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Published: August 14th 2006
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Kiwi 360
Famous in New Zealand and a place for larking we felt Hmm, sorry for the lack of a good joke around the word kiwi to start the blog. If you have any better please post a comment, surely there must be something amoungst the comedy genius of you all. Why we need one will become aparent...
After Claires birthday on the last blog things have been happening jolly fast and should lead to a new and exciting chapter in the travels of Marc and Claire. We first returned to Wellinton for a couple of days to sort out our piles of stuff and then headed out in trusty old Frank for adventures new. We made a good start shooting down the highway but quickly realised a lack of any coordinated plan meant we neded more time. Back to Levin and the beachhouse it was then. So we spent a further 3 days sitting in front of log fires, doing jigsaw puzzles and recharging our already reasonably well recharged batteries. Eventually plans come to mind. After a vist to the visitors centre i picked up an advert about the oppotunity to pack Kiwi fruit in the Bay Of Plenty, so after a few phone calls to the packing house and nearby accomodation
we set off.m It was a long drive to get there not aided but the bizarre signposting of NZ which ment we had to take a 100km detour around a landslide that had been signed as a road which was open. Unfazed we sped along Route 1 Northwards and arrived in Te Puke (Kiwi capital of the world) on August 10th. We had arranged to start work the next day and so after checking into the Hairy Berry backpacker house, next morning we trudged off to a day of hard labour. Yes Marc and Claire doing hard labour. The day at work is best described from my journal entry...
Another day, another $10.50/hr in a Kiwi factory. But that's not really just it at all. Today certainly marks the day I had the oddest, mosr repetitive and possibly awful job to date. After a lonf unsleep filled night i was awakened at 6.45 to the sound of excited chattering Brazillian voices and a man trying to thrust a blanket on the 'poor cold looking english fellow'..i was boiling hot. After rising and a hastily made egg sandwhich we sped off to the 'Eastpak' Kiwi repacking factory. At 8am we
An upside down Claire
Possibly if my physics is correct she should therefore look the right way up for you in the uk were sitting in the employment office with employment man Lance, giving us the low down on the art of repacking Kiwis. Eastpak is the largest facility of this type in New Zealand, and of the thousands that are picked in the high season during Feb to May many weren't neede immeadiately and were hence vacume stored ('put to sleep' said Lance in conspiritorial fashion) and now in August when international markets require Kiwis, they are brought back to life and every single one individually examined by a team of 500 workers (of which we were 2). Magic. It turns out that in fact a great many of them are not suitabgle for shipping and so heartbreakingly for those that like Kiwi fruit almost 3/4 of the Kiwis which were of perfect ripeness to eat were thrown away into the bin. There would be some lucky pigs in the surrounding feild one co-worker told us. The days at the factory are long - very long. 12 hours standing at a table looking at Kiwis and constantly being told you need to be faster is pretty bad. This though somehow is what makes it do-able. Everyone in there knows the score and
Claire leaving on the bus to raglan
not my favourite sight ever but adventures anew to follow in an environment where you can laugh or cry the workforce are remarkably upbeat about the whole affiar. It was also great for meeting people of different nationalities, and almost every table of repackers was like a UN summit, although with a majority of Brazillians for some reason. Finally at 8pm it was time to go home and well earned sleep beofre starting the whole thing again tommorow. ho hum.
And so thats what we did on Friday and Saturday. By Sunday Claire had decided this wasn't for her and decided to head for Raglan on the opposite coast and then Auckland. This was in preparation for her flight. Ah yes, thats the big news. Marc and Claire are soloing. de daa. After a long think about what to do Claire plumbed on going to South America to learn Spannish. I think she may have wanted to suppirse you all of this, but as i've just siad a teary goodbye to her at a bus station near Te Puke, i'm afarid i can't keep in in. There is certainly no bad feelings about not travelling together and i thnk Claire just wants to do something on her own before getting back. For my part i had no plan whatsoever and have therefore decided to stay in Te Ouke for a while and hope that staring at Kiwis all day will spark me into some kind of action and take my mind off being without my constant companion of 9 months. I'm not sure how many people can say they've spent literally most of the day, everyday for that long. But i'm very glad that we did and it will be mighty strange not having Claire around. I'm going to miss you like a mad lost dog Claire. It's been emotional, ace and i'll see you soon. I cant imagine not having you around to help me through everyday and cheer me up if i'm down, but hey. Twill be a hell of a prty when we meet up again. Take care captain.
love
marc
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
p.s. oh, the only game we could think of playing at the packing tables was - find a joke to do with the word Kiwi. We were pretty useless but were under stress
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claireandmarc
over the hills & far away
Bonjour le marc!
Am safe and sound here in raglan, all is good, will post a blog as soon as can to tell all, you know the score with timed internet! hope the kiwis are not giving you too much trouble!! eek no time....... love claire xxx