Where in the World is Eric Forti going next? Click here to view the next clue!

Remember to send in your guesses to editor@canadensis.com

Eric answers your questions! Click here to view

Hi All,

I just wanted to show you some of the past staff who have joined me at many of the camp fairs over the past week:

Alex Dean and me at the Sydney, Australia Fair

Tamara, me, Jim, and Kevin at the Brisbane Camp Fair

Tim Pearson and me eating breakfast in Brisbane

 Click here to view Eric’s vlog from Sydney, Australia!

Got a question for Eric during his travels? Send your questions to editor@canadensis.com and Eric will answer them in the next vlog! Remember, continue to  also email your guesses in. We have received so many emails from all of you and many of you seem to be on the right track.

Check back tomorrow so see where Eric has landed.

Click here to view Eric’s next clue! Remember to email your guesses to editor@canadensis.com!
Here’s a post Eric sent in while flying to his next destination!

Hey everyone

Just a quick blog update using my blackberry so excuse any typos! I have been so busy in the last few days. All the Australian staff was set on showing me a good time and doing as much as possible in a short period of time.

As you saw in the recent video, dale took me out on his family boat for a day of swimming and sun at port Phillips bay. Phoebe and winch came along and I had a blast. That night phoebe hosted a huge bbq and pool party and there was a group of 10 of us. A picture will follow soon.  Dale and I worked the Barbie, as they say in Australia, and the food and friends were great. It was so nice to see staff I haven’t seen for a while.

The next day was our hiring fair in Melbourne and it was a great success. It was fun hanging out with some staff and meeting new people. After the fair we boarded a flight for our next destination and that’s where I am now. I can’t tell you just yet where I am headed to but hopefully I provided enough clues for all of you.

Stay tuned for my next video blog revealing where I am and where I am headed next. This time I will need my passport as I am leaving the hot tropics and headed to the northern hemisphere and cold winter.

One country down and flights to another!

Click here to view Eric’s vlog from Brisbane

G’day all from Australia this time. Yesterday morning we boarded a flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane is a city in Queensland and is a 15 hour time difference from New York. Brisbane is much warmer, and we are experiencing temperatures in the 90’s and possibly 100’s here.

Our 4.5 flight from Christchurch took us via Auckland to Brisbane and we were met at the airport by our CCUSA agent. Checked in to the beautiful Hilton hotel and went immediately out to dinner. They planned dinner at a restaurant with outdoor patio seating that overlooked the Brisbane River in an area called Southbank. There is a new attraction since last year when I was here, and that’s a giant Ferris wheel, called the Brisbane Eye (similar to the London Eye). Dinner was chicken/steak and a great chocolate cake/mousse for dessert.

This morning, the group headed out to a Koala Sanctuary, where they had Koalas, Kangaroos, and a few of the other Australian species. I took a picture holding a Koala as well as made a very special video for all of you to see, so I hope you enjoyed the welcome to Brisbane video with my Koala Crumpet! Of course I am not a huge animal lover, so I was a little scared of the kangaroos, which I must say look very similar to deer when lying down, and are not really the cute kangaroo cartoons we saw growing up!

After the animals, we boarded a city ferry called the CityCat and headed back to town for a quick lunch. Now it’s time for me to go and hire some incredible staff with the help of Jim and Kevin Price- a blast from the past! I will be headed out to dinner with those guys afterwards and then tomorrow it’s time for a 2 hour flight to another Australian city.  Enjoy the clue!

Click here for the next Clue!

Eric at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Check back again soon for more pictures from Eric’s adventures!

Eric on a Citycat Ferry on the Brisbane River

Update 7PM EST 2/3/09–Eric has landed in Australia…but where? Remember, continue to email your guesses to editor@canadensis.com. We have received so many emails from all of you and many of you seem to be on the right track. Continue sending in your guesses!

Click here to view the next clue!

