Get Out of the Danger Zone Bambi!

Sunday 5th April

Today we left Lake Mahinapua and Les and headed towards Franz Josef, which I have been spelling Joseph, but it’s actually Josef. Our first stop of the day was the Bushman’s Centre – Kiwi Experience makes the randomest stops ever. Basically the Bushman’s Centre shows how people used to live on the West Coast. “The Centre offers an insight into how people make a living on the coast through sphagnum moss, timber milling, possum trapping and helicopter deer recovery”. Apparently. Basically we watched this amazing home movie, it was ridiculously cheesy and it was all about helicopter deer recovery –people used to shoot the deer and then sell them for meat, but then they realised it would be better to catch them and breed them in deer farms for their meat. In order to breed the deer you needed to have some to begin with, so a bunch of complete plonkers went out in helicopters, saw the deer and then jumped on top of the deer from the helicopters. Yep, they jumped from a moving helicopter onto a moving, wild deer. Then tied the deer up and flew it back to the deer farms. Crazy people. It was quite an informative DVD – super cheesy and totally home made, but my favourite scenes included the man who randomly jumped into a scene and “shot” something and of course, the theme tune, “Danger Zone”. I wish they had it on Youtube, everyone should watch this DVD before they die. It might even make you want to get into the deer business. Or it might make you determined to never eat deer meat, whatever.

After the movie we walked around the tiny Bushman’s Centre, saw a few Possum’s and a few Eels, which were totally dead. We then had some breakfast and then headed towards Franz Josef. When we arrived in Franz Josef we booked our Glacier Hike and then went to the Hostel. It was actually a nice Hostel, the rooms were basic but the reception had a little shop selling noodles and rice and all the great backpackerish things! I didn’t purchase anything, but it was still nice to know that I could, if I wanted to! Franz Josef is actually in a rainforest, which means that it rains. A lot. Like really, it was as if I had never left home! Once we were settled into our rooms, Pete and I ventured to the village shop – great idea! We got totally soaked! I had my Animal coat on, which was amazing and I wore my spotty Animal boardies, I probably looked quite rare, but the coat kept my dry and the boardies dry out quickly! After our trek to the shop I decided to purchase some unlimited internet, so I could upload some pictures! I like doing that when the weather is crappy – I don’t feel as bad about spending an entire day on the computer if the weather is rubbish and there is nothing to do! So that’s what I did – sat on a beanbag, uploading pictures! There was a T.V in the living room, but the reception was really bad, so the screen was black and white and really fuzzy – and yet, I still watched it. T.V is a bit of a luxury here – I seriously miss my 32” bad boy! I would LOVE to watch a bit of Dave right now, maybe catch up on some Mock the Week, watch a bit of Q.I, maybe even fit in a bit of Top Gear. I would also love to see a bit of Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Bones, House, Boston Legal, Brothers and Sisters and of course, some Home and Away. I don’t ask for much do I? We ended up watching Final Destination 2, which I tried to not watch, because I hate scary movies and then we watched Poseidon, the old one, with Michael Caine and Sally Fields – who is in Brothers and Sister. If you don’t watch Brothers and Sisters then you really should, she’s great, but you may also know her as the voice of Sassy from “Homeward Bound”. Such a beautiful movie. I literally have to fight back the tears every time I watch it – when Shadow falls into the ditch at the railway station (“I’m just too old, Chance”) and then when he finally sees Peter again, oh my gosh, I’m getting emotional thinking about it.

When Poseidon finished it was pretty late so I just went to bed. Pretty much everything I own is soaked, which is really rubbish, but I suppose that’s to be expected in a rainforest!

Xx