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Franz Josef is where you can do a glacier hike, which we both decided we wanted to do and along with the actual glacier and being surrounded by mountains Franz Josef is also set in rain forest. So, predictably it was wet when pulled up outside the office where we had to confirm our hike bookings.
This done, we headed to our accommodation, The Rainforest Retreat. We checked in to our accommodation, a private double which was in the shape of a shed. Although small it was nice enough, complete with a TV.
After doing alot of planning we had worked out a time line for the rest of our time in New Zealand, in order for this to come together perfectly we needed to try and find somewhere to stay for a week, hopefully working for accommodation. Working for accommodation is exactly what it sounds like, you work for a few hours a day and in return you get a bed for the nights that you work.
We had decided that we wanted to try and do this work in a smaller place rather than in a big town or city for a big hostel chain. Although the Rainforest Retreat was a big site, with backpacker accommodation, motel units, self contained units and camping and camper van plots available, it was in a beautiful surroundings with the rainforest and moutains right on the door stop, we had found our place. So in return for working 9:00am - 2:00pm each day (with half hour break) we would get a bed, a meal in the onsite restaurant (up to $20 each) and two free drinks each (beer, cider or wine), not half bad.
With the horrible, or expected wet weather we couldn't really do much else with our day. In the evening we headed over to the bar for a couple of happy hour drinks and I entered a killer pool competition, along with about 25 others, but unfortunatley I didn't fair as well as in Laos and didn't win jack.
The next day was the day of our glacier hike. We had a fairly early start and had already prepared a mamouth packed lunch to take with us. So with this in hand we headed down to the office, got kitted up with trousers, coats, hats and gloves and boarded a bus which took us to the glacier. The weather wasn't overly great and were greeted by rain (on and off) and cloudy skies when we arrived at the glacier, which was encircled by snow capped mountains and waterfalls.
It was a 2km walk up to the glacier, which was decieving as it only looked like a 5 minute walk, however we made our way over to the base. It was here where we started to head up hill, on rocky, uneven ground, it was also then when the heavens decided to open, even treating us to some serious hail, which hurt when it hit you in the face. After scaling the wet, cold and windy clmib up to the top of the rocky section, we stopped and were taught how to put our crampon's on, spiking things you attach to your boots to you and me. They were easy enough to put on, but the task was made harder as our fingers didn't work too well due to the cold. It was here where we were given the option to either continue with the full day hike or opt for the half day option, before we stepped onto the glacier itself.
The wind and rain had picked up even more by this point and Belle actually got blown into one of the guides, she was like my own little personal kite. With the wind and rain making it pretty horrible to stand on the side of an exposed hill, it was here where Belle decided that she would go for the half day option, with me still going for the full day.
Belle here... So after being blown about and pelted in the face with hail stones the guide warned me that it wouldn't get any better, I chickened out and opted for the half day. A decision I regretted about 10 minutes later but it was too late to change my mind again. There was 4 girls and the guide trudging around the ice, climbing through ice tunnels and digging to find under ice waterfalls. This was all very cool stuff to see and I was the only one who managed to stay on their feet. A couple of the girls getting their boots full of ice cold water. Our guide was pick axe happy, hacking at anything and everything he could, which was... interesting. We eventually headed back down towards where the bus was picking us up and I was very annoyed with myself that I hadn't braved the elements and carried on with Matt but I still had a good time and saw some awesome things.
The full day hike was much like the half day which Belle did but went further up the galcier and longer. The group I was in saw much of the same bits that Belle had, which was all very interesting. The weather picked up for about half an hour after we left the half day group but that was about it, when the clouds came in and so did the snow. It was a very good experience and I could defiently feel that I had done some exercise when I boarded the bus back into town.
When I got back to the hostel it was gone 5:00pm but before we could do anything else we had to pop back to the hike office and get a partial refund for Belle's half day (as she had booked the full day originally). On Belle's second, my first attempt we had the refund and headed back to the room.
After warming up, we then had the task of dinner to think of. We decided to take the lazy option and went for one of the 'backpacker specials' the restaurant had on offer. After that it was bed to rest some weiry legs.
Check out the following day was 10:00am but we had been told to report to reception so we could get our new room key, move our bags over and then start our first days work. We started at 9:00am so we made sure we were up and checked out and then back in again in plenty of time.
