Nomad Update
For the next 3-4 months, Natalie and I will be living and working in the city of Te Anau, located on the West Coast of New Zealand in the South Island. We will spend the summer (yup, December through February is  summer in the Southern Hemisphere) working at a 5 star lodge with a tremendous view of Fiordland National Park. Our work will basically entail, house keeping, serving (fine dining), bar tending, washing dishes, performing interior and exterior maintenance etc. Basically, we are seasonal “do what needs to get done” style lackies. No problem. map

Back to the Grind

Working full time in the hospitality/tourism industry is not a glamorous occupation. Like most jobs, it has its pros and cons but (also like most jobs) it has its fill of stress, pressure, and annoyances. Most people, except for some retired people who enjoy working for the sake of meeting people and having something to do (in New Zealand people call them “oldies”) work because they need a way to stay dry and eat (read: roof over their head and food in their tummies). Not more than two months ago, Natalie and I left good paying jobs and a comfortable life style to travel the world. So why are we taking a hiatus from wanderings to take up jobs in the New Zealand Tourist Industry? Good question. The answer at this point, is mostly theoretical and applies, not only to us, but to a special brand of people I like to call “Seasonals”.

Seasonals travel the world chasing a specific season, job or lifestyle. For example some ski instructors chase the winter,  moving from the northern hemisphere to the southern and back again, in order to work in ski lodges around the globe. Other Seasonals chase the fruit picking season, and some Seasonals move through the different seasons working in whatever industry is most relevant to their geographic location. I have met numerous Seasonals on the road. They are not typically broke and, like retired people, often choose to work because they like too. Many Seasonals also have a means of living a more traditional lifestyle making good money in a developed country; they have simply chosen a wandering or nomadic lifestyle instead.

For a time, Natalie and I have chosen to become Seasonals. Although the money is nice to have (roughly $7-8 US per hour each) we are not in desperate need of cash. This money will help us however to extensively explore the Fiordland area without putting a massive hit on our Nomad budget. The next three months will also allow us to make friends with local New Zealanders: experiencing life from a more local, in depth perspective. Perhaps most important of all, working in the hospitably industry for 3 months will help us develop new skills that can be put to use around the globe while satisfying my curiosity regarding how a lodge/hotel works from the inside.

Reality Check

Putting aside my head in the clouds idealism for a moment, working a 40-60 hour a week job after 2 months of nomading it around the globe is a bit of a reality check. Our wandering life of trains, planes, and  ferries, has abruptly been traded in for a rental house, a car (yeah Subi! see more subi pictures), and a cell phone. I even bought a second pair of pants. This is the result of my one pair of pants stubbornly refusing to dry in the 7 hours I tend to have between getting off work and waking up for work.

I like to work as I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with well…accomplishing something. Nomading, at times, makes me feel like a slacker whose life is made up of late afternoon naps, different beers (read: beercation) and stealing the occasional boat. Working provides a structure that is both strangely alluring and a bit depressing. Still, picking up a job, and the necessary stuff that has gone with it, at times leaves me looking longingly at my backpack and often stirs a strong desire to get back out on the open road.

Tags | New Zealand