We are working on an orchard again, but it’s a completely
different experience compared to the kiwi orchard. We are picking /eating stone
fruits such as apricots, peaches, and nectarines. The soft ripe fruit will get
damaged in the packing process so we are told to either eat it or toss it on
the ground. It’s a shame tossing a perfectly ripe apricot or nectarine on the
ground, but you can only eat so much. We’ve never eaten so much fruit and we
are pretty sure we’ll never eat fruit this good again. We strap baskets on,
climb up ladders, and pick the fruits off the tree. The baskets get rather
heavy when they are full, between 20-30 lbs, and they seem to get heavier as
the day goes on. It gets pretty draining climbing the ladders and balancing on
them with all the extra weight. Although we are exhausted by the end of the
day, we are enjoying the work. We start at 7:30 and finish around 5 or 5:30.
Besides lunchtime, we get 2 smoko (coffee) breaks; 15 min breaks where they
provide us with tea or juice and a sweet snack.
We are living in the staff quarters, which is a shack that’s
on the property. There is another older couple from the North Island staying at
the shack too; John and Av. They are great company and we are all getting along
very well. The shack is pretty basic; kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. There
isn’t a comfy lounge area, but it’s nice to have the amenities and have a break
from the van.
The first week we put in about 59 hrs. It was an extremely
hot and sunny week. The average high temp for the week was approximately 88O.
The trees did provide a little shade, but half the time we are above the canopy
and are getting blasted by the sun. Fortunately, there’s a lake down the road
and we’ve gone swimming several times after work. After the brutally long hot
week, the owners provided us all with cold beers and pizza. It’s the little
things like that and the smoko treats that really make us feel welcome and
appreciated. We are extremely happy and grateful to be working here and will
miss the friends that we’ve made since we’ve been here.
The owner’s brother, Dave, is a supervisor on the orchard
and he took me mountain biking the other day. It was heaps of fun, but
extremely tiring. It’s been a few months for me but Dave goes regularly. The
trail winded up and down the river that lead to Lake Wanaka. It had some
technical climbs, fast descents, and great views. It was great being able to
bike with him and we plan on doing it a couple more times before we are done
here.
I’ll be picking fruit for the duration of our stay here, but
Michelle is now done picking fruit and has started work in the packing shed.
There she’ll be sorting and packaging fruit for distribution. She’ll work in
the packing shed for a couple weeks before she begins the baby-sitting. She’ll
have her hands full. The two girls are 4 and 6, and the boy is 2. We aren’t
exactly sure how long we’ll be here, but it should last us through February and
possibly a week or so into March. This works out perfect because Michelle’s
friend from work, Jessica, and her husband Scott are coming to visit at the end
of March. They will be here for two weeks and we get to go on another fun
filled, action packed 2 week adventure. Who knows what’s in store; another 3
day hike? Bungy jumping? Luging? Fishing? We are really excited to see them and
are looking forward to it.
