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Published: August 7th 2009
Hostel Front
Just as we we're about to set off again. The outside of WellywoodWellington
So after having no luck with work in Queenstown we have decided to write off the ski season this year and just worry about getting jobs elsewhere in the country.
We started our luck for the second time in Wellington where we moved straight into long term accommodation in a hostel called Wellywood. It is a really well laid out place with good facilities and very central; also cheaper than getting a flat on our own so that was a bonus.
We started off handing out CV’s to hotels, bars and anyone else who would take them. However we got pretty much the same response that we’d been having down in Queenstown… “we’re not employing people”, “recession….” and all the rest of it. I went for a job in a ski/ snowboard shop that was looking for a ski technician; I told a small white lie and said that I was a qualified ski technician which could’ve been interesting if I’d got the job, but apparently they wanted someone better!
Anyway as the days went on
Gollum
At the Weta Cave, he was a bit worried that I was gonna have his fish and we hadn’t heard anything, we starting meeting more people and making more and more friends in the hostel; it was very quiet, but everyone staying there was in the long term section as well. This was good and bad at the same time… good that we knew a few people, but bad that they were all looking for work and they were all bad influences! Encouraging drinking at night, leading to lie ins and lack of job hunting.
While in Wellington, we went to one of the free attractions in the area called the ‘Weta Cave’, this is a little building on the outside of a film effects studio, where they create special effects and movie costumes etc for some films. They had done Lord of the Rings, King Kong and some others that were filmed in New Zealand. Not surprisingly it was basically a massive Lord of the Rings shop; they had some good models and props out and an interesting DVD to watch about what they did. It was good for an hour and gave us something to do… glad we didn’t have to pay though.
The car was parked up a hill called Mt
Kiwi Bar
A cheeky bar around the corner from the hostel that had free pool and $10 "super jugs" of beer Victoria, the whole time we were in Wellington and so we had to make the hike up to check on it every now and again. We started jogging every few days and nearly actually died on the first run up the hill.
My one and only job interview at the end of June was at a café out of the city that I had applied for on the internet along with the other hundreds of jobs on there. It was an ok place and would have been a pretty cushty job; however it was too far out when I actually went there which was a shame (well for them anyway as they missed out on a bloody good employee).
The rest of the debauchery in Wellington was very good, still meeting new people and practically running the hostel by this time. A couple of good days we had were going bowling- there was 8 of us and at the start of the game I had written everyone’s name down for the attendant to enter into their computer (sensible names of course)…. It was going well until a group of Germans started on the lane next to us… this
Soaking
After roller blading in a storm we we're absolutely drenched. The last meal was that night wouldn’t normally have been a problem but for the fact that I had listed Tim as “Tim Hitler” on the screen... It was a cunning plan because it put him right off the game as he just wanted his turn to be over a.s.a.p. and so left me to win the game… result!
Also, on one of the last days we were there, we hired out roller blades for an hour- a ridiculous idea because nobody could do it, and as soon as we set off, a storm hit the area so we got completely soaked. It was good fun though, especially when it was so windy that you got blown along without having to put any effort in at all.
On our last night in Wellington and Wellywood, we organised a leaving meal for the 15ish people we had become friends with. We very nicely offered one of them to cook for everyone whilst we sorted out the decorations, outfits and tashes etc. We made it formal attire and everyone had to sport a moustache and a top hat. We looked very bloody sophisticated and the meal was well nice.
My favourite part of the evening was
Last Supper
We we're sat at the head of the table, of course making people believe in a myth about Liver… “apparently if you leave a pigs liver near a glass of milk, it will ‘smell’ the milk and move towards it…” - obviously rubbish but we bought one for 89 cents and set up a demonstration. We put a glass of milk on a plate and the liver on the opposite side of the plate. Over the night we moved it towards the milk until it was eventually climbing up the outside of the glass and then jumping in… it was ridiculous how many people believed it! (I won’t tell you what we did with the liver and milk at the end of the night but it involved a game and a punishment and was very funny if not slightly horrible)
It was a good last night and a good send off because the next day we were off north… well north.
