KERIFRESH - NEW ZEALAND

3 days after arriving at the hostel near Kerikeri we all went for our induction at a company called Kerifresh. The job we were going to be doing was packing Kiwifruit. The induction lasted for a couple of hours and consisted of lots of filling in forms and lectures off the woman in charge. They even taken our fingerprints which I thought was a bit strange.

After that we were free to leave, waiting for a phone call to the hostel telling us when we could start. The fruit had to be ready to pick, then it would be a couple of days before the pickers and picked enough ready for us to go in there and pack it.

4 days after the induction we were told that it was likely to be in about another 3 days.

11 days after the induction we were told that the fruit was about to be picked.

12 days after the induction we were told that it would be at least another 10 days before we started.

17 days after the induction we were then told that it would be at least another 2 weeks.

At the induction I knew the job was going to be awful. Long hours, low pay (20% less than minimum wage in England), boring work, working with people who probably treat backpackers awful and management who probably stand over you with a stopwatch while you are on your break.

With all that in mind the least they could do was be honest with us about when we were going to be working. It was costing us all money to stay at the hostel. Some had quit other jobs in New Zealand for this one. One couple from Canada needed the job to stay in the country and had to return home as a result.

Looking back all the information we were getting about the job was secondhand from the hostel owners. I had heard stories previously about hostels promising backpackers work so they can make money from them then the work never shows up.

How we were treated in New Zealand was nothing short of discussing and went a long way towards me vowing never to set foot in that country again as long as I live. I was just lucky that I had enough funds to keep going for the best part of a year.

After the final putback for the work I did my sidetrip to Samoa. 2 weeks later I returned to Auckland and recontacted the hostel and was told there was still no date for starting work. This was nearly 5 weeks after our induction.

3 days later I was on a plane to Bali....................