mrsjono

Third job in New Zealand was finally indoors in an apple packhouse along Ching Road in Upper Moutere, about 10-15mins drive from Motueka. We were damn lucky to get in considering it was nearing the end of the season. One was suddenly quite sick and the other was skipping work too frequently they decided to replace him. The roles we filled were part of the packing process; we didn't do the actual packing into boxes. I was a grader and he was a stacker. 

Inwood Orchards is a small family business run by Mark and Heather. Good employers who pay workers on time and even offered to be referees for our next job after we left.


Me the lazy grader with endless supply of apples hee


The line starts moving at 8am sharp with apples rolling onto the grading table. Four graders look out for any bruises, black spots, sunburns, finger nail cuts - these are discarded down the chute. At the same time, graders also remove any leaves from the stem. I was so busy rejecting defects and throwing out the leaves all at the same time the Thai graders behind me said the leaves hit their faces lol.


Rotten ones are consolidated separately in buckets that go into the juice bin


Still dare to drink apple juice?


The good ones bob down the line for packaging


The machine churns out apples continuously, packers have to be quick or they'll overflow. Responsible packers also take one last look for any defects the graders have missed earlier.


Notice how they are arranged on their sides


Packers help out any tables that are about to overflow


Besides eating apple during smoko we occasionally get these delicious treats made by the packers for all to share~


The small pantry where we had our breaks. Tea, coffee and milk are provided by the packhouse. According to the owners, the good apples are exported overseas and rejected ones are sold in local supermarkets.


Rainbow over orchard


Two fit boys stack trays weighing 15-25kg each


to as high as 25 trays


While he hated this physically demanding job, the lifting did him good as it helped him to achieve a flat tummy and bigger biceps haha.


Work ends on time at 4.30pm. Most workers stay in sleepouts located on or near the orchard. The rent is slightly cheaper (about $95 pw or less) compared to living in town not a bad idea for workers with their own transport. Heard it can get quite cold at night though.


The whole packhouse crew on the last day of work