Many Reunions

29th October - 30th November 2014

Time to leave the mountain and the North Island behind and head back to Franz Josef where Oscar had kindly given me back my old job. I had left Franz Josef fulling intending never to return but circumstances meant it would be ideal to go back at least for a short time.

After getting drenched in Ohakune the day before I left I wasn't impressed when I got soaked again in Wellington after a 9 hour bus journey. This was only made worse I got off the ferry in a very wet Picton and Nelson, the sunniest city in New Zealand where I was to spend the night, was also blighted with torrential rain. This is all before I arrived in Franz Josef, the wettest place on Earth!

Wetness

Mt initial reaction to being back was "Oh god, what have I done!" That soon wore off when I found some old friends. It was certainly weird being back and I had to eat my words as I had sworn I would never be back. There were many people I knew still there and Sarah had also just got back but there were also lots of new people. I moved into the staff house which was a bit strange as I didn't know anyone in there except Antony who does really count. There was Mel and Chris who were both Aussies, Rhiain and Katie, both English, and Dave who was a Kiwi that Sarah knew from Ohau. They were all really nice people so I was soon happy to be sharing a house with them

Scary

My first night back on the bar was Halloween so I did my best to come up with some sort of costume which I think I pulled off. I was a bit lost on the bar but that was because a brand new bar had been fitted over the winer. It looked almost the same as the last one except a bit flashier. Literally! The lights above the bar flashed different colours. It was nice not to have to stick your head in someones genital region everytime you wanted ice! I saw a lot of the locals that night who were all happy to welcome me back but I was quick to tell them it wouldn't be for long.

Can you guess what it is yet?!

I was quite fun to get back into the swing of the bar and hosting the competitions again etc. I was a bit hesitant on the mic the first time as I had completely forgotten how to do it but it all came flooding back in the end. The new staff were really cool so I get the feeling it would have been a pretty awesome summer but I would be leaving at the end of the month. That's if I don't drown in all the rain which as ever at this time of year was unyielding. We had quite a few storms including this one which dumped quite a lot of hail.

Bit of hail

I found this gem stashed away in the staff house which made me laugh a lot. It seems a long time ago since that power cut where Darren, Tara, Carmen and I started putting this together. Carmen had left just a few weeks ago so all the new staff knew her and Tony had been back for a month too and I missed him by just a few days. It would have been awesome to have seen him again.

Franz Josef Monopoly!

There was one day where I saw the mountains. And I literally mean just the one time it was clear enough to see them in the entire month I was there for!

So they ARE still there

I got a bit of a surprise when Vicky turned up, the ex-queen of reception. It was nice catching up with her while she was in town. She even answered a few work questions even though she hadn't worked there for over 6 months! She was doing some business with Mike who was in town inspecting the new bar which he agreed needed some finishing touches to be carried out.

Moon rise

She wasn't the only old friend to turn up in Franz, my best buddies from the mountain Wannes and Nele rocked up in their campervan at the end of my second week. It was great to see them again. It was a bit like two worlds colliding with them being in Franz so it was a little odd.

Wannes and Nele

We walked down the valley to see the glacier which I was shocked to see how much it had melted in just 6 months. Its gone back about 5 metres but what was most shocking was that the whole thing seemed to have dropped about 5 metres. Its melting quickly! On the plus side they've built a better viewing platform so you can actually see the front of the glacier without jumping over the rope.

Kea

Whilst we were stood there we had a visit from a Kea and everyone rushed to take pictures. It was while about 15 people are all crowded around this Kea that Wannes says "Huge glacier over here guys." He got a laugh from everyone but I found especially hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing at this for about 10 minutes!

Time for a hike

The next day I sacrificed a few hours of sleep in the hope that we could climb Alex Knob for an epic view. Unfortunately this was not to be as we could see precisely nothing from the top although it was fun to see a bit of snow again. Just like old times!

Go away clouds!

Snow!

Not so epic view!

It was really early!

Wannes and Nele stayed another day so we went for a walk up to the gorge which was a lot bluer then I remember it. They left the next day so it was another sad farewell but like last time I think we will see each other again. Next time will hopefully be in Australia.

Wouldn't want to swim in it.

Blue meets brown

Action shot

It wasn't long before I had another friend passing through town. Rachel came to visit. I was working quite a bit when she was there so we didn't get to do all that much other than in the bar if there was a quite moment or there was no work to do. There were so many new staff it felt like we were working in the Landing! I don't just mean the ones I didn't know when I arrived there were more new staff. I think about 10 people started in the space of a week. I had to move out of the staff house and into the flat opposite the petrol station (next door to the one I was in last year).

Rach in Franz

Anyway I walked with Rachel to the glacier as well and we had a catch up on the gossip on the people from the mountain.

Look who's here!

I thought that was it for visitors when one day I was milling about my normal business watching the Kiwi Bus check in when in the crowd I spot Rachel who I know from Gatecrasher. We both had no idea we'd be there so it was a complete surprise. Its the third time we have randomly bumped into each other travelling! By the way I'm wearing that because it was 80s night. I wouldn't normally wear something so crazy and yes I'm aware its more 70s!

Group selfie!

That was largely it for my brief time back in Franz Josef. We did get a bit of excitement one night when one of the many storms that passed over got a little nastier than usual. We were in full flow in the bar with the restaurant packed when a flash of lighting knocked out the electricity. It was only off for about 5 seconds before everything came flickering back on but it was enough to excite all the old people in the room with a lot of loud "OHHHH". If that wasn't exciting enough the tills broke as they came back on meaning we had had to write everything down on paper for nearly an hour which was just thrilling. Note the sarcasm!

Jam night in Eighty Eight

Anyway, my leaving do. Well it was more Rhiain's birthday that was turned into a joint thing. I finished work early and joined the others at Eighty Eight where it was jam night. We went for drinks at Monsoon afterwards where Rhi did her ski run. I wasn't allowed one which was a bit disappointing. I think James was worried after what happened last time but that was only because it was a particularly nasty one. Im sure a normal one would have been fine but nevermind. At least the hangover wasn't half as bad as I was expecting.

Blowing away

Time to leave Franz Josef again and this time I'm sure its for good. I know I said this before but this time I'm really sure! The month went by so quickly largely owing to the amount of hours that I did which nearly killed me. Good for saving though. It was great to be back to see so many old faces and make new friends.

Heading north again the bus had its normal stop at Punekaiki rocks which were really blowing this time, it was quite impressive.

Blow hole

Look who it is!

I met up with another old friend in Wellington. I worked with Annice at home so we spent a good couple of hours talking about everyone we used to work with before things escalated quickly. There were shots involved and many a strange dance move as we mocked the people around us. It was an hilarious night!

Annice loves the jager wall

The hangover and lack of sleep made the 11 hour bus journey to Auckland the next day almost unbearable! It didn't help that the bus was nearly an hour late getting in as well making it nearly 12 hours!

I had yet another reunion in Auckland with Beckie who had been living there for most of the year and seems very settled with her boyfriend and a baby on the way. MENTAL. We met up for a drink and a catch up which was nice. It wasn't a big one as I was tired after the last night and they had moved house that day so they were also keen for sleep.

Beckie!!

It was time to say goodbye to New Zealand. I was very sad to be leaving such a fantastic country which over the course of 15 months I have absolutely fallen in love with. I idolised and obsessed over Australia for so long and it didn't disappoint when I was there so it came as quite a surprise when I was asked which I now prefer and I couldn't answer. After thinking about it for a while I came to the conclusion that at the moment New Zealand nicks it. I have only seen half of Australia, however, I will be seeing the rest of it next year. For now though I'm on my way home!

SURPRISE!!!