July 7th: Wine Tasting at Blenheim

One of the wish list in NZ was to have chance work in the winery. But no luck.

I applied a few posts, from laboratory technician to a few other post but no reply. Until recently, I found a Mandarin Speaking Wine Attendant job, but still no luck, it needs people from Aug to next year Feb as their peak season to the tourists come during Spring and Summer.

So, I end up come to Nelson after the kiwi fruit season, as the Hoki Fish season will be just fit my working visa well. The journey to Nelson was a bit of obstacles: our flight got cancelled in Apr, our ferry also got reschedule due to the weather. It make me really feels that I should not come.

But we finally made it, took the ferry at midnight and managed to attend the interview a Sealord, and got offer a job as a Quality Controller.

Huei suggested that we should visit Blenheim for the wine tasting tour before we start working, else we will not have any time to visit during the weekdays. So we made it, the Fri before we started working, after I done my work exchange.

There is a wine trail map that you can grab one at the I-sites and get the relevant information.

We went to only four places for the wine tasting, and my face has turned red after the second one. So we went to stop for lunch for the famous pies.

Lawson Dry Hill -> Wither Hills -> The Burleigh (Pies) ->Villa Maria -> Framingham -> Chocolate Factory

 

Each one we try about four types of wine: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grit, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

 

At there, learn a bit about NZ wine and history, and some science about wine: higher alcohol, less sweetness; higher acidity, drier and strong after taste.

I didn't buy any of them during the tour but now I have one bottle of Villa Maria's Sauvignon Blanc at home as it felts warmer after drinking, especially the weather is too cold this few days.

 

Forget to take photo for the Lawson, the wine is really drier compared to the latter one we tired.

 

2nd Stop: Wither Hill, the only one that we paid $5 for the wine tasting session

 

The Burleigh:

 

 

Villa Maria: At Villa Maria, they introduce us a dessert wine, sweetness is 20 times than the normal wine and the alcohol content is slightly lower, called the Noble Riesling.

 

Framingham:

At night, we met up with Echo for dinner before depart back to Nelson. And from talking to the wine attendant at Villa Maria, I realised the reason why I don't get any response from the job application.

One common question asked during the application:
Do you drink? If you answer NO, means they will not look further at your application. XD

 

 

 

Traveling In the North Island: Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Auckland

I am not the type of person who really plan for a trip, I came here without really plan on where to go. So basically, I travel either due to there is work, or to vist a friend of mine, or there is someone else plan and I join in.

I spend 4 months in the north island for the kiwi fruits, staying at the Bay of Plenty. I did not buy a car yet until end of March. So, my life was taking my sweet time watcing Youtubes and get sme chance to learn cooking simple dishes.

It was my new housemate, Huei and Nisha bring me to Mt. Manganui and Papamoa Beach, nd some places around here.

Mt Manganui

 

Papamoa Beach

Maketu Beach for pipi

 

 

 

 

McLarren Falls

I haven't really visited Auckland but went there 3 times between these month:

1. While waiting for the work to start, I travel to Auckland to meet up with Daniela and stay at her place. She is my ex colleague from Chile. She has been a good host and bring me around.

I stopped by at Rotorua and walk in the city, thought to visit the museum but it was closed due to the earthquake last year.

I thought it shall be a longer holiday so I have booked my trip to Wellington, but I have cancelled the plan after visit Daniela after receive some calls for interview back at Te Puke.

2. Then, after I finished the kiwi berries and wait for kiwi fruits, Debera has come back to her home. I took bus to visit her in Auckland. It was a few days of raining day so I just wet and visit my lovely buddy at her house. Meet her parents, ate the famous pies, and not forget to play Catan at her house. Finally see her with her piano and also drum set.

Lastly, finally the weather got better, she brought me to jogging, There is when you realized your stamina all gone. XD

3. Our flight to Nelson for interview was cancelled, so we end up went for a day trip in Auckland and visited the One Tree Hill.

 

Apr to Jun 2017 Kiwi Fruit

I have been a bit lazy to open up this blog and update.

I have to admit that I migh have fall into the tricks that other people might also fall into when come to NZ for working holiday, whether we came here for a holiday or for working. Most of us we cannot really have the opportuniy of working our profession due to the visa restriction. This make me feels really lucky to get the Quality Control job in the cherry packhouse when I first come in.

