4. Be Brave!
I had just finished a full day of my first back-breaking laundry shift, running up and down those stairs with baskets of cleaning equipment and linen, when the Maintenance man appeared, having tramped in from Glade House earlier in the day.
He came up to me and asked if I was a beekeeper as he heard I was. He told me he has been both a hobbyist and employee of a commercial beekeeper for many years. He had an American accent and talked knowingly about bees until he changed the subject and asked if the Lodge Manager and I were ready for some compliance training. Errr, we had just finished for the day, but okay??
Joining us was a man who was going to take over from him as he was leaving the job. The three of us followed him as he took us from the generator room to the diesel tanks, before a quick walk up to the manifold where the main pipe connected to five or more water pipes that then feed water to various areas in the lodge.
"So now we will go to the sewerage tanks" he said matter-of-factly and we continued to follow him past Rooms 1-4, down some stairs then under those stairs and down through a wet leafy trail into thick bush. There were some smaller tanks on our left covered in moss and he explained they were the original sewerage tanks but they hadn’t been used for years. “Too heavy to take out!” he told me, ready my thoughts.
There were some pipes on some scaffolding and we were told to watch out for leaks or odours. If there were any we are to let them know as soon as possible. He walked on and up to the tank on the right. "So we don't use this one anymore but I am pretty sure I saw a rat in here when I was here earlier." he joked. "Who wants to come up and have a look for him?"
The other maintenance man and the Lodge Manager both went up and I elected to stay below. I watched as they clambered up the ladder and onto the scaffolding before the lid was taken off.
"Oh, there it is!" he shouted. “A most unfortunate choice made by the rat to walk up an open pipe and end up swimming for his life in poo.” he further joked.
I was invited up onto the scaffolding with the others and watched at a distance as he lifted off the lid of the active tank. An immediate waft of stench filled my lungs and I immediately gagged. I watched as he pulled out the filter with one hand and took the hose with the other. He turned on the lever and water splashed onto the filter and the side of the tank. I took two steps back, not wanting even a molecule of poo on me.
It was already in my lungs and I tried to hold my breath but it was no use, I had to take another breath and another until he replaced the filter. He then picked up a prodding rod that was nearby that had a circular rod around the bottom.
"Just push this rod in," he explained, looking back at me, no doubt wondering why I was so far back. "Wait until you reach the water beneath the poo and then bring it back up to let the gas escape," he joked.
I took more unwanted breaths and watched as he plunged the rod in and out a few more times, and sighed with relief when he took it all the way out and hosed it down.
"That's it!" he exclaimed, and I was down that ladder faster than a cat chasing a rat before I heard him say out loud... "And now to the grease-trap!"
We headed back up through the lodge and climbed down the ladder by the helipad and walked through the bush until we reached the stainless tank. He opened it and began scrapping the fat off the top and pouring the contents into a bucket. The bucket of muck was then put into the nearby plastic storage tank.
"Once that is full, the helicopter will take it out," he told us.
I stood well back and realised this was something that would test my ability to hold down vomit after I had multiple gags. Fortunately he didn't stay there long and as we headed back, he looked at his watch.
"There’s still time in the day to show you all where the water intake is... it's just up the hill, no more than 30 minutes."
He must have seen us look surprised as he quickly added that it was very important we knew where the intake was, just in case there was a block at the source or an air pocket near the valve.
I had got changed into tramping boots and rain jacket earlier, thankfully, because the walk up to the inlet was no easy climb.
"We essentially follow the pipe" he yelled back at me, as I scrambled to keep up with his long legs.
The Lodge Manager and other maintenance man were both behind me and I heard a yelp as the Lodge Manager slipped on the wet log behind me. There wasn’t a clear path up to the water intake and as we ascended up the side of the mountain, it became quite scary. We were told to watch our footing as we walked out of the thick bush and into a more open area with magnificent views of the valley below. I held onto the flax bushes as the ground suddenly sloped towards a steep cliff and I could now see the river below us. It was a long way down and certain death if I was to lose my footing.
"Through this part, just remember to keep the pipe to the right," the Maintenance man yelled back to me. "It's a big drop to the river there, be careful!"
We all continued uphill until we reached the bank of the river, now just a few metres down. "It's just down here a little," he yelled back at us. "Just watch yourself, it’s very slippery!"
"The inlet is here?" asked the man.
"No, just the valve! The intake is up further. Come down and see!"
The Lodge Manager had decided to stop there but I kept following, scrambling down the slippery bank holding onto branches and flaxes. Finally I was standing next to the hose and could see the value. I was shown how to turn the valves on and off should there ever be an air bubble that could prevent water from passing through. I told him that I wasn't sure I could remember all of this and he replied saying I would, before telling me to climb back up and find the rope. There was a very steep slope with a knotted rope to help climb up the bank. Once I climbed up I could finally see the intake.
There was a small waterfall cascading down a mossy bank and into a small man-made dam, built with timber and a steel rod to keep it in place. There was a hole in the timber for the pipe to go through at the base of the rocky pool of water. I watched as he removed some debris from the surface and from around the pipe intake area.
"That's it?" I asked. "It's not very big for the amount of water that comes down, and is there a filter on it to stop debris from going down?
"No, we have filters down at the holding tank near the lodge, and we will go there next," he said.
"What altitude are we at?" I asked him, aware that the walk was at least 45 minutes up hill.
He got out his phone and looked at some app.
"Wait! Before you find out, can I guess?" I asked.
"Sure, what do you think it is?"
"500 metres" I replied, thinking that we looked to be only 100 metres down from the snow line.
"It's 500.... exactly!" he said, surprised.
I felt an immediate sense of achievement, having just guessed correctly and having just walked up to the intake.
"It's the most pure water you will ever drink," he told me. We have to put filter and steriliser systems in place because we are commercial, but we don't need it. This water is 100% pure!"
I looked out to the view behind us. The river began at the mountain and then spread out into the valley below. It was a postcard view for sure.
"Right, let's go down to the holding tanks," he said and we turned around to head back.
The Lodge Manager was still back near the pipe with the valve and after climbing back down the knotted rope, almost abseiling, we eventually found her and we all headed back.
The water tanks had been empty and we didn't know why. At first we thought it was connected with the no cold water coming from the kitchen's taps but the men had found two garden hoses that had been left on by the builders who were here some weeks prior.
"They should start filling now" he said as he got down. He then undid the water filter container and pulled out a water filter clogged with little pieces of debris. “Always turn of the tap closest to the source” I heard him say but I was still confused as to which tap to turn off.
"Remember to crack the tap slowly back on," he instructed. "SLOWLY," he re-emphasised as he looked at me while I nodded.
Perhaps it was the empty look in my eye as it was by now quite dark and I could hardly see a thing. My eyelids felt heavy as a wave of exhaustion passed over me.
Once, a few days later, I turned the wrong tap on and too quickly and the pipe came flying out of the water tank and landed right next to me. I turned all taps off and clambered up the slippery ladder with the pipe in one hand and carefully put it back inside the tank. I carefully turned both taps on very slowly until I could hear the water going back into the tank. Won’t make that mistake again, I told myself at the time.
Incredibly, it was well past 10pm by the time we got back and I could barely stand up after the long 16 hour day (in which we were only paid for eight). I didn’t mind the compliance - actually I enjoyed it. However, the work was very physical and I slept very well that night, right up until the 5:45am alarm !