What I've been up too and a little bit about migrant work.

The past two weeks I've been camping in the itty bitty town of Kerikeri, nothing but a main street and farms for miles. It's beautiful rolling hills with cows, sheep, and orchards. I've just recently learned that there are 12.6 sheep for every one New Zealander...talk about remote. Camping has been great the little ten dollar pawn shop tent has held up wonderfully. The job finally started on Saturday the 15th. Picking kiwi flowers, from what I've read once we've picked the flowers they're processed and the pollen collected. Then the pollen is blown throughout the orchard to promote better fruit instead of letting the bees do it.

My day starts at 5:30 am up and shower and breakfast (mmm porridge and coffee). It is a 15 minute drive through the country to the orchard. The first day there were ten (from an original 50) after that day I was the only one who went back. There were too many people and not enough flowers. The past few days have been better than that first. You get used to looking up all day, jumping for flowers you can't reach, and having sneezing fits from the pollen. Lately I've been working seven hours a day and averaging 6 buckets a day (2 Kilograms each) You get 4.65 per kilo gram. So essentially I make about 50+ a day...

What I love about the orchard though is being outdoors all day, around trees and flowers. The morning sunlight coming through the vine leaves lighting up freshly opened fragrant kiwi flowers with the combination of good music makes the hours pass quickly. There are so many different types of people. THe most interesting are probably they french hippies. They sleep in the orchard, the guy doesn't own shoes, and they pass the day singing Bob Marley with thick french accents. The women in charge is Maori and her family and friends help with the harvest. Some of the guys can bring in 33 kilos a day! A lot of the time the older guys just do it to help out and give there flowers away to anyone who happens to pass them at the right time.

Today was rainy though, seven hours in the rain. Well not in the rain, under trees tugging on branches that drench you. Soaked to the bone by the end of the day. Only three backpackers and Judy's (lady in charge) stuck it out. She made us sandwiches and coffee for our trouble.

Still working out where to head next, what type of job, where to stay. I guess we'll see what turns up in the next week.