it a second thought. But, it’s the drive to come out of our comfort zones that have brought us, 11 students from all over the U.S., here to explore and learn about the stunning nuances of Australia and New Zealand. So, here I am, writing a blog post about the nebulous, abstract, yet personally well-defined concept of the “comfort… Read more

Over the past four days, the group and I have been on an adventure canoeing down the Whanganui river. This was the part of the trip I was most excited for and it was worth the build-up. The journey was very challenging, as we had to canoe with all of our gear and cook dinner for everyone with the limited supplies we had. Every morning, we would wake up, eat breakfast, and begin taking down the tents and packing everything up. We would then spend the better part of the d… Read more

We left the land of Oz - vegemite, kangaroos, and surfing - six days ago, for New Zealand. We arrived very late in the evening, so our New Zealand experience officially began as we awoke to birds chirping, sheep walking near our tents, and a cool breeze blowing from the coastline. We were all in awe of the deep green, rolling hill farm pastures that were surrounded by the aqua blue of the ocean. How lucky were we to start our time in Miniwhangata volunteering for five da… Read more

We have travelled far and wide down the east coast of Australia and arrived at a land education and permaculture centre named The Crossing. We have dirt under our fingernails, windswept hair, and new friends after the first few days of conservation work. After a conversation about hot sauce and strata quiche at the dinner table, we asked the crew how their experience is going so far. Celia spoke about permaculture. "When faced with that word, many people have no idea wh… Read more

Wow, what a fortnight it has been! The days are long but boy do the weeks fly by! As I write this blog post I can't help but look up every few moments at the beautiful scenery before me. At the moment we are between surf sessions at Surfaris surf camp in Crescent Head, about two thirds of the way down the east coast of Australia. The majesty of the palm trees and the warmth from the glorious Australian sun makes it hard to imagine a place in the world we would rather be.… Read more

G'day team! I’m so looking forward to meeting you all! I hope your all super pumped for your adventure in the great Land Down Under and Kiwi land! I hope the packing is gong well and and you are getting super excited for the trip. A little bit about myself. I am an Aussie, born in Melbourne and grew up in the hills in south east Victoria. I grew up with the forest right at my doorstep, and have had a love of the outdoors since I can remember. My favourite outdoor activ… Read more

Kia ora team, a massive hello to you all My name is Josh, and I am one of your program instructors for our upcoming journey through Australia and New Zealand. I am writing this from an outback roadhouse in Central Australia where I have been working for the last few months. Things are winding up here and I am getting excited to make the move over to Brisbane to meet you all in just a couple of weeks. A bit about me - I was born in New Zealand and raised on a farm, so I… Read more

Heya team and a big kia ora! I'm sure you have all had some quality time with friends and family over the summer break and are now (like myself) chomping at the bit to get this Auz/NZ program started! I'm super excited to introduce myself to you all. I'm Andy and I was born and raised in a small rural area on the West Coast of the North Island in good old Aotearoa/NZ. Whenever I had a spare moment growing up, you would have probably found me exploring the land, out on a… Read more