After that I come back to north island to try catch the opportunity to work for the QC for kiwi fruit main season. It was out of my expectations though, I have tried walk in to the kiwi fruit pack house and trying to ge the job but the QC job so call needed a PR status and also two yrs of working experience.

Suddenly, my educational background and working experience all become invisible and I have to fight to get a space like others. Fair and not fair, there are of course some other people I met here have a higher qualification than me and also doing similar job. We are all become the "cheap labour" getting the minimum wages.

I never thought kiwi fruits were actually native from China. The green kiwi fruit was from China if you check from the Wikipedia. Then there are some research in NZ to produce golden kiwi fruit which is sweeter, I would need more time to dig the information about the gold kiwi though, whether it is a native plant or how is it being transform. I do hope it is not another story like the corn.

Mar 2017 Kiwi Berries Grading

Mar, I have got my second job as a grader in a pack house and coolstores, named Seeka.

I have been travel from the south island, come back to north island, here in Te Puke, I get to know a few new fruits only when I am in New Zealand: Kiwi Berries, Feijoa and Horned Melon.

Let's talk about Kiwi Berries.

I was lucky to get the job before Kiwi fruit main season thanks to this fruit.

I have faith with it, when I first hear it was at the bus stop at Cromwell, a Malaysian girl told me about her friend in Te Puke, talked about kiwi berries season will be starting soon. Then, when I came to here, my housemates mentioned it again and we asked about the job availability when we submitted form for Seeka.

There was a fierce Kiwi on the desk, but soon after introduced, she has become very helpful and nice to us. Due to day shift have been filled up, we accepted the offer to work night shift. There goes my healthy habits of sleeping before 12 am since 2013.

Not much people know about kiwi berries, I thought it was a new species of kiwi developed in this kiwi land. But Wikipedia results show that it is native to Japan, Korea, Northern China and Russia.
Source: http://www.5aday.co.nz/facts-and-tips/fruit-vegetable-info/kiwiberries.aspx

Well, it maybe similar to kiwi fruits, which the seeds were brought from Northern China. Source: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kiwifruit/page-2

in short and brief description on its appearance: it look like berries, but inside look like kiwi. You can eat it like a berry, with the skin.

it is quite an expensive fruit to me, picture above is about a box of it, price at NZD$3.99.

It was a short season, starting at early Mar and last about a month.

The process of packing kiwi berries is similar to the cherry pack house that I have work before, but cherry pack house I worked before is using more machine sorting and grading:

1. Fresh fruits will be kept in the cool room upon arrival at the pack house
2. Washing with clear water to remove the soil and dusts
3. Sorting according to size of the fruits: here we have got XL and normal size
4. Grading by human: surface blemishes will be taken out to the local line, if there is too much blemishes, or if any sooty mould/ soft fruit/ miss-shaped, then it will be into the dustbin
5. Weighing to enter a container: it was about 140 g per box which is ~ 10 fruits
6. Packing and Labelling before entering a box

My job as a grader is pretty simple and boring, what make it fun, is the people that I met in the pack house,
Nishi and Jessie, my current and ex housemates, that we will be playing phones together during smoko.
Bella, a local Māori who stands next to me when doing grading, sharing a lot to me, as a Māori, as a mother and as a citizen, she travel almost 2 hours to work on a daily basis during the main season.
Naomi, our line manager for the kiwi berries night shift.
Audrey, a Malaysian, NZ PR that came to NZ about 15- 20 years.
Chloe and Felix, Malaysian WHers, who drives Nisha and myself to work.
Anita, Puva and etc local Māori that are mostly nice and friendly.

They make me decided to stay in this pack house for the main season and working night shift. But only left me alone as the others decided to go for morning shifts.

Well, let the story continues with one people working later.






 

06-09 Feb 2017: Wanaka

Wanaka is one small town near to Cromwell, approximately 45 minutes drive to the north in the south island.

Thanks to friends here, I get to visit there a few times: hiking at Roys Peak, admiring the Wanaka Lone Tree, visiting Cardrona Bra Fence, hiking at Rob Roy and revisit again the lonely tree and bra fence again.

Roys Peak, Wanaka

 

It should be a total of 6 hours hiking, but I did not managed to reach to the top,

party due to lack of training, another part thanks to my one and only sports shoes.

Photo credit to Ally,

1323 the checkpoint I decided to stop my journey as it become more and more steep,

Another one to showing that two people missing on their returned journey back to the same spot.

