A Princess Waved At Me!

This past Sunday the most incredible thing happened to me. A princess waved at me! Yes that’s right the Duchess of Cambridge waved at little old me and it was far more exciting than I ever would have imagined. 

Kate and Wills were in town as part of their royal tour and according to the itinerary I saw in the local paper I didn’t think they were actually coming right into town or really going anywhere that the public would actually be able to see them. With that being said when Kane (an 8 year old who hangs out at my workplace) ran in and told me the prince was driving down the street any minute I didn’t really believe him but decided to head outside just in case. Sure enough Kane was telling the truth and a few minutes later the royal convoy was driving past. Everyone was on the opposite side of the street so when Kate waved my co-worker Tracy and I knew she had to be waving at us because there was no one else around. We both screamed like little girls, immediately updated our Facebook statuses like the giant losers we are, and had giant smiles plastered on our faces for the rest of the day.

Other than becoming besties with a princess not much has changed since I last updated even though that was quite some time ago. Jesse and I are settled in our cabin and adjusting to life as trailer trash. I think the biggest challenge is probably laundry. There is a Laundromat in the holiday park but in order to use it you need to get tokens from a real estate office in town. That means walking down the mountain to buy them, and hiking back up the mountain full of anger when they tell you they have no tokens left and to come back tomorrow. Since acquiring the magical tokens I have attempted to do laundry twice. Once none of the driers worked and the second time the washing machine I selected ate my token but didn’t wash my clothes. Needless to say I was not a happy camper. We have decided from now on we will be doing our laundry in town even though that means lugging it up and down the mountain.

I have also started working at my new job and I am really enjoying it. The maze I work at is so awesome that I actually have fun while cleaning it so selling it to people is relatively easy and I love seeing all of the happy faces of our customers as they leave the maze. I’m so glad I made the decision to wait for this position because I don’t remember ever enjoying a job this much.

Since I seem to have settled into a bit of a routine I probably won’t be updating super frequently but I do have a few adventures I would like to go on while I’m here so hopefully it won’t be too long until I have something exciting to write about again. Who knows maybe another celebrity will wave at me soon or invite me out for dinner and I will bore you all with the details of my exciting encounter.

House Hunting, Franz Josef, And The Missing Wallet

Last week I had a goal to find us a place to live so as soon as the local classifieds came out on Monday afternoon I started circling ads and contacting potential new roommates/landlords. Rent here is ridiculously expensive so chances are we are going to end up living with random strangers. I'm not a huge fan of this but I guess it beats living in a hostel. Maybe.

Shortly after I started contacting people a guy named Rodrigo got back to me and we set up an appointment to go view the room he had available. Rodrigo lived at number 1 on some street but forgot to mention that there is also a 1a and 1b on the same street and these are not the right house. I don’t really think it is normal for there to be a 1, 1a, and 1b on the same street but not in the same building so after we hiked up a mountain in the freezing rain and knocked on the door of 1a and were told by a dodgy looking guy that Rodrigo didn’t live there I decided that he just didn’t like the way we looked, all out of breathe and soaking wet, and didn’t even want to let us view the room so with our tails between our legs we headed back down the mountain to the hostel.

We had just gotten warm and dry when I got a text from Rodrigo asking if we were coming or not because he was waiting for us. I told him about what happened and he told us we went to the wrong house and offered to drive into town to pick us up to look at the room.

I’m not normally one to get into a car with strangers but I had Jesse with me so I figured if the guy was crazy at least I wouldn’t die alone. Rodrigo pulled up to the hostel in a brand new sports car, not what I was expecting from a Brazilian guy who spoke broken English and drove us to his mansion on top of the mountain, again not what I was expecting. He showed us around and I knew right away we would not be moving into this place, something just didn’t feel right about it. Plus Rodrigo and his wife sounded like they would murder us if there was so much as a drop of water on the counters after we did the dishes. And I’m fairly confident he was a drug dealer. Either way I didn’t want to pay $200 a week for a bedroom in a shared house.

