Grape picking or outdoor work in Sydney (or near abouts)

Hi,

Has anyone done any grape picking around Sydney or somewhere near by? I
really want to do something outdoors but have heard that fruit picking
is hard labour and little reward. However, I have been told that grape
picking seems to pay better (for reasons I do not know).

If not for grapes, can anyone recommend something worth while working
outdoors?

Cheers

Burnsy

The nearest to Sydney commercial grape vines (for wine) I can think of are
in the Hunter Valley (Pokolbin etc) or in the Mudgee district (over the Blue
Mountains).

Harvest would be around December to February. A lot depends on the district
and the vines.

I'm not sure about table grapes. I guess most market gardeners arrange
picking locally or, at least, not from back-packers.

Ross

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

Has anyone done any grape picking around Sydney or somewhere near by? I
really want to do something outdoors but have heard that fruit picking
is hard labour and little reward. However, I have been told that grape
picking seems to pay better (for reasons I do not know).

If not for grapes, can anyone recommend something worth while working
outdoors?

Cheers

Burnsy

In article .com,
writes
Hi,

Has anyone done any grape picking around Sydney or somewhere near by? I
really want to do something outdoors but have heard that fruit picking
is hard labour and little reward. However, I have been told that grape
picking seems to pay better (for reasons I do not know).

If not for grapes, can anyone recommend something worth while working
outdoors?

See if you can get a copy of this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Work-Your-Way-Around-World/dp/1854582747

I contributed to the 1981 edition!

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

I used to live in Robinvale near Mildura. It is a huge wine grape, sultana
and table grape growing area.

In Robinvale, most wine grapes are machine picked.

Tables grapes are hand picked with scissors.

Experienced pickers can earn up to $1,000 per week. An inexperienced
backpacker not used to manual labour may only earn a few hundred dollars per
week.

In a town like Robinvale, there is free or very cheap accommodation
available for pickers which can help to balance out low wages for the
inexperienced.

In the past, some government department provided cheap travel for
backpackers to go to Robinvale/Mildura. Don't know about now.

I am in Griffith at the moment. They are always looking for orange pickers.
When the oranges are at their biggest, my brother in law can pick a tonne in
40 minutes. He is paid $25 per tonne so it is good money for the experienced
picker! He doesn't work the whole day though. He just works 4 hours, which
equates to about $150 for half a day. I think an inexperienced picker might
only earn about $10 per hour.

I hope this helps!








"Ross" wrote in message
...
The nearest to Sydney commercial grape vines (for wine) I can think of are
in the Hunter Valley (Pokolbin etc) or in the Mudgee district (over the
Blue Mountains).

Harvest would be around December to February. A lot depends on the
district and the vines.

I'm not sure about table grapes. I guess most market gardeners arrange
picking locally or, at least, not from back-packers.

Ross

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

Has anyone done any grape picking around Sydney or somewhere near by? I
really want to do something outdoors but have heard that fruit picking
is hard labour and little reward. However, I have been told that grape
picking seems to pay better (for reasons I do not know).

If not for grapes, can anyone recommend something worth while working
outdoors?

Cheers

Burnsy