Greetings from Fiji!

Bula bula from Fiji!

We are sitting here enjoying a wonderful breakfast of toast, fresh fruit, and fresh squeezed orange juice while overlooking the ocean on Voli Voli beach. After spending a long day traveling we finally arrived in paradise ready to sit and relax, ocean side. We have many exciting plans for the next few days before we begin our trek back to the US, such as SCUBA diving, deep sea fishing, a Kava ceremony, and a visit to a local village.

Everyone is happy and well and sends the very best from the islands!

-Merrill and Tom

Hello from New Zealand's South Island

Friends & Family,

Hot chocolates in hand, our students are nestled around the central wood burning stove of the lodge at the base of the mountain-- they are busy playing games, reading, and chatting the night away. After a day of travel through the scenic South Island countryside, everyone is settling in for the night and getting ready to hit the slopes of Mt. Hutt early tomorrow morning. A weather system passed through over the past few days so there should be plenty of fresh powder to carve.

Since the last update, our Putney Student Travelers have finished their homestays in Oamaru-- there were many rave reviews-- and moved onto the ski fields of the Southern New Zealand Alps. During in homestay, students woke up early to do chores on sheep farms, milked cows, and spent time with local kids their age. One of the more eventful events of our time here included an earthquake! Although its epicenter was located many kilometers away, some of us felt the ground rumble and roll slightly. At the end of our days in Oamaru we spent a fascinating afternoon at the site where the Narnia movies were filmed and then gathered with all of the families gathered for a farewell potluck dinner.

Having said their bittersweet, and even tearful goodbyes, our students boarded a bus to travel on to Lake Wanaka to get fitted for boots and boards and prepare for the next day, our first day of skiing. Cardrona was the first mountain we conquered on a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately inclement weather prevented us from a second day at Cardrona, but instead we spent the day exploring Queenstown, one of New Zealand’s finest ski towns. The next day we skied at Treble Cone, and we were graced with another day of sunshine and a whole bunch of fresh powder.

After we shred the slopes of Mt. Hutt tomorrow, we will be carrying on to our final stop in New Zealand, historic Christchurch. To cap off our New Zealand experience,we (Merrill and Tom) have planned a beautiful farewell dinner at the Chateau on the Park in the city center tomorrow night. The next morning we will fly to the island nation of Fiji for the final four days of the program before coming back home.

All is well here. Sending our best from the other side of the world!

– Merrill and Tom

Greetings from Oamaru, New Zealand!

After a bittersweet farewell to Australia, our home for the past few weeks, the group has packed up and moved on to our next destination: the picturesque countryside of Oamaru, New Zealand. As we write this, our students are settling in with their new homestay families across the pasturelands of rural New Zealand. As many of you may well know, our Putney student travelers have been matched with local 'Kiwi' farming families for the next four days to give students insight into the culture of an agricultural community in New Zealand. According to the expressed wishes of our students, we have worked to ensure the most comfortable home-away-from-home experience by giving those students who desired independence the ability to live by themselves while pairing others with their peers.

To briefly catch you all up on our travels since our last update, we spent five days sailing through the beautiful Whitsunday Islands before flying on to cosmopolitan Sydney for the four days. . . The sailing trip was absolutely incredible: the weather was perfect, the crew was amazing, and the group really came together to make the very most of this unique and inspiring opportunity. We left port from Airlie Beach aboard the retired racing Maxi yacht, the Condor, and set course for Hook Island for an afternoon of pristine reef snorkeling and sailing instruction. After the students received their thorough briefing and instruction, the captain and crew coordinated a team sailing effort to involve all our students in the hoisting and trimming of the sails for a 'fat' sail around the island to Nara Inlet for the night.

We awoke bright and early the next morning and set sail for Whitehaven Beach, widely considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We spent the night anchored in the protected harbor of South Whitehaven. The next morning, we woke up to a family of Humpback whales breaching just off shore. It is currently the migration season for these impressive mammalian sea creatures, and we were lucky enough to see several more breachings and tail-waves throughout the trip-- one whale even spouting as close as 50 yards off starboard!

We sailed on to another of the Whitsunday's more treasured sights, a beautiful tidal sandbar surrounded by vibrant coral. After stretching our legs with walks exploring this unique treasure cove, we got back on the boat and sailed on to our mooring for the night. A brilliant full moon and the iconic Southern Cross constellation provided an amazing backdrop for our delicious steak farewell dinner. The next morning we set sail for Hamilton Island where students showered up, bought a few souvenirs and boarded the flight to Sydney.

We spent the next four days in Sydney exploring the wide variety of cultural and educational activities and events that this bustling cosmopolitan center has to offer. To orient the students to the city, we took an introduction to Sydney walking tour that took us to the city's most iconic destinations including Darling Harbour, Chinatown, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Harbour Bridge, and the famous Sydney Opera House.

The crowd favorite was the world-renowned Sydney Aquarium where students saw the duck-billed platypus, dugongs, sharks and crocodiles as well as just about every animal from the cast and crew of Finding Nemo. In the afternoons, students explored the city in small groups before convening as a group to eat meals, share stories, and plan coming adventures. At night, Merrill and I organized group events including a comedy show and a theatre show at Starcity!

