Kiwi Land, Part IV

Location: Franz Josef (Rainforest hostel)

Date: 27 May 2012

Time: 11:00 PM

My alarm went off at 7, but the glacier heli-hike was cancelled for inclement weather and wind, as expected, so I went back to sleep until noon.  It ended up being a rather dead day, but I enjoyed relaxing nonetheless.

I spent a couple hours in the huge hot tub, turning into a prune and looking at the mountains and rainforest that surrounded us.  Not a bad life, really.

Truthfully, I spent most of the day reading.  I picked up a copy of Anthony Bourdain’s (you know, the chef/author from “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel) Kitchen Confidential, which is all about his career as a chef and all the crazy experiences he’s had in the kitchen.  It’s a wild, lewd, hilarious, and really revealing look at the foodservice subculture and its gang of alcoholic, drug-abusing culinary grads and immigrants.  I must say, I’m glad I decided not to become a chef; as crazy (in a good way) as the life sounds, the stress is unimaginable.  I’m enjoying the book so much I’ve cranked through 250 pages in two days, which is quite a clip for me.

When I get done with this book, I’m going to reread Great Gatsby (I brought a copy with with me from the UniMelb library) in anticipation of the new DiCaprio movie this summer.  Odds are the movie won’t be as good as the book (none of the previous renditions were), but I’ll give it a fair chance.  If I finish that I’ll try to make more headway in He, She & It, which I’ve been working on since February.

There’s a chance we’ll get to do the glacier hike tomorrow morning if the weather is nice, otherwise we’re back on the road towards Wanaka.