I backed off the house hunt a little bit after that. I’ve still been looking but I haven’t contacted nearly as many people as I did that first day. Staying in hostels sucks but at least we’re not locked into some long-term agreement so we will be sticking it out until the right place comes along.

On Tuesday Jesse got a text message inviting him to an interview on Thursday but we had a bus booked leaving town first thing Thursday morning so he messaged the guy back and luckily he was able to squeeze him in on Wednesday. Things really started looking up for his job prospects from that point on and his phone was blowing up with people wanting him to come in for an interview. He went to a few interviews on Wednesday and was offered to positions and ended up accepting a kitchen hand position at a hotel a few kilometers outside of the town centre.

Thursday morning we woke up at ridiculous o’clock to catch a bus to Franz Josef. I had been looking forward to this trip all week so when Jesse told me he couldn’t find his wallet my heart sank. He said he was sure it must be in one of his bags because he didn’t leave anything at the hostel and said we shouldn’t worry about it and should go catch our bus and I was back to being happy.

We got to the bus stop a few minutes early and Jesse did a quick search of his bag and still couldn’t find his wallet. We didn’t have time to go back to the hostel and the receptionist wouldn’t start work for another hour still so I sent her a quick email asking if she could please check our room and hold on to the wallet if she found it. We didn’t have cell service for most of the 6 hour bus ride so I just crossed my fingers she had found it at the hostel or it was some where in Jesse’s bag that he hadn’t checked yet. He had already lost his passport and sunglasses earlier in the week and we found both of those so I had hope.

We arrived in Franz Josef after what felt like the longest bus ride ever even though it was at least 12 hours shorter than my longest bus journey. I checked my phone because we finally had reception only to learn that the wallet was no where to be found at the hostel. We checked into our new hostel and tore apart both of Jesse’s bags searching for his wallet with no luck at all.

This was not the best way to start an adventure but we tried to keep it out of our minds and enjoy our time there. I had wanted to go heli-hiking while we were there but I couldn’t afford to pay for both of us and still be able to afford to keep our roof over our heads until Jesse could access his accounts again so the main attraction for the weekend was taken off the table. We ended up spending most of our time in Franz Josef watching movies, not quite how I pictured my weekend but it really could have been worse.

On Saturday morning we grabbed a bite to eat then hopped on a shuttle up to the glacier (substantially cheaper than the heli-hiking option). We did two of the three hikes available and took in some pretty spectacular scenery. The glacier itself wasn’t quite as cool as the Columbia Ice Fields but the surrounding area was definitely more beautiful. We weren’t able to touch or go on the glacier but we walked through the rainforest until we were within 50 meters of it, passing several waterfalls along the way. It really was a great way to spend the afternoon and I'm glad we did it.

There was a third hike available leaving from the parking lot but on our way back to the parking lot it started to rain and our options were to catch the next shuttle in ten minutes or do the third hike but be stuck in the cold rain for another two hours so we decided to head back on the next shuttle. From what I hear we missed out on a pretty cool lake but I still want to go heli-hiking so I guess we will just have to go back another day.

We arrived back in Queenstown late Sunday evening and first thing Monday morning we started trying to recover Jesse’s missing documents. We went to the police station to see if it had been turned in but we really aren’t that lucky. From there we went to the bank and cancelled Jesse’s cards and ordered him some new ones. We probably should have done this over the phone on Thursday when we got to Franz Josef but there wasn’t really any money in the account so we weren’t worried about it but were sure to cancel his Australian cards straight away. He is still able to access his New Zealand account as long as he has his passport so he transferred some money online and it should be here by the end of the week so I can stop being his sugar momma!

Once all of that was taken care of we made our way back to the hostel to relax. Trying to track down lost wallets and replace their contents is exhausting, even when it isn’t your wallet. Moral of the story: don’t lose things, especially while abroad!

Today was another low-key day. We moved hostels and did some grocery shopping, nothing overly exciting. Jesse starts work tomorrow and I had hoped to go to Wanaka for a few days before I start work but given the current situation it looks like Jesse isn’t getting rid of me that easily. So for now we are both hanging out in Queenstown trying to spend as little money as possible but hopefully we will still find something to do that is exciting enough to write about!

