the season so far...

Oh boy, the summer season is nearing its end. And what a season it’s been! The crew this year has been far from perfect and easy to work with (and that’s the most polite way I can express my feelings), it’s been much quieter than I remember from previous seasons and time has been flying extremely fast. There have been many reasons for Milford being quieter than usual and two of them have been the earthquake in Christchurch in February and the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March. People are recovering from those tragic events and have other things than travelling in mind. The media has broadcasted an image of a broken and devastated Christchurch and a country in ruin and that has put many people off travelling.

Christchurch is the gateway to the south island of New Zealand and yes, a lot of infrastructure in the city has been destroyed and there are less hotel beds available than usual. The CBD is still cordoned off and nobody is allowed inside, for different reasons like cleaning up, making sure nobody gets hurt from unstable buildings etc. New Zealand is popular with self catering tourists who travel the country in motorhomes and there are less of those available as well, as many of them are being used as alternative accommodation for the thousands of families who have lost their housing during the earthquake. Unfortunately Christchurch has lost the Rugby World Cup to other cities in the south island as well, due to the facts I have stated above. That’s a major psychological blow and it will take Canterbury a long time to recover from it. Nevertheless, life is going on and the city is being rebuild – slowly but with lots of passion and thought as to how to make Christchurch a safer place in the future.

Milford businesses are suffering from declining tourist numbers but we are more than optimistic that next year’s summer season will see an increase in numbers again, as we’re still the number one tourist destination in New Zealand!

So, what have I been up to this season, people may ask. I have been on a few missions, starting off with the Catlins late last year, Stewart Island, Queenstown/Arrowtown/Wanaka/Kinloch and just recently Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula. To be honest, I have been either too busy or too lazy (or a combination of both) to write a story for the last two trips, but you’ll be able to enjoy the photos on picasa. I loved the Otago Peninsula for the wildlife and the many photo opportunities but with those opportunities come the painful pleasure of going through hundreds of albatross shots to choose the best ones.

Early this week Milford has celebrated its annual End of the Season Ball to farewell those people that will leave us at the end of this season. As every year, staff numbers will drop at the end of may from around 160-200 in summer to 50-60 in winter. Although, this winter is going to be a little bit different as there is a lot of construction work going on in Milford to improve the flood protection of the village and therefore we have quite a big number of construction staff staying with us over the winter.

And there is good news for my friends in Europe and esp. in Germany. After a lot of thought and research for alternative holiday destinations during our winter season I have decided to fly home to Germany in June to see my family and spend heaps of quality time with my little darling nephew Henry. And if possible I will try to travel Europe, so look out for me, I might pop up on your doorsteps….