Help us and our rescued greyhounds bring a little piece of eco paradise to life in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Come to Golden Springs, Reporoa (between Rotorua and Taupo) and help Andrew and I, and our rescued greyhounds bring this one acre plot from a neglected mess up to a little piece of eco paradise... big plans and dreams but we have amazing vision for this lovely place...
    We're also involved in greyhound rescue charity.. our helpers would need to be dog lovers ..!

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Charity Work
    Art Projects
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    I hope our journey/offer doesn't seem too daunting! It's not really!
    We are happy to have international travelers workaway with us, and share experiences/language.. We are both pretty colourful people, not really very conventional when it comes to most things so coming to help us will hopefully be a happy and interesting experience all round. A sense of humour would be appreciated when you stay with us.. it can be a fun with these beautiful dogs..! :) You really must love dogs to stay with us..!! Unfortunately we are down to only three at the moment, having lost our three oldest in the last 18 months to various medical issues and age... so numbers of rescued greyhounds do fluctuate, whether they be permanent or fostered greyhounds...

    I have traveled fairly extensively in the past, and Andrew has traveled a bit. We're happy to share language skills, work skills, experiences. If there are any aspects of our lives that are of particular interest to our helpers, we are certainly willing to share and teach.
    We are/have been avid motorcycle riders.. Andrew is learning guitar, is a spray painter by trade and a keen novice gardener.
    I am a clothing designer/creator, avid vintage linen collector and love all things old and shabby.. have been a shoe designer and picture framer and many other things in my past and have traveled a fair bit.
    We are now deeply involved in greyhound rescue and welfare and do charity work with these dogs so this may be something of interest to learn about

    we are active anti greyhound racing campaigners.

  • Help

    Help

    Help is needed with everything from gardening, weeding, <<< omg.. !! , planting, painting, building, mowing, general maintenance outside and in, to help with the dogs, cooking, cleaning inside and out, maybe windows etc.. mostly all those chores that need doing when you're renovating, and constructing a lifestyle property...!

    Our little one acre property is crying out to be loved and filled with awesomeness...! It was so run down, overgrown with weeds and empty of any goodness when we first arrived...

    We have been here five years now... time certainly flies! We have started on our gardens, and have added lots of vege and fruit baring crops and trees, gardens... but from learning what works and what doesn't, there is much work to do to change things around and build things a bit differently, so lots of changes to make to the garden and orchard...

    We still need to continue to build decks, sheds, fencing, hard and soft landscaping, and keep up with maintenance on everything... it's never ending, including compost bays, more gardens, paths, vege frames etc..... as eco, recycled and organic as we can... lots of fun creating projects as well.

    On the property as well as the main house, is also a lovely large building that was previously run as a lively cafe that has a large commercial kitchen and a great fireplace..., we have turned this into my studio/workroom, and also where Andrew and I live with the greyhounds, and where we all have our main meals. It's also a place I have plans for art/craft/sewing and other tutored classes and a social gathering place, (so many plans for later!) ... I still have a lot of unpacking, designing, renovating and general 'from the ground up' sort of projects with this in mind, but good things take time, right?!? The house is a work in progress, after the global covid pandemic, when all our travelers went home, we unsuccessfully thought we would rent it for a little while, but that turned into a nightmare, so the house is now under renovation, so there are projects to do there... new floors, and some painting...

    At the moment, the plan is to turn the original home into the guest house, and it will also house our amazing workaway helpers/travelers and any family that visit...!

    So there are plenty of projects to go around!
    We are on a shoestring budget, but we are not lacking in Kiwi ingenuity, effort, and get it done attitude... if it can be done, we will find a way... :)

    If you have ingenious ideas, know about building, or gardening or any of the things we will be doing, do speak up! We are always open to finding clever, better, interesting and of course, the right way, to achieve the things we need to do...
    (Just by chance, if you happen to be a builder, plumber, or very handy tradesman, I love you already... lol)

    We're also involved in charity work for rescue dogs, so depending on where we are in the scheme of things, help with that could also be needed. Help with the actual greyhounds here is always needed...!!

    If you are skilled in craft or sewing, this is what I do for a living, so once my lovely workroom is sorted there could be an avenue for this sort of help too! If you come to stay with us, it will never be boring!!

    In return for 5 hours per day (negotiable) 5 out of 7days, you will get a warm, comfy bed to stay in, in the Guest house, in your own private room if you are coming alone, or sharing if you are coming as a couple or friends... , and meals of course. (We usually all cook together as we think it's the social thing to do)... we are not gourmets but we don't starve.. you won't either.. promise.!

    Your own car or vehicle would be preferable, but the Intercity bus stops right outside our property from either Taupo or Rotorua, or we could collect you from Rotorua as either Andrew or I go semi frequently to town. We are approximately 25-30mins from either Rotorua or Taupo.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We offer a private (or shared if you come with with a friend or partner) room in our house which is the main house on our property, which is separate from where we live, but only a few metres away...
    There is a large kitchen, bathroom and lounge facilities to use, although, our guests will have most meals with us and of course will be welcome to socialise with us in the studio...
    We have a queen bed available or two singles. (check availability)
    Meals.. everything is negotiable, but we usually all cook together at dinner time because we think it's the social thing to do.
    We will provide a cooked/main meal in the evening, breakfast and lunch food is available, sometimes made, sometimes help yourself. (To be decided depending on each stay).

    *note that in NZ, we tend not to have large cooked meals at lunch time, our main large meal is dinner time, so we eat accordingly. Lunch is sandwich/salad or soup/bread or scones sometimes, depending on weather/season.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    We've moved in here from Rotorua about five and half years ago this past March, but are only half hour from both Rotorua and Taupo, both tourist/traveller hot spots.. so much to do in both places if you like the outdoors and/or adventure sports.. lakes, rivers, hiking, biking, forests and if you are a gourmet, there are plenty of restaurants too....
    Nearby is Rainbow Mountain and Kerosene Creek, a natural running hot stream and the awesome Butcher's Pool, a natural thermal hot pool surrounded by farmland.. only a few kms from home.
    There are also tourist attractions nearby like Wai-o-Tapu, The Māori Village, Waikite hot pools and lots of bike trails...
    Of course Lake Taupo and the lakes of Rotorua are big attractions in themselves...

    The Intercity bus stops right outside so it's really convenient to go North or South from our place if you plan ahead...
    If you don't have a car, on your days off, it's possible to arrange to drop you in to town, but since we are so busy ourselves trying to get this place sorted we probably won't spend much time doing all that fun stuff you will be doing.. lol..

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    any size

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    greyhounds only

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 934638762647

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