Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
20 Dec 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 2 days
Feedback
16
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
I live on a beautiful piece of land in a little hidden valley near the Motueka river in a place known as Ngatimoti. My two youngest daughters, Elva and Rose, spend several days a week with me and sometimes my teenage daughter, Kiwa, as well. I live simply, but quite socially with friends and neighbours often visiting or being visited. I live in a very cosy little cottage known as the Milking Shed. My two youngest daughters are homeschooled finding their own interests and playing their days away. We enjoy many different activities and interests including gardening, processing and preparing homemade food, making bread, preserving, fermented foods etc., wood-working, hand-made beehives, tree houses, building projects that support our lifestyle and living are ongoing and welcomed. We are interested in many things from arts and crafts, music, natural living, homesteading, playing, looking after the environment. People, the land and living sensitively is important to me. Current projects include establishing new gardens, building a wood workshop, top bar beehives, fretting up a little sailing boat called Blue and creating yurt space including a floor.
We often spend days with the extended family on their land, planting trees, and helping in their garden and around their home. They live close by, less than half an hour drive away, have three more homeschooled kids aged between 9-17 years so together we make eight people, although we often have more people staying in either household, so we can be quite a crowd on any given day. There are always plenty of interesting tasks and project to do.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We have a very unique home based natural living lifestyle, creating our own living spaces, making our own food, caring for the land in our own small way. We have many passions and interests underpinned by a typical Kiwi culture of openness, curiosity, friendliness and an attitude of giving things a go.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We have many and varied projects available that we would welcome assistance with, that include wood working and building (tiny workshops/houses, spoon and chair making, basket making with willow, hazelnuts or flax as well as other wood work projects), general gardening and tree work including grafting, transplanting, seed raising, harvesting, food processing, baking bread, making fermented foods, dehydrating, preserving. Working with bees, hand making new hives, hand making alternative hives. Wood-working skills and general crafts such as sewing, dress-making, macrame, knitting arts and crafts, weaving, painting would be appreciated. Music and also any skills that would be welcome by our children, would it be puppetry, music instruments, theatre etc. We are open to any skills you are offering that would fit with our family and lifestyle.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Beginner
Accommodation
A self-contained, small, cosy cottage called Milking Shed with a wood stove. You are always welcome to join us in our general living space area. There is a separate bedroom next to the Milking Shed with its own access to the outdoors and our facilities. We also have some possible sites for staying in your van if that is your preference. There is also an internet connection. You would share food with us as part of our family.
What else ...
Tasman Bays is known for the great outdoors mountains, river, beaches, national parks, trekking, hiking, kayaking etc. There is a little bit of everything from markets, music venues to very quiet swimming holes. There is no public transport but if you don't have your own there is people living on the land that you can catch a ride with to town quite often. Many places within biking distance and few bikes to be used.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (11)
Thank you for the time we spent together! It were two weeks full of new experiences and I am thinking still very often back to the time in the Milking Shed with it's beautiful surroundings. Moments like making pizza in the clay oven, night-time singing and star-gazing, visiting Star by bike, jumping into the incredibly… read more
The beautiful location is perfect to relax and enjoy the simple things in life. I felt so much abundance and gratitude in this place.
You learn a lot just from being here. Working in the garden, with the bees, cooking and being creative, but also listening to all the adventures Nick has… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.9)
Thank you for the time we spent together! It were two weeks full of new experiences and I am thinking still very often back to the time in the Milking Shed with it's beautiful surroundings. Moments like making pizza in the clay oven, night-time singing and star-gazing, visiting Star by bike, jumping into the incredibly… read more
The beautiful location is perfect to relax and enjoy the simple things in life. I felt so much abundance and gratitude in this place.
You learn a lot just from being here. Working in the garden, with the bees, cooking and being creative, but also listening to all the adventures Nick has… read more
It was also very interesting to see how Nic is almost self-sufficient on all aspects and how he makes everything works. I really enjoyed the deep conversations we had, loved seeing his passion… read more
When the weather was sunny we spent our mornings in the garden and the food forest path. I really enjoyed the time we spent outdoors in the beautiful valley. Nic lives… read more
