Thursday 24 November 2011

Kaikoura '隧道之城‘

24 Nov 2011

We left the lovely Onuku Farm Hostel to 'LCL' was because of the paid works available here. Also, we took the opportunity to visit the beautiful Kaikoura. I described it as the city of tunnels because there are too many along the road.

'LCL' had been the top rated BBH in Kaikoura for two years. Unlike other BBH, there is no dorm and shared rooms. All the rooms here are either twin, or double. This gives the advantage to the tourists who want a comfortable stay without many backpackers giving noise and mess in the lodge.



It is a two-storey lodge with one fully-equipped kitchen, one semi-equipped kitchen, one living room, one dining room, 8 rooms, and 5 bathrooms.






The manager looks after both the lodge and a restaurant owned by the host. He spends most of the time in the restaurant. There is no reception in the lodge. Whenever a guest come to the lodge looking for accommodation, he would need to call the manager's phone number with the phone provided next to the main door. The manager would then assist them through the phone. It is the same for guests check in. They would need to call to get the door code in order to enter into the lodge. We, workers can never be allowed to open the door even though the door is knocked. Sometimes, the guests would look for the someone in charged of the hostel to make the payment. I totally have no idea why the lodge is rated the highest among all other hostels in Kaikoura. I do not like the manager, his attitude and the poor hospitality provided for guests.

The paid works given is not too much. Besides that, we do not like to work with the manager. We have decided to leave and try our job hunting luck in Christchurch. We received only half of our payment as the compensation for leaving without one week notice. Surprisingly the manager didn't show any emotion to us. It was a peaceful discussion.

In the morning, we carried our luggage and left the hostel. I felt so relieved to leave the terrible working place. It was a sunny day. I saw blue sea and colorful flowers along the journey. I was looking forward to experience better days in Christchurch.

At the Kaikoura beach, we saw a few groups of ladies and men catching whitebaits. They sat there for hours. Each time they pulled the net up, there were only a few little whitebaits.



pic: Nubin. The flower that I had been waiting for 7 months
pic: A mixture of winter and spring

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