Ohakune: Welcome to the Mountain

21st June - 1st July 2014

The driver of the Naked Bus kindly dropped me off at The Lodge which saved me the half hour walk from the main town of Ohakune to The Junction. I was one of the first people to move in an Yvette, the staff accommodation supervisor, showed me a few rooms. I chose one at the back of the building which had one double bed and one single and I claimed the double, obviously.

The kitchen

The Lodge used to be a functioning hotel with bar and restaurant so the living area was quite unusual. I wasn't expecting to be cooking in a fully functional restaurant kitchen and eating at the bar in front of the fire. Its a cool place.

cool living space

The Mountain

Sunday was spent mostly settling in and meeting people. I met up with Rachel, Ashleigh and Helen who I had met at interviews and they introduced me Sarah, Vicky and Rob. I had spent best part of a month in Dunedin sat on my arse barely talking to anyone so now I was quite happy to be chatting away to everyone. The problem with this was that I had lost what little conversation filter I had. I was probably saying things that were best left until we knew each other better. Everyone was quite shocked when I told them that I had used their names from a group email to stalk them on facebook! I can't have been the only one and I was surprised they found it quite as shocking as they did but hey ho! Apparently Elaine, our supervisor who had turned up by that point, had said "oh my god, what have I hired!?" when I was in the loo. Its all good though. They got used to me eventually!

I also bumped into Bohdi, a Kiwi Experience driver. That was really quite random. We both said to each other "what are you doing here!"

First day on the mountain

The next week we had our induction. The first day on the mountain was a whole day of speeches and presentations. The morning was FISH which is a company that go around businesses telling people to 'choose your attitude' and other stuff like that. They show a video of a fish market in America with people who really seem to enjoy there jobs. The woman giving the talk was a little put out when nobody laughed because usually people do. Then we were split into groups to make a presentation on what we had just watched and I got royally stitched up by my group who all decided it would be me who spoke. I was having high school flashbacks of me botching this stuff up but I nailed it. I even got a small but very notable laugh!

The afternoon was filled by the managers from every department giving a little speech and then a volcano hazards talk which was a bit scary. There would be some warning if the mountain was about to go up but it wouldn't be long. Its been 18 years since the last major eruption. Major eruptions only happen every 50 years but minor eruptions happen much more regularly, the last one in 2007. In a weird way it would be really cool to witness a volcanic explosion but perhaps not while I'm on it!

There was the most unexpected end to the induction day when we all went down to see the local Maoris who officially welcomed us. The mountain is a sacred site to the Maori which they call Koro, the Maori word for grandfather. I think there is this unofficial rule that nobody is allowed on the mountain until the Maori have said so and they don't really stop anyone. Plus they get given a lot of money from RAL. We had the welcome ceremony followed by a talk and then we had a meal that they had prepared for us which was really rather good.

Snow

The rest of the week was filled with departmental training. I think we spent 3 whole days learning the till system which wasn't exactly exciting. What was exciting was when it finally started snowing! Not a lot and nowhere near enough to be open at the weekend.

winter wonderland

Compusary snow angel

There had been a bit of snow drought in the weeks leading up to opening weekend which meant that we weren't going to open on time. I still got some work though as I had started at New World Supermarket. Another full and fun down of induction! There was a few of us from our department that had signed up to do the occasional shift at New World. This is the first year that they have had this shared staff arrangement and in theory it should work quite well. We are busy in the mornings when everyone arrives on the mountain and they are busy in the evening when everyone leaves the mountain. Should we ever have a closed day then they will be fairly busy all day and will need staff so there should always be hours available but we will have to wait and see how that pans out.

Setting up for Mardi Gras

I had heard quite a lot about Ohakune Mardi Gras and it was hard not to given that it was literally on our doorstep. In fact they would be using our front balcony for VIPs. We weren't allowed to use our own balcony even though we had paid rent to use that space! I snuck out and spent most of the evening on the balcony anyway.

Stage

I knew that it was going to be a big night but I had no idea. It was a HUGE night. I didn't know the bands but they seemed good and the fireworks were pretty spectacular. Especially for the four massive expolosions at the end. Never seen that a firework display before and I thought it was aweosme!

