2. Chopper to Work.
I had done the Milford Track walk with my sister exactly six months earlier. It had been such a beautiful day and I had stood on the top deck to soak in the epically beautiful scene of tall snow-capped mountains lined with thick native bush and reflections over the glassy lake. It was one of the reasons why I decided to apply for the job - the opportunity to live in this beautiful part of the country was incredible. The Milford Track is a World Heritage Area, known as one of the finest walks in the world.
There are only two options to stay at overnight at lodges on the track, either through the unguided “Great Walks” by Government-owned DOC (Dept of Conservation) with a maximum of about 40 walkers per day or through the guided walks with the company who employed me and they could have a maximum of about 50 walkers. As a result, it is very hard to get on either walk. New Zealanders tended to stay at the cheaper DOC lodges and tourists booked the guided walks.
After an hour or so on the ferry, we disembarked from the jetty to a small area under some trees before walking the 30 minute trail to the first lodge called Glade House. The DOC lodge was further up, about another hour or more along. No sooner was I on the land, dozens of sandflies were biting me and by the time we arrived at the old building, my skin was dotted with red welts. We were told to get used to it… we are where the sandflies bite.
We were shown our rooms and spent the next two days learning more safety and compliance before the helicopter showed up to take us all to our various lodges. I was at Pompolona Lodge, the next lodge after this one. The Lodge Manager told me it was the best lodge to work at because we had less turn-arounds… I had no idea what she was talking about, but in time, I would know exactly what she meant, as will you, if you continue to read on through the Chapters.
We weren’t going to walk up to our lodge as that would take us a day or so. No, we would be helicoptered, four or five at a time from Glade House to our respective lodges. We had to be weighed before we got on the helicopter as part of the safety procedures and I suddenly thought about all that food I had eaten from my pantry. I swallowed hard as I looked down and saw just how much weight I had put on. Wow! Lucky for me, the job turned out to be so intense and physcial, I dropped all of my pantry weight and more over the next few months.
We headed out to the helicopter and were instructed to enter from the front or diagonal sides but never from the rear, where the tail blades were spinning. My pack was put into the storage pods on the side of the chopper and I jumped into the back seat, next to the Chef.
The Lodge Manager followed me and we all buckled up and put on our helmets and microphones. The Operations man jumped in the front next to the pilot and they started chatting over the speaker system. I cleared my throat, then nervously giggled, which all came over the intercom. I turned and noted the Chef was looking at me so I sucked in a big breath and held it, desperate to be normal. Fortunately the pilot broke the silence and fired off some safety instructions through the intercom to us and then over to the radio before lifting off.
Outside the weather was nasty and I watched the rain trickled down the windows as the chopper lifted higher into the air. I watched as Glade House disappeared from view before feeling the helicopter rock with the wind. We flew low and fast over the beech forest below and between the towering mountains on either side. It was too beautiful to feel scared. Waterfalls cascaded down the steep rock-faces of the mountains and for a moment, it felt like I was in the Jurassic Park movie, expecting to see dinosaurs running below. The thick green canopy of native trees looked impenetrable, inhospitable, even inhabitable.
The chopper suddenly rocked to one side and the pilot told us he was going to drop some of us off at Prairie Lake to lighten the load due to the strong wind. I didn't have much time to think before we went into a near-vortex dive and I felt my stomach immediately turn.
I thought of the time I puked down my top during a ride at Dreamworld on a family holiday in Queensland a few years ago. I had taken a ride that made my stomach turn and my friend suggested another ride that would be okay. It was called the Octopus and by the time it’s mechanical arm had launched us up into space, the first vomit had already left my lips. Not wanting to scatter it into the people below, I filled my tank top. I later had to strip and wash myself using a small stainless sink in the ladies bathroom. I stunk like vomit for the rest of the day and there was no way I could allow this to happen again on this helicopter ride, especially in front of the Chef!
The chopper landed with a thud and we were told to get out and walk away from the helicopter. I took in a deep breath of cold mountain air and my stomach instantly settled. I noticed both the Chef and Operations man were on the ground with me and we all turned to watch the chopper fly away with just the Lodge Manager on board and the pilot.
The Operations man walked over to a nearby bridge so I followed him and he quickly pointed out a rare blue duck, otherwise known as our native Whio. This is the duck that is on our $10 note, he told me. I quickly got my phone out to take a quick video but the duck disappeared down the stream before I could hit record. That would be the only time I saw a blue duck while on the track.
We made small chat before the chopper finally returned and picked us up to take us to our lodge. The helicopter swivelled into a downward loop and finally the helipad came into view. The dark green camouflaged rooftops of the lodge were almost hidden amongst the beech trees and we ended up just metres away from the building as the helicopter landed on the wooden platform.
The Operations man jumped out and opened my door. I jumped out, followed by the Chef, and we walked towards the building and into what would be our place of work for the next six months.
Dang, it was cold. Absolutely nothing felt comfortable at this point and I felt my stomach turn once again, not from motion sickness this time but with a sense of utter dread. What have I done? Why am I here? Why am I in the middle of dense bush under the shade of some scary looking high mountains feeling freezing cold.
At this point, absolutely nothing felt comfortable at all!