Our working holiday experience in New Zealand has taken us to some incredible locations with backpackers’ jobs.
We have written about all our travellers’ jobs in New Zealand; to read about our other experiences, check out the following links:
- Furneaux Lodge, Marlborough Sounds
- Lake Ohau Lodge,
- The Vulcan Hotel, Saint Bathans
In these articles we give an overview of our time living and working in these remote places and how we found it. We cover important aspects like what the living situation was life, whether we managed to save money in this location or not and what the work-life balance was like.
In this article, we dive into living in Fox Glacier, the isolated, rugged and beautiful West Coast.
How Did We Find This Job?
We found the job on the Backpacker Board. This website is so helpful as you can filter for what type of job you’d like, where you’d like it etc etc. It is specifically designed for those coming to New Zealand looking for work, but obviously you can also use it if you are a New Zealander.
It has some really useful pieces of information on there, as well as listings for hotels and activities.
Living & Working in Fox Glacier
Fox Glacier Township is an epic spot to hunker down for a few weeks or months as a backpackers. We lived right next to the famous Fox Glacier and 10km from the picturesque Lake Matherson and managed to squeeze in a few fun hikes while we were there.
We moved from Christchurch in November 2023 to Fox Glacier, where we spent until mid-January working here.
We spent a relatively short amount of time in Fox Glacier compared to other working destinations.
There were a few reasons for this.
Having a car is hugely beneficial if you are looking at living and working in Fox Glacier as you are pretty cut off from everything on the West Coast. We struggled with food shopping (there were only two small shops in Fox Glacier) and getting out and about on our days off was tough as, aside from a few short walks in the town, everything else is 10km+ away.
We struggled with some of the… What’s the best way to out this… Minds sets? Ideologies? of some of the more permanent west coast residents. We do not want to slander, but the west coast is a good few years behind the rest of New Zealand in terms of progressive thinking, and we felt that we didn’t fit in.
If you want to know more, it’s probably best to message us on Instagram!
MORE ON FOX GLACIER:
On the surface, we had a surprisingly nice accommodation in Fox Glacier- which I do think is rare for back packers. The house we lived in was situated right next to where we worked, but this will of course be dependent on your employer has to offer.
The weather had a huge impact on our living situation. When people say it rains in Fox Glacier… They f*cking mean it!
It got so bad that after a serious storm, in one corner of our bedroom the floor and carpet started to become soggy and damp, which wasn’t ideal. This did lead to us discovering black mould in our wardrobe that had been painted over, which is far from ideal. Definitely give you room a good check when you move in!
Ability to Save Money
A huge point of these jobs is to save as much money as you can in a short space of time to fund your onward travels. If you read our Furneaux Lodge Experience, you’ll know that we saved a heap of money there.
Fox Glacier was similar, but not quite as good. The hours available are huge (during peak season) and the rent we paid was minimal which are great benefits. Our contract said our hours would be between 30-60 which is great! And we were on experienced Duty Manager wages over here, so $27.50 (always ask for a minimum of $26.50 as a Duty Manager; if you’re good at your job, your employer will pay). Expect $24-25 an hour as a non-duty manager, with hospitality experience.
However, we found the cost of living to be relatively high as there was only one, small grocery store. Of course, you could drive to Franz Josef if you had a car but then you need to factor in fuel costs which, on the West Coast, were high.
Despite this, we still managed to save about $5k over the 6 week period that we were there, which included a few public holidays (which are time and a half plus a day in lieu), and then holiday pay upon leaving.
Work-Life Balance
Another important aspect of a backpacker’s job is the work-life balance. As much as you want to be earning and saving money, getting out to explore is also important.
In regard to how much we were working compared to our down time, living next door to work and having all of our amenities on our doorstep saves a tonne of time. So the work-life balance was good, even when working 50 hours a week.
In terms of travel, we were only in Fox Glacier for 6 weeks, but we made the most of them- well, as much as we could.
We did not have our own car at this point which made travel extremely tricky. Even ‘travel’ within the town was tough, as the lookout point to see the glacier was 10km away! I like running, but not a 20km round trip just to get out of town…
Moral of the story: have a car if you want to live and work in Fox Glacier.
There was a lot of social drinking that happened, as well as the weekly game of touch rugby. We like a drink, but when it was one of the only things to do while being social it became a bit dull… Especially when we didn’t feel like we fitted in with the locals! Luckily, some amazing new colleagues started working with us which gave us some fun people to hang out with.
Best Time of Year to Live and Work in Fox Glacier
Due to the nature of the seasonal demand of Fox Glacier (and much of the West Coast), we recommend the summer months, the end of spring and the start of autumn. So, from October through to April. This is true for a lot of places in a highly tourist focussed country like New Zealand, where securing work as a traveller can be tricky during the winter months regardless of location.
We visited Fox Glacier for the first time in April 2023 on a road trip and it was so quiet. As a traveller looking to live here, you want a bit more life, excitement and people to fuel your journey! Not to mention, you’ll have far more hours to work in the busy periods.
For more New Zealand based travel tips, things to do and our hacks to earn more money while on your working holiday visa, visit our blog!
Our Working Holiday Experience Rating
We are extremely glad that we did this chapter of our working holiday experience; it got us out of Christchurch where we felt we were stagnating and we got to see an incredible part of New Zealand.
However, we did not enjoy all of our time here, despite having some fun memories. Hence why we only lasted 6 weeks!
Did we miss anything that you’d like answered about living and working in Fox Glacier?
Let us know by messaging us on Instagram or leaving a comment on this article. These articles are for you, so we will update them if we can answer your questions!