Adventures In Finding Work And Exploring Fjords

The past few days have been a whirlwind excitement and I am a very happy panda! I woke up on Friday morning and found an email inviting me for an interview later that same day for a customer service position. The job wasn’t in a bar so I was super excited about this. I had originally planned to register at a job agency that day but decided to postpone and focus all of my positive energy on my upcoming interview.

The interview was a bit odd and while I was interviewed by two different people they barely asked me any questions at all but I left with a good feeling. Before I left they said they would let me know by Monday at the latest and I really suck at playing the waiting game so I was pretty happy when they called me back later that night. I was even more excited when they offered me a management position, especially since I was only interviewing for a customer service position. The place is still under construction so I don’t actually start work for a few weeks but it is a relief to know I will have a reliable income in the near future.

To celebrate the good news we booked a day tour for the following morning. We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and made our way down the street to catch our bus to Milford Sound. It was absolutely freezing outside, well maybe it was 4 degrees but considering I was working in a place with temperatures averaging around 47 degrees not all that long ago it was painfully cold. Our bus was 20 minutes late, which made the wait in the cold even worse, but eventually we climbed aboard the nice warm bus and started the 5-hour drive.

We made a few stops along the way, one for a quick bite to eat, and several more to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. During parts of the trip I felt like I was back in the Rockies making the big smile on my face even bigger. I love how beautiful New Zealand is. I have really missed waking up in the morning and seeing mountains. Being here kind of feels like home.

After an incredibly long bus journey we finally made our way to Milford Sound where we boarded the boat and grabbed our ‘picnic lunch’. It’s a good thing we didn’t book the tour for the food because the lunch was atrocious. We got half of a disgusting sandwich, orange flavoured cookies, an apple, a tiny juice-box, and a kiwi fruit. I was still quite hungry after lunch but still managed to enjoy the rest of the trip.

The views were incredible before we even set sail and they only got more spectacular as the day went on. We explored the fjord for just under 2 hours and saw countless mountains and waterfalls. We also saw a colony (not sure if that is the proper term, a Google search gave me several different answers) of fur seals, and a pod of bottlenose dolphins who put on a pretty good show for us. Jesse even got soaked in a waterfall when the boat decided to add a little “Maid Of The Mist” action to our cruise. I could probably talk about the tour for ages but since a picture is worth a thousand words I will just post a few of those instead.

The cruise came to an end and we hopped back on the bus to Queenstown. There was only one stop on the journey home so we both decided to nap for as much of the journey as possible. Even with the naps we were both exhausted when we got home so we had a pretty low-key evening but it really was an amazing day.

Today we are having a bit of a lazy day. Sunday isn’t the best day for Jesse to be out job hunting and I’m just lazy. The weather is perfect for a lazy day though because it has been raining cats and dogs for a good chunk of the day.

Tomorrow we move hostels again and we only have this one booked until Thursday morning so our missions over the next few days are to find a place to live and to find a job for Jesse. Hopefully we can accomplish both and still have some fun along the way. I am hoping to spend next weekend in Wanaka and maybe do some canyoning but I will keep you posted.

Job Hunting And Paragliding

Hello again boys and girls! Last time I posted I think I mentioned that I was dying. That feeling has just started to go away in the past few days. I had a fever until Sunday and I am still coughing like a pack-a-day smoker but I’m finally starting to feel human again so I can’t complain too much.

This seems to be my thing, to get sick when I’m trying to settle into a new country and I am not a fan at all. I have spent far too much time resting when I should have been out exploring and job hunting but there was no point in running around and making myself sicker. Unfortunately our options for accommodation over the weekend were quite limited and we ended up staying in the party hostel, which was not ideal. The fact that the shoebox of a room, located over top of a nightclub, had 8 people crammed into it with only a small window for ventilation and no fans or air conditioning was also not an experience I would recommend, especially while running a fever.

