Odd Job Week: Grapes, Winery, Digging, and Painting

Update from the Fruitshack: grape picking commenced on Monday (the 3rd of March).  They were finally good to go and all of us (Michael included) were ready to get started.  I had been picking for all of 30 minutes on Monday morning before Harry, another backpacker, relayed a message from Michael: I was needed immediately for work at the winery!

Robert, the manager at Toorak Wines, had previously contacted Michael to say he needed a temporary employee for the harvesting season.  The job didn't qualify for a second year visa so Michael asked me if I was interested (most backpackers, excluding the Americans, can qualify for a second year visa if they do 88 days of farm work).  When I visited the winery it turned out Robert had already found a local for the job.  I was quite disappointed at the news; the winery paid hourly, and far better than picking fruit.

Long story short, Michael chose me for the last minute gig because I was the only one who knew how to get to Toorak Wines.  The job was quite easy - ride atop the mechanical picker, unclog the conveyor belts with a hook if the grapes got backed up, and pull out the sticks from the machine after each row of harvesting.  Downside is that the picking starts at 3 am!  (actually the only reason why the job opened up was because the guy who got hired thought it started at 3 pm and no-showed).

I worked until lunchtime at the winery, and then picked for a few hours in the afternoon.  To me picking wasn't as hard as oranges, but the money wasn't good.  If I'd have picked the whole day I could probably get 50 buckets (maybe more with practice), and each bucket paid only 90 cents.

The mechanical picker literally shakes the grapes from the vine,
collects them on a conveyor belt, and then drops the grapes into
a bin on the back of a tractor in the next row.

The conveyor dropping grapes into the tractor bin

Picking by hand is much slower; you have to cut the
stem of each bunch from the vine, drop it in a bucket,
and dump the buckets in a tractor.

Good news is the winery needed me again on Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Wednesday we actually started earlier, at one in the morning!  My sleeping pattern got all f'd up, but I would rather do that than earn a fraction picking!  I also drove a tractor and a manual truck, both of which I had never done before.  Talk about learning on the fly...it took me awhile to get the tractor going but I'm just glad I didn't but the back trailer in the ditch!

On Tuesday I clocked 9 hours, and Wednesday 12, so pay-wise it was looking good.  Unfortunately we picked all of the Shiraz grapes by Wednesday, and the next ones (Cabernet) weren't yet ready.  So Thursday I was back picking at the Fruitshack.  The backpackers had also been picking quickly, and by lunchtime we had finished; the next variety wouldn't start until Monday.

Mid-week I moved into the caravan - girls get first preference for the dorms - at least it beats the bus or a tent!

The Fruitshackers, finished for the weekend, were ready for a drinking party.  Michael asked me, however, if I'd want to pick up some extra work.  I told him yes - better to make extra money, and if I said no he probably wouldn't come to me for more opportunities in the future.  Then he told me it would only take about an hour!  If I'd have known that I would rather have passed it up and partied without an early morning wake-up.  I still drank Thursday night, but thankfully not too much, because as it turned out I was working the whole day!

Michael had me digging up weeds along his property.  The initial section around his house took longer than expected (an hour would have been impossible).  Michael asked if I wanted to keep working on another area, and I said sure.  Again, better to earn money and keep Michael happy than sit around and do nothing!  In the end I finished just shy of 4 pm - 7 hours with a lunch break; so much for just an hour!

Michael had these sort of weeds all over his property, and I needed
to dig them up.  One variety has prickly thorns that attach to clothing,
shoes, or animals to spread its seeds.  Nasty things!

On Saturday I also had work.  This time I was with two Canadian backpackers from the Fruitshack at someone else's property.  They cleaned the couple's house and I painted and cleaned out a spare bathroom in their barn (they were preparing for a party).  No matter that I had painted all of maybe two times in my life!  Luckily the bathroom was rarely used and they didn't seem to care about getting the job done perfectly - if so they'd of hired a professional!  I actually enjoyed the painting, plus they gave us a nice home-cooked lunch.  As a backpacker 'cooking' all of my own food - and I use the term cooking liberally, because I can't do much more than heat things up - a home-cooked meal was amazing.

Anything more complicated than heating up frozen food
is quite a culinary accomplishment for me.

After we finished the job they also gave us beers!  The pay was okay (80 dollars for 6 hours of work), but the free lunch and alcohol made it so much better.  Oh and just an fyi, $13 an hour back home in the States would be quite good, but here in Australia that is actually below minimum wage.  Out in Leeton though, lots of people will pay under the table in cash.  And considering the taxes for backpackers are over 30% - even though you do get some of it back when you leave - $13 an hour is actually more than you'd make after tax on the $16-17 minimum wage.  So I'm not complaining.