Intern Experience
Working in Paradise!
My home country is Germany and I came to New Zealand to study and to do an internship in tourism. The latter took place in Havelock. On the map, it’s a small town at the northern tip of the South Island. In my memory, it’s a dreamy place with breathtaking scenery, many magic places to discover and many fun outdoor activities to experience!
The Blue Moon Lodge was my home and workplace for 21 weeks. My main responsibilities were reception and housekeeping duties. That included, e.g., managing bookings, being the contact person for guests, managing payments and making sure the lodge is always in good shape. Apart from that, I engaged in the kayaking operation including gear preparation, driving and marketing activities such as social media photo postings. There were always jobs to do. Shane & Asha gave me a lot of freedom and trust regarding time and task management. That allowed flexible working, independent decision-making and creative problem-solving.
I enjoyed living in the lodge in terms of meeting new people from all over the world, eating fresh veg from the garden and sunbathing on the veranda with the best view. In my free time, I took one of the bikes to ride to the lookout nearby, went for a bush walk along the Pelorus River or watched glow worms in the dark near the local waterfall. I went paragliding, horse riding and kayaking! Nelson, Blenheim and Picton are the bigger towns that I went to for shopping etc. It is truly a beautiful spot on earth. See for yourself!
An amazing Kiwi experience
I came all the way to New Zealand from The Netherlands to do the internship at Pelorus Eco Adventures. I study at university in Amsterdam and really wanted to experience working and living abroad. Beforehand, I just kinda checked out where Havelock was in New Zealand and what there was to do around there. But it really exceeded all my expectations. The small town is cozy and breathtaking at the same time. There are amazing people all over, the scenery is beautiful and anything is possible!
Living in the lodge was quite cool, since I met people from all over the world that will be friends for a lifetime. The veranda has an amazing view en the town of Havelock is close to a few cities and lots of green. The Pelorus River is both beautiful and fun. Once, I went for a walk to an old goldmine, which turned into a true hike, with rivers and waterfalls to cross. An awesome adventure and just a few minutes away from my workplace! (We never found the goldmine btw.. haha ) Other highlights were horse riding in the bush, jumping out of a plane during my skydive and shooting some guns NZ style.
My work was quite simple for Dutch standards of university; it consisted mainly of managing the lodge, making bookings, managing reception, housekeeping and preparing and driving the kayak-trips (that was so much fun!). Apart from the ‘usual’ work, it is mandatory for a Dutch uni student to do a large, assignment for the company. Shane & Asha wanted me to create a marketing plan to attract a new target group for the kayaking trips, and this is what I spent a lot of time on. Shane & Asha are true Kiwi’s and give a lot of freedom and trust to their employees, which is great!
Because of this, flexible working is possible and you can make independent decisions.
Overall, NZ is a magical and amazing place where you will find so much more then you ever thought
to look for!
