My honest experience and guide on kiwi fruit picking in Te Puke (Bay of Plenty)!
First of all, how I got the job:
After almost three weeks of travelling around the North Island I decided to take a break and earn some money. At the end of March I started looking for jobs and quickly noticed that especially kiwifruit and apple pickers are urgently needed. There was actually a shortage of workers in the Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay region and an incredible number of employers were looking for workers. These areas are actually the easiest and best to find kiwi fruit picking jobs.
That's why I didn't think long about which job I would like to do, but simply went to Mt. Maunganui and searched on backpackerboard, seasonaljobs and in various Facebook groups for job offers to pick kiwifruit.
To be honest, I didn't think it would be that easy to get a job. I filled out two application forms in the evening and received an invitation from both employers the very next morning to come to the office to discuss everything else with them. All right. Easy. So on the same day I went to the office of one employer and signed my contract there.
Kiwi picking is weather dependent and the fruit is certainly not picked when it is raining, and especially in the beginning of the season the fruits of each orchard have to undergo a quality check first to see if they are ready for picking - it took a week before I worked for the first time.
General information about kiwifruit picking:
The first days the team got paid at hourly wage. But as soon as we got faster and reached the right speed in picking, payment was made according to contract (i.e. per bin).
We got paid 18$ incl. holiday pay for green kiwifruit and for golden ones a little more because they have to be picked differently in comparison (but in the end it balances out so that you actually earn the same, no matter what you pick). There were no upper limits and we were paid as a team, which means that the number of bins picked per day was divided by the number of team members.
The first day:
In the beginning we were explained how picking works in general and what we have to pay attention to. There was also a short safety briefing.
I recommend that you wear comfortable clothes, especially good shoes as you are on your feet all day long. A cap is also not bad, as well as sunglasses (depending on the day), or transparent protection glasses, because unfortunately some annoying dust gets into your eyes all the time.
I found picking in general quite exhausting, especially towards the end of the day. You get a basket (bag) which you carry in front over your shoulders above your belly while you pick the kiwis. You often have to bend down quite stupidly to get to the kiwis and carry the weight of the picked fruit with you until you can empty the basket (that can be a good 20kg).
At the end of the first working day I was pretty tired and sweaty. After a short time my shoulders felt a little tense. But we have already been warned that the first days or even weeks can be extremely exhausting and that we have to struggle with back pain until we get used to (real) picking. To be honest I always found it exhausting, depending on the day and the orchard sometimes more, sometimes less.
Conclusion:
For the backpackers who urgently need a lot of money, kiwi picking is only conditionally recommendable. It always depends on the annual season.
We first had to be flexible every day for almost three weeks and waited for work. In the beginning we only worked three days a week. At first we didn’t earn enough money to save, because it was only enough for food and accommodation. But as soon as the picking really started, you can earn good money with it, but it still remains a physically strenuous job and there are other jobs where you can earn just as much while you can do an easier job.
All in all, I still found the experience on the Kiwi orchard great. It has been an extreme contrast to my previous work experience (office) and I guess you - at least once - have to pick kiwifruit when you're in New Zealand. And if you want to extend your visa, you don't have much choice but have to do such farmwork.
Read More: Working In A Kiwifruit Packhouse
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xx
Nina