Go for a ride?

fireworks!

Crowd shot

Party

After the fireworks it was time for the real party to start. I met up with Wannes and Nele and we went and joined the crowd in front of the stage. Wannes and I went for a ride on the spinny thing. Then I got very drunk. Good night!

Blurry party

The Mardi Gras officially started the winter season but the was one quite major issue - no snow! I had a few shifts a New World which was lucky as nobody was getting hours on the mountain. Luckily we didn't have to wait too long. On the Wednesday following non-opening weekend we woke up to snow in town and the season finally got underway.

Kiwi Experience: The Final Time

13th - 21st June 2014

I was back onto the Kiwi Experience bus for one final leg. This time I had Bods as a driver who either didn't recognise me or really couldn't care less when I reminded him. He isn't the cheeriest of drivers! I was pretty hanging after a big night and only having 3 hours sleep so I mostly slept on the way to Lake Tekapo.

Moody sheep

Bods told us a couple of stories abut the area that I was half listening too. There was this guy who had this dog that would herd sheep back to his house or something whilst was he was sat in the pub. He got caught one day when his dog went back to him and they threw him in prison. He escaped from prison 4 times. At some point he became a local hero and they named the area after him. Odd.

that guys dog i mentioned

We stopped off by the Church of the Good Shepherd which is just next to Lake Tekapo. It is used by all religions and looks stunning in the afternoon sun.

Lake Tekapo

Church of the Good Shepherd

Room with a view

We checked into our lodge which is one of the nicest accommodations I've stayed in. The rooms were a bit cramped but the big living room windows gave a great view of the lake. I wanted to do nothing more than crawl into bed and watch a film but it would have been such a waste. There was a massive hill just next to the lake called Mount John and I decided to drag myself up it as it was such a nice day and there would be a good view.

Spooky trees

The trees on the track looked kinda creepy. Really tall and spindly and covered in a green moss. It looked quite impressive.

After the hike

It was quite a hike up the hill but the top was absolutely stunning. I thought the view would be good but I had no idea. 360 degree views of snow capped mountains. This was the most stunning place I had seen in New Zealand just because of the shear scale of it and strange feel it gave me. There was no wind and very few man made eye sores. Just silence and beauty. It was like being transported to a different world or back in time or maybe even like looking out from the real Edoras (Lord of the Rings reference). Unfortunately its one of those places where no amount of photos or videos can do it the justice but I tried my best!

Back down by sunset

I was so glad I dragged myself up there but by the time I got down it was definitely bed time! I had an early night and got up in time to join the others watching Spain get pummelled by the Dutch in the world cup.

just a few early risers

From Lake Tekapo it was on to the shaking city of Christchurch which was recently voted in the top 10 of places to visit in 2014 in the world! God knows why.

Christchurch Cathedral

The story of Christchurch is very well known. It was rocked by two large earthquakes in late 2010 early 2011. The second caused massive amounts of damage to central areas of Christchurch. Almost total destruction it seemed when I visited Canterbury museum where they have a section about the earthquake. These photos were taken by officials there to assist with the damage report and other official business but they began taking pictures of things that just 'need to be seen'.

Completely destroyed

It was easy to watch on the news about the destruction of a city a whole world away but when it was there staring you in the face like this it was difficult to swallow.

one of the main streets

Out on the street over 3 years later the aftermath is still very present. By now the local people had expected a hugely rejuvenated city centre or at least some buildings in progress but sadly not. What comes down basically to red tape with insurers, and other similar issues, it has meant that little has changed in the intervening years. The majority of buildings have been torn down and the sites abandoned which has given way to more carparks then any other city centre in the world. This has left the centre of Christchurch mostly void of buildings and therefore people. You could easily mistake it for some outer suburb industrial estate!

Carparks

I found a couple of streets that had seemingly been left untouched since the day of the earthquake. You see abandoned buildings in every major city but I've never seen an entirely abandoned street before!

Abandoned street

Building left to rot

Even the iconic Christchurch Cathedral has been left uninhabited whilst they decide what to do with it. I think with a lot of the city there is debate whether to revolutionise the city or to restore the old victorian style buildings.