 

Wanaka Lone Tree

First visit on 07 Feb 2017

Second visit on 09 Feb 2017,

a bird is resting on the tree,

so the lone tree is not so lonely that day.

 

Cardrona Bra Fence

An awareness for breast cancer campaign

 

 

 

 

An unexpected journey, so I did not wear a sexy bra,

Well, since this is one encouraging for healthiness,

I too should be joining part of it,

Sports bra will do to show my support.

(ONLY for photo purpose.

Did not leave it there. =P)

09 Feb 2017, during the second visit,

someone has put up the bra on the model.

NZ First Job: Quality Control in NZCP

I was really very lucky that I get a job offer before I come to New Zealand. It is a Quality Control job for Cherry Packhouse.

I was just trying out my luck looking for job at Trade Me before I ended my job in Malaysia as from blog post the cherry job is the most popular ones among the backpackers. Another lucky part was that I managed to find out my future work colleague before I come to New Zealand. Lastly, one Malaysian girl was asking if we can travel together to Cromwell from Auckland.

Basically I have got my first month job offer, accommodation and people covered before I left Malaysia. It makes less worries for me before I fly only that I was in a rush planning for the journey- from Johor Bahru to Melaka to KLIA to Auckland to Cromwell. Until I almost have to sleep out at night on the New Year Day at Queenstown.

Staying in the cherry orchard accommodation is another new experience, I have the housemates from different countries: France, Brazil, Botswana, Uruguay, USA and New Zealand. Only one who can speaks Chinese to me - the one from Malaysia too.

Soon after I reach, my roommate, Supnet, offer me a ride to New World to buy our food supply. Someone warned me again and again to get ready food for a month as the peak season coming real soon. Well, I have no idea how much is it for a month, so I can only estimate for a week or two.

Rest for another day (I was really just sleep, eat and sleep since I reach New Zealand), and started working after the New Year holidays.

Reporting to work the first day, we started at 8 a.m. for QC trainings. I was the last QC who join the team. Everything was so blur and a mess for me. It was a long day, started at 8 am and ended at 10pm.

Cherries is really a very sensitive princess. Because of "her", we need to stay in a cold temperature.

Our QC job is basically check the inwards quality and final products, and to make sure they are comply MPI requirement to export to each countries.

NZ part 1: Arrival (27 Dec 2016 to 2 Jan 2017)

Year 2017 has started too fast for me, with a lot of things happening each day, everyday a new one, I am still need to adjust myself and get ready for the next ones.

To conclude one word in 2016 and 2017, it will be "RESTART".

A friend of mine reminded me to update my blog, being too lazy, or too tired, or too contented, I did remember about this but don't know where to start. So, forgive me for my messy paragraphs below,

Last year, two days before Christmas, I had the last farewell with my friends in Johor (after celebrating it for one whole December) and bring everything back to my hometown. Soon after Christmas, I packed all the necessity and all the blessing from the love ones, took the flight off from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland and had my first countdown of New Year 5 hours ahead from Malaysia.

All lovely gift from my love ones. 

Not managed to bring them all with me thou

Stay in Auckland for almost a week to get my bank account and apply for IRD number, it was just a few days of rest for me before I start my first job in New Zealand.

A Malaysian girl, Rachel had offer that we could travel together when we arrived Auckland and until we reach our workplace, the same location but different company.

Stayed at Malaysian family's homestay and get to know a few new friends, from Malaysia and Singapore, Zen, Si Shi, Jia Yen, Jin, and Olivia.

It was just a sudden kick that day in the morning, I decided not going to visit Auckland city with Rachel but follow Jia Yen to the shopping mall nearby, then we had good talk ( I suppose? I feel good to talk and sharing some thought with her and it was how I made new friends), and we tried the New Zealand Starbucks secret menu.

 Then at night, the housemates decided to countdown at the Sky Tower. It was a whole new start for me, for year 2017. The first "solo" trip in my life.

Fireworks at the Sky Tower

New Year day, we left Auckland and departed to the south island- Queenstown.

Surrounded by all the mountains, is my first impression to this place. 

It was really limited accommodation in Queenstown especially in the summer. We almost have to stay on the road. A Malaysian auntie offer me a night stay at her place - my first experience on couch surfing. She brought us around Queenstown that day and the next day sent us to the bus station.

My bed of the night

The historic bridge

Lake Hayes that take 3 hours to walk one round- we just walk for 100 m there.