That's Peachy

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 88^O. 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.