We will keep you posted on the happenings of our next few days in Oamaru and will do our best to check in during the skiing portion of the trip.

Best!
Tom & Merrill

Cairns, the Tully River, and the Great Barrier Reef

Hello again from Australia!

We have spent the past few days in the city of Cairns, located in the northern part of Australia. En route to Cairns from Lake Tinaroo we stopped at a crocodile farm where we watched a croc attack show, fed wallabies and saw koala bears. Some of the brave members of the group even tried crocodile and kangaroo for lunch!

In the next two days, we had an amazing whitewater rafting trip on the Tully River, followed by an exciting SCUBA diving and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Many of us spotted Nemo and others were lucky enough to ride along with a Warass fish.

Right now we are getting cozy in our new living quarters aboard our sailboat, the Condor, as we make our way through the Whitsunday Islands. More snorkeling, hiking, and plenty of sailing will keep us occupied on the next leg of our journey!

We'll update with more when we return from our voyage.

Again, much love from all of us!

-Merrill and Tom

G’day from Australia!

Despite a never-ending adventure en route from Los Angeles to Australia, we arrived safely and in high spirits. We have spent the past three days at the beautiful Lake Tinaroo in Northern Queensland enjoying the tropical weather while getting to know each other.

After a brief orientation to our new surroundings, we canoed to the other side of the lake and camped by the side of a river under the Tableland’s pristine starry skies. We swam in the river and dined by the campfire. The next morning we set out early on a six hour hike through the famous Australian bush, guided by Putney’s long time friend and Outback extraordinaire, Lou Christl. With Lou's guidance we reached the summit of one of the Tableland’s most beautiful peaks, Black Mountain.

After the hike down we canoed back to our home, the Tinaroo Environmental Education Center, and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of swimming and games. That evening we combined our efforts and cooked a delicious meal of pasta, garlic bread, and salad. With our bellies content, we went to sleep early in anticipation of an early rise to go rappelling, or as the Aussies call it, abseiling.

After canoeing across the lake, a few brave souls ventured down the 45 foot daunting rock face forwards, and some even ran! We returned to the center by canoe for lunch and to rest up for an afternoon on the ropes course. The highlight of the ropes course was definitely the giant swing over the water! That evening, we enjoyed another group-prepared meal of make-your-own tacos. Dinner was delicious and was enhanced by the presence of Lou and his friend who brought a wonderful dessert for us.

We are now in Cairns and the next few days will bring an exciting line up of crocodile farms, white-water rafting, and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef! We’ll be in touch soon.

With love,
Merrill, Tom, and the whole gang

The group has arrived

After a long day of travels, the group arrived in Lake Tinaroo, North Queensland. They are off on many outdoor adventures with our trusted friend and contact Lou Christl. The leaders will post an update as soon as they are able (internet access is not reliable here).

Meet the trip leaders

2009 Australia, New Zealand, & Fiji Leaders: Tom Simunovic and Merrill Stabler

MERRILL STABLER: St. Lawrence University, B.A., magna cum laude, Spanish & Performance and Communication Arts, Minor in Caribbean and Latin American Studies. Merrill spent her time at St. Lawrence working in the University’s Spanish Writing Center and volunteering at the local middle school as a teaching assistant for Spanish classes. She participated in SLU Buddies, an after-school program connecting college students and children from the local community. While at St. Lawrence Merrill performed in multiple theater and dance productions, and worked behind the scenes as a Teacher’s Assistant for Stage Lighting. She was a choreographer for the St. Lawrence Dance Team, as well as a University tour guide. Merrill spent 5 months living and studying in Costa Rica during which time she traveled extensively throughout the country. Last year Merrill worked at The Hotchkiss School teaching Spanish, coaching diving, and helping with the theater department. Merrill plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Spanish. She loves meeting new people, dancing, music, and the outdoors. This will be Merrill's second summer with Putney. Last year she led a Community Service program in Costa Rica. She is fluent in Spanish.

TOM SIMUNOVIC: St. Lawrence University, B.A., cum laude, Global Studies with Honors & Spanish, minor in Caribbean and Latin American Studies. While at St. Lawrence, Tom participated in and led several student social justice and community service organizations such as Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, One-to-One Mentoringm, and Oxfam, which he founded and presided over his junior year. Tom has traveled to over 20 countries including semester-long study abroad programs in Spain and Costa Rica; a community service project in Nicaragua; a history course in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany; a research grant to study national reconciliation processes in Spain and Italy; a research trip to the Mexico-US border to study borderland identities; extensive travel in Chile, his father’s homeland; and backpacking through many other amazing countries including Egypt, Peru, Portugal, Belgium, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia. Tom looks forward to sharing his contagious enthusiasm, adventurous spirit, and educational experience with students on his second Putney summer program. Tom led this Cultural Exploration Australia, New Zealand, Fiji program last summer. He is fluent in Spanish.