Help with seasonal work in the Bay of Plenty / Tauranga for backpackers on working holidays

Bay of Plenty - Tauranga's leading working hostel

Known in the Bay of Plenty generally and Tauranga more so as the number one place to find all kinds of seasonal work for our World Travellers / backpackers, Bell Lodge has arrangements with a number of contractors, packhouses and family businesses who are looking for seasonal workers for not only kiwifruit picking / packing & pruning.

Our contractors are those that Bell Lodge feel comfortable dealing with and have excellent contracts and work practices in place for you, "the employee". With an ever growing & wide network of contractors who work throughout the Bay of Plenty and the Taurnga areas, it could be your skills that will be valuable to these contractors. If you do have skills and / or experience in any type of agricultural work we may be able to help you throughout the year to find short term work. We do this at no cost to you, we ask only that you stay at Bell Lodge.

Kiwifruit Jobs are available almost all year round with breaks of up to four weeks between the seasonal changes.

Picking would generally start towards the end of March and last for 6 - 8 weeks, with packing starting at the same time though lasting right through to late September with repack.

Winter seasonal pruning starts around the end of June and lasts for up to 12 weeks. There is a period of general orchard work followed by the spring seasonal pollination and flower thinning.

Summer pruning and other general orchard work is available through the summer months and there is also opporunities for those who are keen to work for longer hours (up to 20hrs per day) to earn very good money. It is a bonus if you have a car although the contractor may be able to arrange transport for a small charge per day.

As a working hostel in the Bay of Plenty, Bell Lodge has guest guidelines that all guests are asked to read and sign when checking in. These guidleines are in place for the benefit of ALL guests staying, our neighbours (we are situated approx 4 kms from Tauranga City centre in a quiet residential street) and also Management.
As the type of work and hours of work can vary for each contractor, some people may need to be in bed early and up early 6 days a week, others may not have work for a day or two. Our guest guidleines are there to say you should respect your fellow world traveller and the accommodation you are staying in.
We are now aware the employers and contractors we use, have introduced random drug and alcohol testing, as part of their staff management processes. Bell Lodge will not be able to find further work for any person who has been terminated from one of our contractors / employers. You should also be aware that failure to advise the contractor you are not going to work may result in instant dismissal, also failure to give suitable notice you are leaving will forfeit your last weeks pay.

Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty is probably the biggest area where kiwifruit is grown and havested in New Zealand. Other areas include Northland and the Hawkes Bay. Some of the fruit from those areas is transported to the Bay of Plenty for packing and export.

If you are a World Traveller backpacking around New Zealand looking for short term work and are happy to stay at Bell Lodge while at the job great weekly rates are offered for those who do stay for a while and work.

If you are a backpacker travelling around New Zealand looking to come to the Bay of Plenty to earn some extra money you will need to have a work permit, Inland Revenue Dept number and a New Zealand bank account. Should you be coming to Bell Lodge for a job, we will need to confirm BEFORE the job is given that you are the holder of a valid work visa, a bank account has been obtained and an IRD number in progress or already obtained. Should you not have a New Zealand IRD number and or Bank Account, these WILL need to be sorted before you can start work.

Work Permits can be arranged in most instances via the NZ Immigration website www.immigration.govt.nz. Bell Lodge Backpackers Ltd, it's staff and the Contractors they use ARE NOT ABLE TO HELP YOU OBTAIN A WORK PERMIT.

To find out more about getting an IRD number go to www.ird.govt.nz. This can take up to 10 working days to be processed, but generally 5 working days after the application has been received by IRD you can ring and ask for your IRD number. We can help you in sorting out or obtaining the right documents for your IRD Number. You can Download the application form IR 595 here. You will need to complete this and take it to either a NZ Post shop, AA office or an IRD Office near to you, along with the required documents. You will need a PDF reader to open this file. We recommend Foxit PDF Reader (Free) or Nitro PDF Reader (FREE) as alternatives to Adobe Reader.

Bank accounts can be opened at any bank, the closest to Bell Lodge are Kiwibank and National Bank. You will need proof of where you are currently living to open the account, again we can help with this too.

There are opportunities to work within family businesses both in kiwifruit or Flower & Foliage Work, though these jobs are highly sort after and we make sure the right people are placed.

If you would like more information Please contact us

Please Note:
Whilst Bell Lodge Backpackers Hostel and staff advertise work that they have been made aware is available. We are 100% honest, we will not say there is kiwifruit / seasonal work when there is not.
We cannot be held responsible if the job falls through or the contractor changes the start dates etc. Mother Nature may also throw some challenges into the mix, weather, fruit condition and such making these seasonal work positions sometimes difficult to get started. And not all of our contractors are working exclusively with us.
We do make every effort to notify you of changes or find other work for you where we can.