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The world of Covid-19 has forced some people to completely change their livelihoods.
Linda Calder now works at Hawthorne Coffee. Source: rnz.co.nz
By Tom Kitchen of rnz.co.nz
A woman from Havelock North used to sell safari trips to Africa, but now works as a coffee roaster.
Linda Calder of Getaway Solutions is one of 17,000 New Zealand women who left the tourism industry, far more than men.
In Africa, she was used to lions wandering around vehicles, hyenas chewing car tires, and an elephant’s trunk sniffing people’s faces.
Linda Calder and the Getaway Solutions guides. Source: rnz.co.nz
That has been replaced by the sounds and sights of coffee: the grading of the beans, the spin of the coffee roaster, and the rich dark chocolate aroma of your latest coffee blend.
Calder’s life has been turned upside down due to Covid-19.
A self-described safari travel designer fell in love with Africa during an OE.
He spends most of the year in Hawke’s Bay, but he usually travels to Africa at least once a year.
At the beginning of the year, things were looking bright for his safari business.
“We were heading into an amazing year, we had a lot of interest, obviously we already had reservations for the year and then the level of research was through the roof. So we were very excited,” he said.
But as the pandemic subsided, people suspended their bookings and business came to a halt overnight.
“It was devastating, absolutely devastating,” he said.
“It was really surreal because you couldn’t believe that everything you poured your heart and soul into had just stopped and that yes, there was nothing you could do about it, I think it was that feeling of utter hopelessness.”
As his business fell apart around him, he didn’t know what would come next.
“I put my head in the sand like an ostrich and you would sit there, and you’d have Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting with everyone.
“There were some days when I didn’t want to get out of bed and you really wanted to cry all day, and then it was like ‘well, actually, you know, we don’t know when the end of this is’ and I’m not very good A – I feel sorry for myself or for B – I’m idle so I was like ‘okay what’s next?’ “
Luck fell in his way. A friend who worked at Hawthorne Coffee in Havelock North went on maternity leave and asked Calder if she was interested in taking over.
She is now the head of production for Hawthorne, gathering coffee orders so roasters know how much coffee they are producing and where it is going across the country.
“I’m always learning, so I had to improve my skills and do things like payroll and office management that I didn’t know how to do.”
He was also learning a lot about coffee.
“I had no idea about the coffee industry and … how much coffee people drink! We move a lot of kilos – kilos and kilos and kilos – of beans all over the country every day and the science behind it, it really is, he’s very similar to a winemaker. “
Calder is one of approximately 20,000 people in New Zealand whose tourism career collapsed due to Covid, according to data comparing the September quarter of this year to last year.
Stats NZ said women were disproportionately affected – only around 3,000 of those 20,000 were men.
While these are seasonal industries, Stats NZ said the size of this drop was unusual and likely related to Covid.
Calder said she was liking her new life at the local café, but was just as eager to get back on the safaris, already being asked when they would start again.
“I think it will be a slow reintroduction to safaris and I mean, I have had a couple of questions about people saying what you think and I would love to say ‘absolutely go’.”
“But I think the whole thing about having to quarantine ourselves at the end and having to pay for it really shuts that down for a lot of New Zealand travelers.”
For now, get back to the café, before I can get back on the road with the elephants, lions and hyenas in the African desert.
