Smoko – not just a tea break

Each day at 10 am and again at 3 pm is smoko (rhymes with loco in Spanish). Originally a smoke break, it has become the universal term for tea (or coffee) break. Now this is not just a time to run across the street to Starbucks, grab a coffee and head back to the desk. First of all, the nearest Starbucks is 3 hours away. (Do I hear weeping out there?) It’s more about the break than the tea. And it’s mandatory in a way. It’s considered odd to stay at your desk and skip smoko.

I’m not sure if every work place in NZ is so consistent, but DOC certainly is. When I spent time touring around looking at other DOC sites, I found the crew at Franz Josef Glacier Visitor Centre all heading back to work as I pulled in just after smoko. At Nelson Lakes I joined the gang for smoko under the eaves of their staff building for a cuppa – all of us lined up on benches looking at the rolling hills surrounding Lake Rotoiti. This is where the Southern Alps lose their elevation, coming down to join the rest of us here on Earth.

View of Lake Rotoiti - this is a duck's perspective -
not quite the view from the Nelson Lakes smoko room. But close.

In my office, we aren’t blessed with such a view. The smoko room is nothing flash – just a kitchen with a conference table and some windows looking out on the street. This is fine, as smoko, for me, is more about the chance to learn and share stories. It has the feel and noise of a big family holiday gathering crossed with the workaday discussions of small town diner. This is where I’m learning to speak, and understand kiwi English, and Maori place names.

Our smoko room in Greymouth.

Twice a day we head down to the smoko room, cordless phone in hand to respond if the outside world intrudes, to read, snack, talk and drink. The drink of choice is tea, though I prefer coffee. My choices are two variations of instant. (They had a French press up at Nelson Lakes – I’m planning to introduce one to my office soon.) Tea, coffee, milk and sugar are all provided by DOC, as the employment contract negotiated by the unions for all DOC employees requires that it be provided. In fact, we can get reimbursed for the lost opportunity on days we are out working in the field. Not because we don’t take smoko break, mind you, but because we have to bring our in a flask (think Thermos, not vodka).

Smoko outdoors on the shores of Lake Brunner.

The conversation during smoko ranges from local politics to national, most often based on whatever is in the local paper, which lives on the smoko table. I’ve learned about the recent scandal in Parliament, as the National party leader was outed for having an affair. (Seventy percent of kiwis apparently think this is no cause for resignation.) News at the local level is equally interesting. There’s the coal company’s plan to reroute their truck traffic through a small town, rather than down the more distant and appropriate state highway. Then there’s the activist dressed up as a giant snail to protest the treatment of endangered snails being rescued off a mountain top and stored in ice cream containers inside large refrigerators in the regional DOC office about a half hour south of here. I’m not kidding – click here to check it out. (I’m pretty sure these are different than the fridges in their smoko room…)

Smoko is the time for the guys in the biodiversity team to unwind and share stories from the front lines of enforcing the rules during the craziness that comes with whitebait fishing season. It’s when we’ve discussed the unseen arrival of Safety First signs all around the office, as well as retirement schemes, and reimbursement for ‘wet time’, which is working in the field when you get soaked through. Smoko is also when I’ve heard some scary stories about tractor roll-overs, ATV mishaps, and chainsaw hazards.

When the week comes to a close, smoko turns into the Social Club. At the end of the day on Friday is ‘beer o’clock’. In the fridge, just awaiting our arrival, is a variety of beers for members of the social club. Membership is easy – just drop money for your beer in the container provided. Or scribble your name on the IOU sheet in there. That’s fine too. Several folks stick around to swap more stories, plan for the week ahead, or the weekend. Happy hour comes to us. I have to join in. It’s all part of my education as a kiwi.