Aside from walks in the area, my immediate objectives were to find a job and a home here in Wanaka for the winter. Both were easier said than done with a whole crowd of hopefuls here on the same mission!

It took around four weeks of searching, checking the weekly Messenger, a local magazine full of adverts covering everything from firewood sales and jobs to osteopaths and vasectomies! Less exciting was walking around town asking in every shop and cafe, already knowing their answer would be to come back in a couple of weeks, with jobs expecting to be available from end of May, then mid June, then end of June… We’re sure the businesses have a conspiracy under way, promising jobs to ensure everyone stays in town.

Room hunting was another fun game, with so many new arrivals constantly entering Wanaka any available option would be snapped up within the first couple of days of being advertised. It was a case of checking the supermarket notice board and the Messenger, contacting anyone with a room within my price range.

There are however, also some houses up for seasonal rental in Wanaka. As several of us in the hostel searched for places to stay, we realised the best option could be to join forces and apply for a house. We managed this in the end without too much trouble, though a lot came down to Adele’s excellent organisation and communication with the estate agents! We were accepted for an application on a lovely four bed house, which would be for Adele, two French guys Martin and Nils, Liz and myself.

The walk to town

The house is situated a fifteen minute walk from the centre of town. It’s hilly location means you get a magnificent landscape view of the town, lake and mountains whenever you take a walk in. There is a wonderful open plan living room, kitchen, dining room and sun room. The sun room allows us to bask in morning and early afternoon sun, while lounging in pijamas and gazing out at snow capped mountains. An excellent house, plus great housemates, it was the perfect setup!

And I eventually I did get a job, finding out days before we moved into the house. I was to be a night time bakery member in the supermarket. My hours were 10pm to 6:30am five nights a week. Far from the most convenient job, I was just happy at the prospect of watching money enter instead of leave my bank and the guarantee of hours.

The perks of a night job – enjoying the sunrise on the way home from work

The job turned out to be quite fun, being involved in the bread making I spent most of the night throwing dough mixtures into one machine or other to chop, roll or turn into it buns.

So, I had settled into my house and I had gotten a job to see me through the winter. I truely felt like I lived in Wanaka, wasn’t a tourist passing through.

And then I got the email that changed it all. I had been offered a rental attendant job for the winter! On the north island…