Christchurch Cathedral

Its not all doom and gloom in Christchurch, however, there is life in the old dog yet. A lot of open spaces and blank walls has given rise to a lot of street art and sculptures. The have started restoring the Arts Centre which is one of the old style buildings. Work has now begun on rebuilding the city but its not a case of building from the ground up because so much structural work needs to be done under the roads with a new network of utilities.

The Arts Centre

Whilst plans for the Cathedral are still up for debate the area around it as its on plan which I saw on a billboard in the street. In fact I saw a computer model for plans of a completely rebuilt city centre online

The now famous Re:Start container mall is the icon of the city's recovery. They've converted brightly coloured ship containers into shops and cafes for a make shift city centre which is now a tourist hotspot. They have began moving these containers to a more permanent site making way for a new retail development.

The container Mall

I feel quite defensive of Christchurch because its not its fault nor the fault of the people who live here that the city is quite frankly a dump. There can be no argument that it should not have taken this long for a major city in New Zealand to rebuild or at least start to rebuild but start it has. New plans are being made and approved all the time now and the city is finally on the mend.

I did enjoy my time in Christchurch despite the massive reality check (and witnessing England make a poor start to the world cup!). I stayed at Around the World backpackers which is owned by the same person I had worked for in Dunedin so I got a bit of a discount. The Canterbury museum was good too. Lots of rooms to view including an interactive body sensory room where I spent a good long while trying some plastic organs back into a body. It was easy apart I had one thing left over that I had no idea what it was and it didn't seem to fit anywhere!

I had spent a few days in Christchurch which usually meant I got a new driver but Bods had had a couple of days off before carrying on so I had him again for the trip to Kaikora (he seemed happier this time!).

Kaikora

Kaikora

We arrived in Kaikora quite early in the afternoon so there was still lots of time to explore the place. I debated whether or not to go on the whale watching cruise but as it got cancelled anyway I was glad I decided against it. Instead, I got a lift with Bods out onto the peninsular which is home to a colony of seals.

Seal!

I was surprised to see the seals so close to the road. Some were even on the walkway lazing around in the afternoon sun. They would always keep an eye on you as you walked around but other than that they didn't seem all that bothered by people at all. I walked around the peninsular for a bit before making the long walk back to town.

what you looking at?!

maaaaahhh!

bit of coral!

The next morning we had another seal adventure. First of all stopping off at a look out where there were some seals playing about in the water next to the sea. Then we went on a bit of a walk to a waterfall where there were hundreds and hundreds of seals!

More seals

are you filming me in the bath? away, man, I'm naked!

This pool underneath the waterfall is where all the seals go in their youth to socialise with other seals which is a vital process for a seal growing up. It was really cool to see them all jumping around and playing with each other. We stayed here for about 20 minutes just watching them. A couple of seals came up out the pool to say hello.

hello

We were travelling for the rest of the day. On the bus up to Picton and then the ferry over to Wellington. I saw Toddy again who was journeying south. It was a rather uneventful day after the morning.

The suburbs of Wellington

I spent an extra couple of days in Wellington mainly because I didn't want to be on a bus when the second England game was on. Not that that was worth getting up for! After that disappointment in the morning I went for a walk up Mt Victoria again. This time I wasn't on crutches so it didn't take half as long. It was also a really nice day so I wandered around a bit more and found a beach, if you can call it a beach, it was more like a small patch of sand.

Wellington

Wellington "Beach"

On the way back to the hostel I bumped into Andrea, who would be my next driver, and Ben. Ben was supposedly retired but they and persuaded him to do one more trip for the Kiwi Experience. It was a good job I bumped into Andrea really because I very nearly missed the bus. I saw the bus pulling out and I started running and she saw me! I took the bus up to Turangi where after a 2 hour wait I was to catch the Naked Bus to Ohakune. There was a bit of a cockup as I had bought a ticket for the week before! I had to pay a more expensive price in cash but at least I got there!

I finally arrived in Ohakune and moved into Turoa Lodge ready for the winter season on Mount Ruapehu. I have never been so excited to start a job in all of my life!!