In the last episode, I talked about my messed up but memorable night in Nelson. Meeting an unexpected new friend, doing crazy and maybe-illegal stuff and going homeless for a night. The night in Nelson, I will never forget. This week, let’s talk about looking for a job in Motueka, New Zealand.

So what’s after that night? At 7.00am, I walked to the bus station and waited for my 7,30am bus to Motueka. I did a lot of research on the orchard jobs in New Zealand. I read blogs, articles and whatever materials I can find.

Turned out Motueka is one of the hot spots for seasonal workers looking for orchard jobs. So I went on Google Maps and discovered that there are indeed a lot of orchards surrounding the small town. With the lack of experience, I actually thought that finding a job there was easy.

I’ve never been more wrong. 

First Day in Motueka

I arrived Motueka around 9 am, driving through the beautiful coastline highway to the beautiful small town. First thing I did after I got out of the bus was to check into the BBH backpackers’ hostel I booked. I couldn’t recall whether I booked it through the phone or online.

But I think I did it the old school way and spent a whole week in Laughing Kiwi Backpackers in Motueka.

Sounds creepy a little at first…

On my first day, I was feeling so tired and lazy because of the adventurous previous night. So I went to the supermarket, which surprised me because there are two huge supermarkets in this small town. Bought some foods and cooked for the first time in New Zealand!

Couldn’t remember what I cooked though. I’m sure it tasted good because if it’s bad, I think (maybe) I wouldn’t forget it… right?…

I went to bed quite early that day so I didn’t make any new friends other than a Korean uncle. A mysterious old man with no cell phone and has been wandering in this town for months. We’ll talk about him in the following articles so be sure to stay tuned!

Looking For A Job in Motueka

So the next morning I woke up energized and was totally ready to get physical.

But I don’t have a job yet, so guess what, it’s job-hunting day!

After having my breakfast, I departed from the hostel. But I didn’t head straight to the office. First of all, I went to the i-Site (information centers in New Zealand) to ask for the orchards’ number and locations. There are more orchards around than I imagined so I was quite happy for a moment there.

Instead of going one-by-one, I decided to call them.

It was a dream crusher. 

Most of the numbers either went unanswered or answered by robots. An orchard actually asked me to head to their office and fill my name there. And so I did.

When I got there, the woman who’s obviously in a bad mood, asked me to fill my name in the logbook on a chair. I immediately felt hopeless when I saw the number of applicants. There were literally hundreds of names up there filled in just in the past week.

I quickly noticed that I kind of held my hope too high and let myself down. Looking for a job in Motueka is harder than I imagined. 

Plus, the apple picking season was delayed, probably due to climate change or whatever. It was delayed by a whole month. I thought I had great timing, but unfortunately, I also had bad luck.

What I Did Then?

Despite being desperate for a job, I kinda relaxed myself a little and spend a few hours every day exploring this beautiful small town. Hidden gems are scattered around this town!

And this goes on and on for two weeks. Yup, I spent almost two weeks in Motueka looking for a job before traveling to somewhere else.

Stay tuned to Through My Eyes Series and see what I did and where I traveled to!

Meanwhile, check out my Complete Guide to New Zealand Road Trip and New Zealand Working Holiday Visa Complete Application Guide (UPDATED).

Til next time.

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