Despite all of my efforts of avoiding it…despite running off to climb mountains and sail on ships…despite three months of almost continuous recreation, I’ve finally come to the inevitable conclusion that I need a job.
Luckily, almost immediately after completing the Routeburn/Greenstone Tracks, I was able to land a job in the tiny town of Te Anau, “Gateway to Fiorldland”, where I’ll be working in a café/pizzeria until March. It isn’t the best job, really, I am only able to get about 30-35 hours per week, and it is minimum wage. But I have plenty of free time, and I am a short drive from some of the most astounding scenery in the world, so I’ll try not to complain.
While in town, I am thinking about joining the NZ Alpine Club to try to get some experience with crampons and an ice axe. I’m also considering volunteering some time to help with Takahe conservation. The takahe is an extremely rare flightless bird (less that 200 in the world) that only survives in one small hamlet in the wild…the Murchison Mountains, which are across Lake Te Anau from where I’m staying. I’ll write more about this later, because it is fascinating to me. I’m also trying to pick up another job or build up my freelance web development portfolio…so if you know anyone looking for some website work, let me know.
Other than that, there isn’t much to do in Te Anau, apart from use it as a base to explore the surrounding wilderness. As a town, it doesn’t have much to offer. There is a line of touristy shops and cafés, a grocery store, and a Subway. Oh, and there is a movie theater, which was built by a local helicopter pilot to show a 30-minute film that he shot with the help of some Lord of the Rings videographers. The film is decent…stunning visuals with a good soundtrack, and no voiceover whatsoever…but it is really just a promotional piece to get tourists to pay him for scenic rides in his choppa.
Work itself is very straightforward. So far, I’ve only made pizzas, but I may get some experience working up front as a barista, or as a server in the steakhouse next door (which is also owned and operated by my German boss). Of the handful of other seasonal workers I’ve met so far, I am the oldest by about six years, and almost everyone else speaks German as their first language. So hopefully I can pick up a little Deutsche while I’m here…
The other day, as I was making pizzas, a funny thought occurred to me. When I was 15 years old, I got my first real job…working in a pizzeria up the street from my house. Now, after ten years (and tens of thousands of dollars spent on a college education) I am working the exact same job. Maybe that will be my plan in life…no matter what I’m doing or where I am, every ten years I will quit my job and make pizzas for a few months.
