- Chapter 11

After a long absence, you would think we have more to report. But we have to disappoint you, as we have been working since the beginning of January. Where? In a small town called Roxburgh, with less than 600 inhabitants. The opportunities for activities are limited. Not to mention our free time.

To improve the travel fund in the new year, we are working at a packhouse. Since it is currently cherry and apricot season in New Zealand, our task mainly involves sorting and packing the harvested fruits.

We started with the “Cherry Vision 3.0”. At this machine, the collected cherry buckets are dumped into a water basin at the beginning. From there, the cherries run over a roller and onto a conveyor belt, where employees sort out as many bad fruits as possible. Then, the machine distributes the cherries by size onto more conveyor belts, with one person standing at each belt. This is where we come in. Our task is to examine each cherry if possible and decide whether it goes to the global market, local market, or waste belt. We also have to remove all leaves and separate twin cherries. How much we have to do at this belt mainly depends on the size we are responsible for.

The fruits that go to the global market continue into the boxes where they are packed. There are 5kg and 2kg boxes. When this weight is reached, a green light turns on, the belt stops, and the box is replaced. Then, the bag is sealed and the lid is put on top. The finished box goes into the refrigeration room, where it is stored until it is shipped.

For a change, we sometimes switch tasks among ourselves. Also, the boxes have to be prepared again whenever the opportunity arises.

Sometimes, we also help with packing apricots. Here, we sort out those with defects or smaller holes. The ones without flaws go into a box, which is pushed onto a conveyor belt once it is full. The ones with minor imperfections, like the cherries, are checked for quality for the local market. They are also packed in boxes and then on pallets.

When we have a day off, it is used for the weekly shopping or doing laundry. Usually, work takes up so much time that during the week, there is only enough time for cooking and showering. Then, we fall tired into bed before it starts again the next day.

We are already two thirds of the way, which is why we are positive. Because once we are done there, we can fully devote ourselves to traveling again. We are eagerly looking forward to that. The next trip is already planned, but more about that in our next article!