We moved back to our original hostel on Monday with our lovely lake view, quiet nights, large windows, and only 6 people to a room so things are looking up. Some of our hostel-mates are complete wankers and I swear they pull out a handful of pubic hair and sprinkle it around the toilet seat every time they use the bathroom but hey things could be worse. Some how. At least the girl we were sharing with didn’t bring her boyfriend back to the room at midnight, turn on all the lights, talk loudly in German for half an hour, and then leave without turning off the lights. Oh wait no that happened too. Have I mentioned lately that I absolutely love staying in hostels?

Since I desperately want to get away from hostel living I have been applying for jobs like it’s my job. I saw a help wanted sign in the window at Subway over the weekend and convinced myself that was going to be my first job in New Zealand. I could totally do that job! I’m sick of dealing with drunks and I even have experience! I did work at Mr. Sub for like 6 months back in high school and that wasn’t all that long ago, besides how much can sandwich making have changed over the years? The manager however decided it would be more fun to squash all of my hopes and dreams and looked at me like I was a worthless piece of garbage when I handed him my resume. I cried all the way home. Okay that’s not true, not a single tear was shed, but I complained about what an ass the manager was.

Today I had an interview for a bar, or a series of bars? I’m not really sure what the exact position was I was interviewing for, or even what venue as the company manages 5 different venues in town. I haven’t had a proper interview for a job since I first got to the UK and none of them even landed me a job so I wasn’t feeling overly confident about the whole thing but I figured worst case scenario it would be good interview practice. I ended up being interviewed by two different people and I had a hard time splitting my attention between them. The whole thing only lasted about 5 minutes so I’m going to bet that I won’t be getting a job but I will find out for sure tomorrow. My only hope is if one of the guys who interviewed me calls my boss in the UK because apparently they used to work together. How crazy is that?! What a small world!

In completely unrelated news and on a more positive note yesterday was Jesse’s birthday and even though we had a small celebration with his parents before we left I did what I could to make the day special for him.

I started out by letting him sleep-in but woke him up just in time for McDonalds breakfast. Kind of lame I know but that’s what he requested. We lazed around the hostel for a few hours before I told him he needed to be dressed in warm clothes, and running shoes, and to grab his Gopro with wrist-mount because we were heading out. He knew I had a surprise activity for him but he had no idea what it was and I had oh so much fun torturing him about what it might be. Queenstown is pretty much the adventure capital of the world so the possibilities really were endless and even when I had him stood right in front of our transportation with the name of the activity clearly marked on the side he was still guessing other activities.

A few months ago we watched a documentary about a woman who almost died while paragliding and ever since then Jesse has wanted to try out the sport. I’m not quite as crazy as Jesse so I wasn’t super keen on the whole thing but I figured since it was his birthday I should be nice and go along with him.

I managed to keep the whole thing a surprise much longer than I had thought and didn’t end up telling him what we were doing until right before we hopped into the van that would drive us out of town and up into the mountains. He was pretty shocked when he found out what we were doing especially since I kept telling him how crazy he was for wanting to do something so silly but he was also very excited.

When we got to the base of the ski hill (our take off point) our experiences started to differ. Jesse had a rocky takeoff as some idiot ran underneath his pilots parachute as they were trying to take off and since he might have been tangled in the cords the had to abort and start over. I had a smooth takeoff but things went downhill from there. My pilot was trying to take me higher, which is done by spinning in large circles within the thermals. This made me feel very sick. The pilot stopped climbing/spinning when I asked him to but I still felt like I was going to toss my cookies for the rest of the flight. Jesse on the other-hand had a very exhilarating flight and not only did he go higher than anyone else in the group but he also got to take the controls himself, and when the pilot took over again they did some crazy stunts. We both got video footage so I will try to upload that over the next few days but for now I will just add some pictures.

Once we were back on solid ground the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I had a nap, took Jesse out for dinner, and then went to bed. See my life isn’t really all that exciting, I'm like an 80 year old who occasionally runs off the side of mountains with a parachute strapped to her back. (Grandma if you’re reading this please don’t take offence I know you do more in a day than nap and eat!)

So yeah that’s pretty much what we have been up to since the last post. We will continue with our job hunt and I am hoping to go on a day trip to Milford Sound sometime in the near future so I’m sure I will have lots of happy things to tell you all about in the next few days :)