Kiwi Easter

After a great, fun, active, but also unproductive job hunt time in Queenstown I currently reside in Hanmer Springs in the district of Hurunui in Northern Canterbury. The Western Coastal road was supposed to be relatively packed because of the long weekend. Nevertheless this Good Friday did not turn out to be too good for many citizens of this wet and coastal province. A cyclone hit tourist towns like Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph and left many without power and cut off from the outside world. The storm that created winds up to

150km/h caused that all houses without generator got without power, all landline phones were down, hot water was lacking and mobile phones could not receive service. Meanwhile I was so smart to not check the news before going over the Haast Pass crossing from Wanaka to the most southern village of the West Coast, Haast. My second ride of that day gets me over the pass, but before we cross a sign says that the road is closed at Fox Glacier, 265km further up the road. For a minute I wonder if it is smart to take this road or take the road via Lake Tekapo and Christchurch, which I have done already so that would be boring or at least less exciting. I decide to take the risk and bet on that it might be open by the time we reach the blockage. Jamie drops me off at a gas station in Haast. Every country has it’s annoying gas station attendants. New Zealand is not an exception. However, this lady, it is usually a lady that causing a pain in the butt, is original. When I ask her if I can ask some of her customers if they can offer me a ride, she responds: “No sorry, you can’t because that would be captive questioning.” I had to think for a moment. “Sorry what do you mean by that?” “Well people have to get gas here and when you ask them they can’t go anywhere.” “Right….. have a good day, cheers!” Not long after Florian picks me up. The Austrian backpacker and farm owner is driving up to the North as well. On the road we decide to pick up any single travelling hitchhiker. In Franz Jospeh we see to girls on the side of the road, but they are not carrying any luggage. Therefore we decide to stop over for them. Once we have turned it turns out that all their luggage was under a patio, protected from the rain. Let’s just say we had to squeeze. We see power lines that are down, massive trees pulled over out of the earth with their roots in the air, camper vans on their side and destroyed sheds, churches, hotels and fences. By a miracle Hokitika, the village where we stay in a hostel, is barely touched. While I am writing this it is the Tuesday after and apparently the storm has been the worst storm in the last 500 years to hit the West Coast.

On Saturday I make the last part of the journey to Hanmer Springs and alcohol can be sold again. Alcohol can be sold again? Yes, New Zealand is not a very Christian country. However, on Good Friday and Easter one is not allowed to sell or buy alcohol unless it is consumed with a meal. The supermarkets have all alcohol hidden behind plastic curtains or are foreseen of a label to indicate the alcohol is no for sale that day. This also means that on the Thursday before Good Friday all bars close at midnight and the same goes for the Saturday in between the two holy days. In Hanmer Springs I meet Iris, the sister of Mariska, my friend from Te Anau, who has been awaiting me. She has arranged that I can stay at the Bella Vista Motel at the edge of the village. Besides her job as a photographer at the hot pools, hence the name “Hanmer Springs”, she cleans rooms here in exchange of accommodation, something that many backpackers do in Hanmer Springs, because of the lack of housing. After having met Julie I get the same arrangement for the upcoming time and when Iris is done working we hit the Monteith’s bar where we also get to see Steven, Julie’s husband. The next morning is my first day as a housekeeper. It is not a bad deal at all. I help with the tidying of the beds, don’t spend money on housing and have all the time to look for a different job at the same time. Fun fact: each room has a bible. That is not a very extraordinary thing, but the motel is actually obliged by law to have one present in a every room. I am starting to feel that this country that appears to be full of atheist is more religious than you would actually think. At least some of those in charge are. On the third day of cleaning and just before my second hike through the gorgeous nature I get a call from Monteith’s that I can start the next day as a bar tender!
Before I forget. The best thing of Kiwi Easter is their Easter eggs: marshmallows covered in chocolate!