Greetings from Glen Helen Resort, 135km west of Alice Springs, NT!
I’m employed again! While I certainly have not missed the whole “working” thing, it is nice knowing that every day that passes is now adding to my rapidly dwindling bank account, instead of subtracting from it. I’ve worked a few shifts so far, and am slowly (emphasis on slowly) getting the hang of it. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve worked with a cash register, and the whole waitressing/bartending/working in a hotel thing is entirely brand new. Yup, that’s right, I’m a waitress/bartender at an outback pub. I wonder what I would have thought if someone had told me that a year ago…
So here’s the website for the place that I work at:
It’s a small, family-run place. It’s currently the off-season, so there are only like 9 staff members here, which includes the two owners and their son – so we’re quite a small bunch! Their main season is North American summer, which is when it’s a bit cooler here, and also all of the European tourists come for their summer holidays. From what I’ve seen so far, the resort’s main source of business comes from local Alice Springs people going for weekend getaways, tour busses passing through, the local Aboriginal people needing snacks/gas and European self-drivers. From what Shelagh, one of the owners, told me, Australia’s red center is very strongly marketed in Western European countries, and it’s also very popular for Western European tourists to rent cars and drive themselves around here. I’ve heard a lot of French so far. One day I’ll work up the courage to try speaking it. So far all I’ve said is “au revoir” to someone.
This is my first time out of New South Wales, which is exciting for me. I’m in an entirely different part of the country now, about a 3 hour airplane ride away from Sydney. If you look at a map of Australia, Alice Springs is the town that’s essentially right smack in the middle. When you zoom out, you’ll see vast arrays of nothing stretching for hundreds of miles. The next closest town is Darwin, which is over 900 miles north of Alice Springs. The Northern Territory is kind of like Australia’s wild west. Sparsely inhabited, untamed desert with it’s own local rules and laws. Apparently it’s not even technically an Australian state. It operates like one, but it’s name still has the “Territory” in it because it’s still exactly that – a territory.
As I’ve already touched on, the job is basically working in the Homestead, which is where the bar, common room, reception area, souvenir shop, and formal restaurant are located. So pretty much wherever there’s a person waiting, that’s where you go. I’ve checked in a few people so far at the reception desk. It doesn’t seem too hard, I just have to get used to their systems. I’ve tackled some waitressing too. I’m a bit shit at it still (I forgot to take the menus away the other night from a giant table) but it’s certainly not rocket science, and I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it and get a bit better. I hate it when people ask me questions about the menu though. I’m like, dude I have no friggin idea. Just pick something. You’re in the middle of the damn outback, just be happy that there even IS a restaurant to feed you dinner. Bartending has been the scariest so far. I’m not exactly an alcohol connoisseur, so I feel a bit lost sometimes back there. I’ve made a couple of mixed drinks so far, but it’s mostly beer that we sell. Lucky for me the tap is currently broken, so I don’t have to worry about whether or not people mean give me a beer from the tap or from the bottle. All we got is bottles - bottles that I can’t open. Most are twist tops, but I tried on my first day to twist, and I sliced my hand up. So now I use a bottle opener for everything, I don’t care if the cap says in big, block print “Twist Me.” Heck, I think I even bled yesterday when using the stupid bottle opener!
There’s also the less glamorous cleaning aspect. We have to sweep and mop, plus wash dishes. They don’t have a dishwasher here, so all dishes need to get washed by hand. Good times! All of the glasses and silverware also need to get polished by hand after each wash, since the water here has a lot of calcium in it, so there are always water marks left after being washed. There’s also no bus boy, so we clear and clean up tables as well. We also have to make sure that the bar is always stocked too. Plus we pump gas! Yes, I am also now a gas pumper at a remote outback petrol station! Pretty cool stuff I think. It’s a long day, being on your feet non-stop. I bought some new black flats for here, only to find out once I got up here that I can just wear my damn sneakers. The uniform is basically the Glen Helen button down shirt, and then I wear jean shorts and socks and sneakers. Pretty comfy, which helps make the day less painful. Those sneakers are gonna get worn out though.
So where am I living then, you ask? Great question! The staff members are housed in what is basically a block of mobile homes. I really like the room though, I got attached to it very quickly and made it my own. It’s the first time I’ve been in one place and not living out of a bag since I left Enmore in early November. This will also be the last time I have a “home” in Australia. Once I leave here, it’ll be 4 and 1/2 months of living like a nomad again. Here’s a picture of my room:
It’s certainly not glamorous. It’s an old mobile home. But it’s all MINE. Yes, my own room! This is the first time since I left home back in June that I have my OWN room. In Enmore there was always the scary chance that they could move someone else in to the empty bed at any moment.. But my mobile home is all MINE! Plus I have my own ensuite bathroom and my own mini-fridge. It’s like a backpackers dream come true! The bed isn’t too bad either. I jazzed it up with 2 duvets, 2 pillows, and of course my Mets blanket and Marbles. I also added a Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket that I found in the laundry room cupboard as my rug. My fridge is always stocked with coke, and I even have an air conditioner! I really am quite happy with my little space. We’ve become good friends. It is dirty and buggy and all that, but I don’t care. I have my own room. With an AC. And a mini-fridge. The bugs can come hang out every once in a while if they want to, I’m ok with that.
