Day 282 - 291, Wellington, New Zealand
Day 282 - 291 - 17th – 26th March 2006 +12:00 GMT Total Miles 59608
Well it’s been another busy week in Wellington. I have applied for my Inland Revenue number, you need a tax number before you can start work. It was an easy process just fill a form in at the tax office and show them your passport and wait 10 days and you get it in the post. Walking back from the tax office we stopped at an Irish bar for a pint of Guinness as it was St. Patrick’s day. The pubs are crowded and everyone is on the streets dressed in green and having fun. On the Saturday a group of us visited the local park and as the arts festival is presently taking place in Wellington there were free bands playing.
Waiting for the Band
So we all went to see a local band called Fat Freddy’s Drop who were very good.
Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy's Drop
After the Gig
On the Sunday a few of us walked the 50 yards down from the hostel to the cricket ground as it is the 5 day test match with New Zealand playing the West Indies. So paid our $10 (yes that’s like £3.40) we opted to sit on the grass and spent the day in the sun watching New Zealand thrash the West Indies, Brian Lara was caught out in both innings for 1 run.
New Zealand v's West Indies
New Zealand v's West Indies
New Zealand v's West Indies
Spent the rest of the week either at the hostel or wandering around the city centre, we visited the cinema a couple of times, first time to see Syriana which was a good film and a cross between politics and religion in the middle east. The second time we went to the Paramount cinema and it was like sitting in someone’s living room, they have a few very small screens, the rooms are bare brick walls and above is wooden beams, the seats are very comfortable and each screen has between 30 and 50 seats. The added bonus is you can sit at your seat with a bottle of wine or a beer and it feels a very sociable night out, anyway we saw the film History of Violence which I thought was very good considering I knew nothing about the film. Jill and I decided that we would leave and travel around the North island for a few weeks before I start my Job so we looked at renting a car but it would cost around $880 so I decided to buy one. The next day I bought a 1984 Toyota Corolla for $650 (just under £250). It has 4 wheels and engine seems OK, it has just passed it’s warrant of fitness which is the MOT equivalent. So on Wednesday we will head North. As for the job, I was told that the job was mine if I want it, which is great news. I will be running a Backpackers Hostel with Jill’s help of course.
I start on my Birthday (25th April). I also get free accommodation, a large room, en-suite facilities and TV and DVD in my room. Jill and I will run the hostel together, although Jill may look for some extra part time work to top up the cash. It's only a small hostel 26 people and 11 rooms. We do not even need to do the cleaning as someone else cleans the bathrooms and kitchen. The laundry (bed covers etc) are collected each morning. So it is mostly concentrating on the bookings and banking the money and organising the DVD nights etc. It is 9am - 12pm and then 5pm - 9pm each day so the times are a bit unsocial, but when you go out at night no one leaves until after 10pm so we would not miss out on anything. Also most people staying there presently 18 are permanent i.e. staying for 3 months at a time. So no need to make beds etc each day. I spent the morning Rock Climbing at an indoor climbing centre on Friday which was real good fun and my climbing skills seemed to come back to me quite quickly, Saturday I took a drive up to the top of mount Victoria to see the amazing views and we had a quiz night at the hostel, Jill and I won which is always a good thing. On Sunday we drove to Lower Hutt and had a look around and visited the shopping mall there for some supplies.
Well it’s been another busy week in Wellington. I have applied for my Inland Revenue number, you need a tax number before you can start work. It was an easy process just fill a form in at the tax office and show them your passport and wait 10 days and you get it in the post. Walking back from the tax office we stopped at an Irish bar for a pint of Guinness as it was St. Patrick’s day. The pubs are crowded and everyone is on the streets dressed in green and having fun. On the Saturday a group of us visited the local park and as the arts festival is presently taking place in Wellington there were free bands playing.
Waiting for the Band
So we all went to see a local band called Fat Freddy’s Drop who were very good.
Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy's Drop
After the Gig
On the Sunday a few of us walked the 50 yards down from the hostel to the cricket ground as it is the 5 day test match with New Zealand playing the West Indies. So paid our $10 (yes that’s like £3.40) we opted to sit on the grass and spent the day in the sun watching New Zealand thrash the West Indies, Brian Lara was caught out in both innings for 1 run.
New Zealand v's West Indies
New Zealand v's West Indies
New Zealand v's West Indies
Spent the rest of the week either at the hostel or wandering around the city centre, we visited the cinema a couple of times, first time to see Syriana which was a good film and a cross between politics and religion in the middle east. The second time we went to the Paramount cinema and it was like sitting in someone’s living room, they have a few very small screens, the rooms are bare brick walls and above is wooden beams, the seats are very comfortable and each screen has between 30 and 50 seats. The added bonus is you can sit at your seat with a bottle of wine or a beer and it feels a very sociable night out, anyway we saw the film History of Violence which I thought was very good considering I knew nothing about the film. Jill and I decided that we would leave and travel around the North island for a few weeks before I start my Job so we looked at renting a car but it would cost around $880 so I decided to buy one. The next day I bought a 1984 Toyota Corolla for $650 (just under £250). It has 4 wheels and engine seems OK, it has just passed it’s warrant of fitness which is the MOT equivalent. So on Wednesday we will head North. As for the job, I was told that the job was mine if I want it, which is great news. I will be running a Backpackers Hostel with Jill’s help of course.
I start on my Birthday (25th April). I also get free accommodation, a large room, en-suite facilities and TV and DVD in my room. Jill and I will run the hostel together, although Jill may look for some extra part time work to top up the cash. It's only a small hostel 26 people and 11 rooms. We do not even need to do the cleaning as someone else cleans the bathrooms and kitchen. The laundry (bed covers etc) are collected each morning. So it is mostly concentrating on the bookings and banking the money and organising the DVD nights etc. It is 9am - 12pm and then 5pm - 9pm each day so the times are a bit unsocial, but when you go out at night no one leaves until after 10pm so we would not miss out on anything. Also most people staying there presently 18 are permanent i.e. staying for 3 months at a time. So no need to make beds etc each day. I spent the morning Rock Climbing at an indoor climbing centre on Friday which was real good fun and my climbing skills seemed to come back to me quite quickly, Saturday I took a drive up to the top of mount Victoria to see the amazing views and we had a quiz night at the hostel, Jill and I won which is always a good thing. On Sunday we drove to Lower Hutt and had a look around and visited the shopping mall there for some supplies.
posted by Simon at 8:52 PM
2 Comments:
oh wow!! that's just amazing, well done on the job, dude! WOW. you are going to run the most rockingest backpackers hostel in the world! Do you have any plans?!
good luck to Jill if she's looking for a job also, but in the meantime it sounds like you're having loads of fun - cheers for the update and such!
Spring has not yet currently sprung yet here. it's freezing still and there are currently quite high winds and rain here in london town. KEEP ROCKING LOTS!
take care and happy travels! :o)
Glad you're having fun :o)
give us a shout and let us know what you're up to!!!
maybe see you in oct,
Ila
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