Category: Greymouth

Kim’s Day;

Today Kim had a late start!
So she woke up and FaceTimed her family again.

After this Kim got some noodles and had a chat with Curtis.

Once she had done this she got ready for work and drove down.

Kim worked on the bar for the shift so spent most of the evening cleaning glasses and pouring drinks.

After work Kim and a few girls had planned to go out for a drink but two of us forgot our IDs so instead we all went and got snacks and had a mini picnic!

Curtis’ Day;

Curtis was up at 06:00 this morning, had a shower and coffee before heading out the door for a 1.5 hour drive from Greymouth to Westport. Luckily, the coastal road was open and it was absolutely beautiful. The drive is a tourist drive, but it was empty and there were a lot of winding roads (luckily the car has a sport mode.. Damn that’s fun!) and incredible scenery! Here are a few photos of the scenery. It’s very similar to Norway!

Curtis got to Westport and only did about an hour of work, but also sat with the client and had a chat and a coffee..most of it was work related!

Curtis left here and drove back to Greymouth. The weather had really picked up on the way back and was toasty!

Curtis got to Greymouth and went to the Greymouth office to check on the client and they were all happy, so Curtis went back to the apartment and got some admin done for work.

Once this was done, Curtis got a Domino’s (far too much for one person) and chilled out playing games.

Curtis actually fell asleep around 18:30 and so decided to have a quick power nap… Apparently he was tired!

Curtis found out that his team is now out of the playoffs after losing in 2nd Overtime 7-6! It’s a shame he doesn’t get to play with them again this season, but it’s been awesome to be back on the ice and with such a great group of players!

Curtis has to be up for a reasonable time tomorrow as his flight leaves at 09:30 (20 minutes later than planned!). Curtis then had a second flight from Christchurch to Auckland, then he will be home and get to see Kim!

Damn, it’s been lonely.

This time last year!

Poroporoaki!

– Mr & Mrs Hale

We have been traveling for a year now!

Kim’s Day;

Today was Kim’s first day on reception by herself!

She got to work and cracked on straight away! Started setting things up for the breakfast.

Kim then set up reception for the day, organising the housekeeping, check outs and check ins.

It was a really good shift.

Kim then went home and relaxed for a while and had a couple of little chats with curtis. Then had dinner with our host family. It was tasty chicken, roasted veggies with feta and lovely potatoes.

After this Kim played some Fortnite. She also was talking to a work friend and suggested giving her a lift home so at the end of her shift Kim went down to pick her up. Kim then went inside and joined her colleagues for a quick cider before giving her friend a lift and then heading home herself.

Kim then had a lovely chat with Curtis.

Curtis’ Day;

Curtis was up at 07:30 to get to the client for 08:30, but was definitely up too early!

The weather seemed better this morning, but it didn’t improve much throughout the day!

Curtis spent the morning helping with niggling problems as well as doing some training.

Curtis then completed the setup of a PC. Once this was done, Curtis drove to Hokitika, which is the next town along. The drive is beautiful (when it’s not raining!). There were llamas in fields, as well as many a mountain which looked very cool with the low clouds. It was a lot like Norway, actually.

Curtis got to Hokitika and wasn’t there too long. One of the PCs is pretty bad so we are just going to replace that, and they had a printer which he made a note of.

Curtis finished up at hokitika and drove back.

He got back to the apartment and spoke to Kim on the phone for a bit before having to call the client to answer some of their questions.

Curtis finished the phone call and then went off to dinner. He had seen a nice looking place just down the road so he went there!

The place he ate was called ‘Speight’s Ale House’ and it was beautiful! Speight’s are a beer brewery in New Zealand, and you can get their beer on tap here!

Curtis got a 300g steak with a creamy mushroom sauce with roasted vegetables and fries. It was heaven! This was washed down with the recommended beer for this dish which was called the Distinction Ale which was also incredible!

Curtis ate up and left here then had to setup a laptop back at the motel.

After this, Curtis just played some games and then spoke with Kim on the phone a bit more.

Curtis has to drive to Westport tomorrow which could be 2.5 hours away, depending on if roads are closed! Hopefully it’s a fleeting visit, though, as there is only 1 person in that office.

This time last year!

Poroporoaki!

– Mr & Mrs Hale

Kim’s Day;

Today Kim was up and out the house nice and early. Before she left she said goodbye to Curtis, who was still half asleep, as he is gone for the whole week!

Once Kim got to work, she did the usual of helping set up the restaurant and bar and getting the hotel ready for the day. This could be Kim’s last day of being assisted behind the reception and is going it alone from now on!

One of the first things Kim got done was to contact people checking in today to check for their time of arrival.

Kim had to learn another couple of processes throughout the day. She also put a couple of test spreadsheets together and responded to emails.

During the lunch rush Kim ran some food and took some orders. It wasn’t too bad as we had the cutest of guests outside today!

Kim then headed home at the end of her shift and then lounged around for the evening. She made herself dinner in the later evening but just mooched for the rest. Nice and relaxing, a little lonely, but relaxing!

Curtis’ Day;

Curtis woke up later than usual, around 06:50.

Curtis got some breakfast and then began to work. He worked from home as he had to go to the airport.

At about 10:30, Curtis got an Uber to the airport. Curtis arrived there at 11:20, which was much earlier then he planned for be at least it wasn’t late!

Curtis had a flight at 14:00 but was able to check his bag in when he arrived and went straight to the food court. It was the domestic terminal so it wasn’t very big but it was doable and not very busy. For lunch Curtis got a McDonald’s, ate that and then headed through security which didn’t take long.

Once Curtis was through it was just a waiting game…He had about 2 hours to kill!

Curtis bought a coffee and sat and watched the planes as well as replying to some work emails.

Curtis eventually got to board and was on the first plane to Christchurch!

On board, Curtis got a complimentary cookie and coffee!

Curtis landed in Christchurch and made his way to the next gate, as there wasn’t a huge amount of time.

Curtis sat in departures again and waited for the next plane. Curtis boarded the plane and it was a plane with propellers! It was tinybut not full by any means. There was a trainee cabin manager too, who was doing well!

Curtis landed in Hokitika and the airport was basically a house!

Curtis got his bag (which just appear on a cart outside?!) and made his way back inside to pickup is rental car.

Curtis was meant to get a small hatchback but instead was given an upgrade and got a Ford Ecosport!

Curtis drove from Hokitika to Greymouth which was an easy drive, then he checked in.

Curtis’ apartment is huge but the wifi is pretty iffy so that’s a bad thing!

Curtis video chatted with Kim, which had to be done in the car park due to the poor wifi!

Once that was done, Curtis tried to get the wifi sorted, which he did a little, and then he went out to find some food. There was basically nothing open, so Curtis went to the supermarket and got a drink and a ready meal and some croissants for breakfast.

Curtis did manage to make a few detours and get photos of some cool stuff!

Curtis got back and had his dinner, which was ok, and texted Kim. The wifi was working better but not great so Curtis did some Ironing with the worst iron and Ironing board ever!

Tomorrow, Curtis is at the client who is just a 5 minute drive away. We’ll, he will be there providing the cyclone doesn’t get him!

Poroporoaki!

– Mr & Mrs Hale