Hey Everyone! After dinner last night, we walked around the city as the sun was setting. Sunset due to daylight savings time and the fact that its summer is not until 9:00 PM! Here is a little known fact- in many foreign countries (including Australia and New Zealand) you can actually cross diagonally through an intersection. Essentially, traffic is stopped in all directions and you can just go diagonal, rather than one side and then the other! Of course dessert was to be had, and so we found a crepe stand and all enjoyed some Belgian crepes.

This morning it’s a bit overcast and gray, but we still made it to the botanical gardens. As I mentioned yesterday, they are ranked one of the top 10 gardens in the world and they really were beautiful. There was a special rose garden area, an indoor cactus farm, and tons of trees. The trees here are quite different than in the States, so it was interesting to see the different types. Here are a few pictures:

Well it’s time for the staff recruiting fair to start, so I am off to find the best counselors ever! Afterwards, we will have a group dinner and then I fly out early tomorrow to my next destination, which is somewhere in the country of Australia! I hope to be meeting up with Jim Price and his brother Kevin, Tamara, and a few other counselors from the past so stay tuned for pics and videos from them. 

Click here to view the next clue!

Well I am here in Christchurch, New Zealand, also known as the Garden City. I woke up this morning in Auckland, went to the gym, and then boarded a 1 hour flight to the South Island fo New Zealand, where Christchurch is located. Christchurch is a much smaller town than Auckland, with a very small town type of feel. The people here are extremely friendly as well and we had a bit of time to explore this city before heading out to dinner.

We went punting on the Avon River. Now you may ask, “What is punting?” Well, I am glad you asked! I made a special video just for you…take a look!

Click here to view Eric Punting

We had a blast going down the river and they even let me try! I sort of beached us on the shoreline by accident, but I must say that the Punting Man said I did a very good job for a beginner! Punting by the way is similar to a gondola ride in Venice.

After the punting experience we went to a small arts building, where they had tons and tons of shops. Of course the highlight for me was the fudge shop and waffle stand. Here is a pic of myself and Caroline (our Camp Counselors USA representative) enjoying a chocolate covered, whipped cream waffle!

As eating is clearly the theme of this and all of my around the world journeys, I am off to dinner now! Stay tuned though, because tomorrow I will be taking pictures at the botanical gardens and they are ranked in the top 10 worldwide…

Arrival in Auckland vlog!

Woke up this morning and went to the gym. After such a long flight the day before, it’s nice to move around a bit! I had about an hour before the fair so I took a quick visit to the pool and then got ready for our fair. I took a picture for all of you to see of what the Canadensis table looks like at our international staff recruiting fairs. Unfortunately I can’t travel with a lot, so it’s pretty bare looking, but it definitely does the trick.

At the Auckland fair, there were 12 camps and approximately 40 applicants. I hired 2 new counselors for us this summer and both are really excited about the new adventures. Chris Kemp (TK) from the Hondas program, who is coming back to camp in 2009, showed up to help me recruit the staff. Chris made a brief video for all of you to watch, enjoy!

Chris Kemp (TK) vlogs from the camp fair!

After the fair was over, Chris took me to his family’s house, which is just a few minutes walk from the beach at Mission Bay. His family was so nice, warm, and welcoming and I got to see his really large and intimidating motorcycle and the jumps that he built for biking. After we spent some time with his family, he drove me up Mt. Eden which overlooks Auckland and the surrounding towns. I had a true 360 view of the area and the islands surrounding Auckland, which are absolutely spectacular.

For dinner, we met up with Euan McKee (a counselor from the wall/ropes for 4 summers) and we had a great time in the Viaduct area, overlooking the marina where all of the superyachts are docked. We had a nice time catching up on camp and life in general in New Zealand. We sat around for hours and then it was bedtime for me.

Thanks so much to Chris “TK” for helping me out today and showing me all around Auckland.

Tomorrow is my next flight out…so you have a few more hours of guessing where I am headed next!