Finally Instagram | Lily Bulbs Factory | Weather better than in summer!?

https://www.instagram.com/workandtravelnewzealand/

Yes, you're seeing it right. I've been convinced to create an Instagram account. So feel free to follow me there to stay up-to-date.

Advantage: You'll always be in the know and won't have to wait for new blog posts. It's also easier for me to upload pictures there. It takes hours on this website, which is why there are only a few.

Disadvantage: The pictures there are smaller than here, but I think you can still see enough.

Now, on to another point. Svenja and I have been working at the Lily Bulbs Factory for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to take photos. But I'll keep trying. There are just too many supervisors hanging around, watching your every move - like lepers.

The work there is acceptable. Not at all what we expected, but still manageable. There are 4 stations where Svenja, two French people (also a couple, consisting of a female and a male), and I work.

At the first station, there's always a man in front of a conveyor belt. From a pallet, which has 45 crates filled with 200-300 Lily Bulbs each, one is always taken out and emptied onto the conveyor belt. There, they are sprayed with chemicals for transportation every 15 seconds.

At the second station, there's always a woman. She takes the emptied crates and lines them with a plastic bag. Then she pushes them to Station 3.

At this station, the sprayed Lily Bulbs arrive and are mechanically covered with soil, then they fall into the crate lined with a bag. The man there must make sure that there are bulbs everywhere. In every corner and every gap, otherwise the crates will be too full and cannot be closed. Once the crate is full, it is pushed to Station 4.

At the fourth station, there's a woman again who checks if all the bulbs are covered with soil and then folds the bag. Then a cardboard lid is placed on top and the crate is taken to another station on a conveyor belt. However, that's where our work ends. Another person simply places the finished crate on a pallet for transportation. That's it. Monotonous, simple but tiring. You're always in a bent position and constantly working. Secretly, you always hope that the machine will have an error so you can relax for 2 minutes. But at least time goes by quickly. The same gender switches with the stations daily, so you don't have to do the exact same thing every day. Unfortunately, despite being told something different, it's work that depends on the weather. If it's too wet, the bulbs can't be harvested and we won't have any to pack and consequently no work.

Fortunately, the weather here has been consistently good so far, even better than on the North Island. Lots of sun in autumn. It's bearable.

https://www.instagram.com/workandtravelnewzealand/