Driving North
About a week before we planned to leave Wellington, we had put up notices around all of the hostels advertising a lift to Auckland (the biggest city in NZ and at the top of the north island) via Taupo (a town half way between both
Cramped
The car was rammed on the drive up- not so bad in the front though. and a popular tourist destination).
We had advertised 2 spaces because we agreed that any more would be too much of a squeeze and a bit ridiculous. However we got one guy from the hostel called James and then the next day had a call from a couple who were also interested. We said that they could only come if they were midgets; and they said they were quite small so we went to meet them. We showed everyone the car and after a while decided that we probably could squeeze 5 people in.
It was very interesting when we packed everyone’s gear in; there was stuff piled up in the back so much that you couldn’t see out of the back window and also around everyone’s legs and even on them… whatever, we got in and it meant that we’d save money by splitting the petrol between 5 people.
We set off north with James and this kiwi couple who were from Invercargill, which is the very bottom of the south island, who said we could go down and stay whenever we were down there again.
We drove the first day 5 hours to a place called Taupo
Bungy Flatform
The bungy spot in Taupo where Ayson and Jaz the kiwis did there jump which is pretty much the centre of the north island and is famous for its massive lake, called, cunningly, Lake Taupo.
We checked into a hostel over night that James had worked in earlier in the year and that night, went down to a river where there is a secret cliff jump. I was not really up for it because it was dark, you couldn’t actually see the river and it was freezing.
James showed us the spot after a 10 minute walk and we decided we better had do it.
To make it over the tree that was over hanging, you had to take a big running jump and guess where the water was because it was too dark to see. I was volunteered to go first so I went for it… it was bloody freezing and also a long way down… you had to pull yourself back up the vertical bank on this dodgy rope and it was hard work.
I was glad that we did it and it was a good wake up for 8 o’clock at night.
The next day we set off early because the two kiwis had booked a bungy jump so we
Hot Springs
The hot stream came from the right and the cold one from the left so you could change the temperature depending where you moved went along to watch and film for them. It was a good stop off and then we set off for Auckland around 11am. It should have been a straight 5 hour drive but we decided to take a detour when someone mentioned the prospects of finding some hot springs if we took a detour towards Rotorua. It didn’t take us long to decide that we would do that and it was well worth it. There were signs along the main road for hot pools and springs and we found a secret one that was free. The hot springs are created when a hot river, heated from volcanic activity, merges with a cool, normal stream. It was an amazing place and so warm… you could decide how hot you wanted to be by moving closer or further from the hot stream entrance. We spent about an hour and a half in the pool and enjoyed a cheeky beer whilst there; it was so nice!
After the massive detour, we ended up a long way behind schedule and the 5 hour trip turned into an 11 hour one. We dropped off the two kiwis at one of their family’s house on
Moving In
Just geting set up in the new flat. Moved in with Tim and James the outskirts of Auckland then headed into the centre to check into a hostel.
We booked into a hostel for a week and got treated to a 4 bed dorm between 3 of us with the added bonus that there were no windows, so it felt like a prison cell… great!
Auckland
So here we landed in Auckland and we would be trying our 3rd place for job hunting… it was now here or home. We had a better feeling of being able to find a job here anyway; it is a big city, very busy and quite like London although a Chinese version.
So starting looking again and applying for every job that comes up, everyday, and walking around handing out CV’s left right and centre.
We played football a couple of times last week with the hostel, which was good but also showed how unfit I was.
This is now almost up to date and if you have managed to read all the way through instead of just looking at the pictures, good effort; although it will be ending soon because my P.A. is getting sore hands.
So yes, over the last week
New Flat
Just moved in to the new flat:-
Flat 7
12 Nikau Street,
Eden Terrace,
Auckland
1021 we have, moved into a new flat, on the outskirts of the city; shared between me, Tim and James. I have been for 4 interviews including 3 in 1 day yesterday, a sales observation day and phone calls all the time.
I have a job starting next Thursday and so finally may actually own some cash.
We are happy with the flat and once we are all working will be loving it.
Thanks for reading this bible-esque blog and I’ll try and keep them more often in future.
Enjoy the pictures,
Miss you all.
Craig
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Tims big brother
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Good write up Craig, who drank the liver???