Franz Josef: the End

I The last few days of Franz Josef were great fun, as usual. We worked less and less every day (usually the staff member we were with would kindly tell us to run home and "hide" so we wouldn't be asked to do extra work). Besides getting caught in the act one time, we managed to get by and get the best out of our hot days in the rainforest.

We ate our free dinners, drank our free beers, and hoarded free stuff left in people's rooms. We complained about our smelly roommates (two teenage boys from Germany, to whom I never revealed that I understand German), and tried to get the most out of our time in Franz Josef by getting a free helicopter ride.

You read that correctly: we got a free helicopter ride!


The thing is, Franz Josef is an exceptionally tiny town, with the majority of its population made up of seasonal workers. The workers have a nice little community, so certain agreements have formed between them. One of them is that the helicopter pilots will take us on their helicopter ride to the glaciers for free--as long as we give them a "gift" of a pack of beer afterwards. Apparently they consume a lot of it, which I tried not to think about, as my life was dependent upon one of those pilots...

Anyway, we went into town and asked around until we found a company with a couple free spots open. And then, just like that, I was taken on a ride in a helicopter.

Franz Josef Glacier from above

Fox Glacier, where we landed. Another helicopter group.

When we got back into the helicopter to head back home, I got to sit in the front right next to the pilot. He took one look at my feet and said, "How cold are your feet?" I could only grin and say, "They feel great!" I was euphoric about the whole experience.

The wee town of Franz Josef.

Mariah was up next, right after we landed. I had a huge grin on my face from the experience, and she had one because of excited anticipation.

It was a successful day's work, that's for sure. We gratefully paid in beer afterwards and then recounted the experience with one another, still in shock that we had just taken a "free" helicopter ride.

Yes, it's safe to say that we were loving Franz Josef. Unfortunately it had to come to an end, however, as January 31st (Saturday) was the day we had to leave. We celebrated with Mike and Chris and some others in the bar by spending all of our leftover drink vouchers, then went on our way the following afternoon. It was time to hitchhike once again.