I arrived to Franz Josef on October 28th 2007. I found a job there through backpackerboard.co.nz. My boss was a bloke named Adam whom I got to be good friends with during my time there. I chose Franz Josef over working for a water taxi/kayak company in Abel Tasman National Park. Kayaking was something I was starting to get into at the time but after an email from Adam I felt that the place for me was Franz Josef. Three things from Adam's email sold me on passing up a full time job in Abel Tasman for the less glamorous part time job as a housekeeper for an eighteen unit motel called Bella Vista. First, he noted that Franz Josef is located on the south island in a temperate rain forest, between the Southern Alps mountain range and the Tasman Sea, right next to the eleven kilometer long Franz Josef Glacier. Second, I would have a caravan to live in with a spectacular view. Thirdly, Adam stated that he had a Czech couple working for him as well. Now, the Czech Republic has always hovered around the top of my 'countries I must see' list. So, with that my decision was pretty easily made.
The Intercity bus dropped me off right in front of the Bella Vista. I walked into the office and met Cat, a Kiwi girl that minded the office for Adam. I then met Adam and he showed me around the motel and took me to the caravan. It was around dinner time when I arrived so Adam took Cat and myself to eat at one of the very few restaurants in town called Beeches.
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Photo taken from the top of Alex Knob trail. |
I didn't meet the Czechs, Milos and Lucie, until my second day in Franz as Adam and I were about to jump on some mopeds and ride out to see the glacier. In the four and a half months that we worked together they became two of my best friends that I made in New Zealand. They were both still learning English when we first met. Lucie could speak it pretty well though. She had two other jobs besides the Bella Vista gig. She worked in the petrol station on the other side of town a couple days a week. When I say the other side of town I mean a two minute walk. She was also a waitress at a restaurant called The Landing. Milos worked there as well. He started out as a dish washer but after his English became more fluent he moved to front of house.
The third evening that I was in Franz Josef there was a knock on my caravan door. It was Milos asking me if I wanted to go on a hike. We hopped into their '91 Toyota van and drove outside of town to a trail called Canavans Knob. It was about an hour return hike up a hill to get a view of the glacier. Along the way Milos and I fumbled our way through a conversation. He had to result into going through his phone dictionary a few times, I mean a lot, to keep the conversation going. He and Lucie were teachers in Czech before making their way down to New Zealand. He taught high school Biology while she taught the Czech language. They both are very much into photography. Check out their website that is full of New Zealand photos-http://www.zezemedozeme.cz/soubory/Page343.htm Milos also loves fishing and brought back dinner on quite a few occasions. He took me on a fishing trip my first week that I was in Franz. Like the hike to Canavans Knob we struggled through conversations but it was still a fun and interesting time. I had never become friends with someone and not actually have a fluent conversation with them.
During my first week in the township I picked up a second job working the front desk for a quad bike tour company. It was a great job! Although my boss and I clashed on a few occasions, only when talking about business. If work wasn't the subject then we got along fine. I liked everyone I worked with. Murray who is a Kiwi just moved back to NZ from spending ten years in Japan. He got to the town a couple days after me and worked as one of the guides. I don't think there was a day after working together that we didn't have a few beers after work. Another guide was Karl. He is a couple years older than me. He was settled with a partner and a young boy who was just starting to walk while I was there. Then there was another guide we called Bang Bang. Not sure why he is called Bang Bang. His wife doesn't even know. He was a character. Home grown west coast raised country boy. He wasn't the smartest guy in the world but he was a good guide and loved his job. Who wouldn't love that job though. Your office is a rain forest and your office chair is a four wheeler. Although I wasn't a guide I took the quads out as much as possible. More than my boss actually knew. I was always responsible of putting the display bike up after closing down the shop. So, I would take it out down the river where I could get a good view of the glacier to the east and watch the sunset to the west. That was always the best part of the day! I would then lock up the quad and then go to The Landing for two for one spirits and see the Czechs.
Franz Josef only exist because it is a tourist town. Of course the main attraction is the glacier. It has about 350 residents. During the peak season, months November to March, it can seem a bit like the movie Groundhog Day. Everyday is the same. Tours are at the same time everyday. I tended to say the same thing at least fifty times a day to the tourist when trying to sell them on the quad bike tours or the restaurants in town. Everyone is basically on the same schedule. The only ones that aren't on a set schedule are the scenic flight companies. They just go when they can which can be several days between flights since they do operate in a rain forest. I got to know a pilot from Fox and Franz Heli-services. He took me a couple times to get some hikers from the glacier. Here is a two minute video from one of the flights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ikGuVBVEk&feature=channel_page