Our new accommodation (for the week) was a seven bed dorm room, tucked away at the back of the campsite, where all the campervan and tent sites were. The bonus was that although there were seven beds in the room, only two of them were occupied, us two. This stayed like this for the rest of the week and our time in Franz Josef, which was a really nice bonus.
As for the work itself, it was a mixture of housekeeping, cleaning rooms, showers and yes toilets, the big backpacker kitchen and common room. We started at 9:00am each day, worked until 11:30am, had a half hour break untill 12:00, then did two more hours, finishing at 2:00pm. It seems that Belle has missed her calling in life, being the teacher's pet on the second day due to her great toilet cleaning skills. Although being good at something is not always the best as she was then on en-suite cleaning duties for the rest of the week.
Now despite cleaning showers and toilets etc. the second part of our deal, the free meal and two free drinks, more than made up for it. Each evening we headed over to the restaurant, where we had a couple of beers / ciders each and a range of very nice, meals. During our week we ate burgers, fish and chips, nacho's, pasta and pizza's. It was brilliant! The food was so nice that we even both had a dish each we wouldn't normally go for. Belle went for a chicken burger and I went for fish & chips and despite the risk of it, we both enjoyed our meals. On our last night we treated ourselves and spent an extra $14 and both had lamb shanks, with our vouchers we paid 7 pound in total, both having a meal of lamb shanks, which went down a treat. Belle also treated us that night and we had one of the delicious desserts on offer, a great way to round off our week of luxury food.
We didn't just work, eat and drink though whilst in Franz Josef, although this took up the majority of our time, we also used the sauna, which as we worked there was free. One afternoon we booked an hour in the sauna, which was basically a shed (it was cosy) and settled in for our hour. Belle managed to last half an hour before she got too hot / bored of sitting in a hot room, I decided that I would sit out the full hour, which at the time was a good idea but in reality I wont be doing that again. I can honestly say that is the hotest I have ever been and felt pretty funny (not in a comical way, I did't walk around telling one liners) and regretted my full hour stint. Looking back at it, we should have been used to the heat as it was probably the equivilant of a day in South East Asia, but as mad as it seems, those days are a little while ago now and we after cooling down in New Zealand, we couldn't hack it.
On our second to last day we were finally graced with a beautifully clear day and on our way to work (walking to the housekeeping building) there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The blue skies finally gave the surrounding mountains a chance to show themselves in full, without the clouds covering the top of them. It was a great view to wake up to each morning, cloud or not, but it was even more spectacular with the clear sky. When we had finished work the weather was still as clear as the morning so we took advantage of it and went for a walk. We headed out, through town, towards the glacier, before turning off for a walk down the banks of the Waiho River, partially completing the Canavans k*** Walk, which is not funny in any sort of way. After heading back into town we decided to sit outside and half a nice cold drink at a local pub. We got lucky on arrival as it had just turned 'happy hour', meaning the round cost about half of what it should have, result. After a day in the sun, (which Belle caught nicely!) we made our way back for our dinner.
Along with the sauna antics and walk, we also took advantage of our free entry to the near by hot pools, which we got when we booked our glacier hike. We saved this luxury for our last day in Franz Josef, after we had finished our final shift. These were alot more relaxing than the sauna was, with three different heated pools to choose from, gradually getting warmer. Thanks to the weather of the rainforest, we were cooled down in the pools, natually with the occasional spot of rain. It was a nice way to spend our last day in Franz Josef and both felt nice and relaxed after a hard weeks work, alright it wasn't that hard and yes we didn't work full days either, but it was a hell of a lot more than we have done for a while.
With our week of work complete, week of dinners eaten and week of beers / cider drunk, it was with some sadness that we left Franz Josef. Now we are not suggesting that we were going to missing cleaning toilets or anything like that but we were defiently going to miss the perks of what cleaning toilets brought. We also managed to save a nice bit of money getting the weeks accommodation for free, which helped us out as well. Despite Franz Josef being a small place, the weeks work, sauna, hike, hot pools, walk, dinners and drinks made up for a enjoyable weeks stay!
- comments
delboy if you're feeling bereft we have three toilets for when you return. cleaning for noodles! a great experience all round tho'