They feed us breakfast lunch and dinner, but it’s sort of like eat this or go hungry. Breakfast is put out from 7 am – 9:30 am, lunch for us is always at noon, and dinner is always at 6. I tend to sleep through breakfast (I’ve been working late shifts this week), nibble on lunch since I don’t much care for their lunch meats, and then by 4 pm I’m starving and wolf down whatever is put in front of me at 6. I am desperate for snacks though. I’ve already begged my mother and aunt to ship over cookies and crackers and sweets. I can’t get to town because I have no car, and the snacks at the homestead are all expensive and in small bags. I like being able to snack. I anxiously await the arrival of my snack boxes. The local water here is filled with calcium and kind of has a sulfur-y stink to it. The guests have to either suck it up and drink it or buy bottled water. We are able to use collected rain water instead. It’s a tad yellow, which is a bit disconcerting at first, but it tastes pretty good.
Now the place is called the Glen Helen Resort, and while resort might be a stretch, it is a pretty nice place. The formal dining room is quite nice, and we are required to anally set it up. The hotel rooms are simple, although quite nice considering the remoteness, and they have a little swimming pool that’s kept nicely as well. There are also campsites and a backpacker bunkhouse. The homestead has a giant flat screen tv, and there’s also a piano, books, and games. Here’s the backyard of the place:
And here is the actual Glen Helen gorge, which is a 10-minute walk from the homestead:
You can swim in both, although I haven’t done so yet. Too much other stuff to do! While I’m up here, I have to plan and book both my New Zealand part 2 trip and my entire backpacking around Australia journey. I want to get those things done first, and then once that’s all settled I’ll spend my free time outside, enjoying the surroundings.
I’ve got no mobile phone reception here, but I do have the internet! Apparently it’s satellite-based, so I’ve been told it can be a tad slow. So far I have no complaints about it.
In terms of the heat, it’s really not so bad. Anyone out there who has ever been to (or lived) in Arizona during the summer months would feel right at home here. It’s hot, but it’s a dry heat. There’s no humidity, which is nice, since everything dries quickly. I never go to sleep with wet hair anymore – just go for a 5 minute walk outside and it’s bone dry again.
This past week has also been my first real experience with the Aboriginal people of Australia. You don’t really see many in Sydney, but the Northern Territory has a large population. When we first got to Alice Springs and stopped at the supermarket, we weren’t out of the car for 30 seconds before someone tried to sell us native artwork and then proceeded to beg for money when the answer was no, not interested. It’s a tough situation that they have here. “White” Australians seem to be divided into those who understand the plight of the indigenous people, who had foreigners come in and take over their world, trying to destroy their culture and force them into accepting lifestyles that made no sense to them, and those who think the Aboriginals are lazy drunks who refuse to embrace the educational system and play active, positive roles in white society. Alcohol certainly has done horrors to the population, similar to the story you see in the U.S. with the Native Americans. There are very strict alcohol laws in the Northern Territory for everyone, which are primarily aimed at curtailing Aboriginal access to alcohol. Drinking is a particularly bad problem in the rural communities, so there are actually laws in place as to which Aboriginal people can buy alcohol at pubs. If anyone other than an Aboriginal person walks in the door and asks for a beer, they get it; just as long as they have the money for it and appear to be at least in the neighborhood of being 18 years of age. If an Aboriginal walks in and asks for a beer, you have to check ID. If they are from Alice Springs (135 km from here) or Darwin, then you can serve them. If not, then no matter how old they are, the answer is no. Apparently these laws were put into place by representatives of the Aboriginal communities, so the laws are kind of self-imposed. Not that drinking isn’t a problem in Alice as well, but apparently it’s much more pronounced of a social issue outside of the town. I’m sure as I travel Australia I’ll learn more about the good side of the Aboriginal story. I got some bits and pieces from our tour guide in the Blue Mountains, who was just absolutely enamored with them. It’ll be fun to learn more about their beliefs and ways of life and how they used to do things before they got taken over. But while I’m up here I’ll have a front row seat to the opposite side. It’s sad really. They come in to the store and many times they just look a bit lost. You can see sometimes that the concept of money doesn’t really make sense to them, just by the way they haphazardly grab items and then hand me the $50 note like it’s some sort of alien object that they just need to pass on so they can take home the massive amounts of soda and ice cream. Then once I give them the change, they often are back 5 minutes later, buying more junk until all of the money is gone. It’s been an interesting anthropological experience for me thus far.
So that’s my updated story! Hopefully I’ll settle in more over the next week or so and will have the job down pat soon.
Hope you East Coasters are enjoying winter – it’s 106 degrees and sunny here J
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