Sick of the same old travel experience? Join with us on the mighty West Coast, New Zealand

Details

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  Description

  Kia ora (Hello and well wishes)
  My name Is Ian, and I am a single father to an absolutely amazing 8-year-old girl
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  Our Home & Our Way
  
  You are not welcomed here as a guest.
  You are welcomed as whānau (family)
  
  Our home is guided by Rangatira ta Wairua — leadership of spirit care, and responsibility rather than authority or ego. This is a place shaped by presence, respect, and shared humanity, not transaction or performance.
  
  Those who arrive often say later, in their own words:
  “I didn’t realise how heavy I was until I felt safe enough to rest.”
  
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  Lighthouse 🌱
  
  At the heart of our home is my daughter, Lighthouse aka Blessing.
  
  She carries a rare balance — the wisdom that sometimes arrives before words, alongside the playfulness and curiosity of her age. She has an extraordinary way of making people feel welcome and at ease, and many who have stayed speak quietly of how deeply she impacted them.
  
  Lighthouse often joins us in our shared living space. It is her place of safety and belonging, though she also enjoys having her own room — a gentle meeting point between the modern world and older ways of living. Her presence is never a responsibility placed on others, but a shared, natural part of family life here.
  
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  Communal Living — Safety, Consent, and Belonging
  
  Our way of living is communal, rooted in ancient human rhythms rather than modern isolation.
  
  In winter especially, the home gathers into one shared living space — warmth held together, the main beds brought into the lounge, the heat pump humming softly. This mirrors practices long held on marae and within wharenui, where the marae is a space of protection, connection, and collective rest.
  
  Here:
  • bedding is close to the floor,
  • the earth is felt beneath you,
  • and separation by walls is softened, not erased.
  
  *Separate room for workawayer if wanted to comply with the policies that they have, but we respect the policy...
  
  This way of resting is always explained clearly, never expected, and entirely consent-based. People are free to choose what feels right for them, and that choice is respected without question.
  
  Those who do join often describe a sense of deep safety — of being held by warmth, rhythm, and presence rather than by walls. Sleep tends to come easily. Mornings often arrive lighter.
  
  This space is not sexualized and never treated casually and of deep connection even without touch the spirit connects and is why we still live this today at our meeting halls and traditions.
  It is a place of rest, trust, and restoration — a return to something profoundly human that many have forgotten existed.
  
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  Where We Are
  
  We are now located on the wild West Coast of the South Island, surrounded by long skies, deep silence, untamed land, and sunsets that slow time.
  
  We moved here to be closer to family during serious health challenges, and to live more truthfully — closer to what matters.
  
  This is not a base for ticking off tourist attractions.
  This is a place for those who want to experience the spirit of Aotearoa, not just see New Zealand.
  
  When we travel, we go quietly and respectfully — to places where history lives in the land itself, where it is a privilege to stand, listen, and feel. These are not photo opportunities, but moments of honour and connection.
  
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  Exchange, Not Transaction
  
  We ask very little.
  
  There are no rigid hours, no pressure to earn your place. What matters here is who you are, not what you can produce.
  
  What is offered is:
  • shared knowledge,
  • culture,
  • conversation,
  • stillness,
  • and alignment of body, mind, and spirit.
  
  We keep a book filled with letters from those who have stayed — many describing experiences they call life-changing, though they often say words fall short.
  
  What remains with people is not a stay, but a journey that continues alongside them long after they leave.
  
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  Who We Welcome
  
  We welcome seekers.
  
  Those who are tired of crowds, noise, and surface living.
  Those who feel out of step with the world and sense there is something deeper calling them.
  Those who are comfortable with silence and honesty.
  
  Age, background, and labels matter far less here than humility, respect, and openness. We meet people where they are — without expectation, without agenda.
  
  We are a patient, thoughtful father and daughter. We hold space, not direction. Many discover clarity here without being told what to think or who to become.
  
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  A Quiet Invitation
  
  Do not let fear or assumptions decide for you.
  
  Pause.
  Listen inward.
  Notice what brought you here.
  
  You are not here by accident.
  This is why you found our page.
  This is why you stayed reading.
  
  And when you arrive, many realise something simple and true:
  
  You were already home.
  You just hadn’t arrived yet.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Cycling

  

  Camping

  

  Hiking

  

  Mountain

  

  Art & design

  

  Carpentry

  

  Plant care

  

  Videography

  

  Technology

  

  Van life

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Culture

  

  Charity work

  

  Photography

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  What Is Shared Here
  
  What is offered here goes beyond guidance or alignment.
  
  There is the opportunity to learn with the hands, the eyes, and the heart — through practices that carry lineage, patience, and responsibility.
  
  Wood carving is not treated here as craft alone.
  To lift a chisel is to enter a relationship — with the grain, the history held within the timber, and the spirit that moves through it. Each line carries meaning. Each cut connects past, present, and future, shaping not only form, but understanding.
  
  Pounamu carving is approached with the same care.
  It is never simply “working greenstone.” It begins with intention, respect, and readiness. When approached correctly, it can be one of the most grounding and freeing experiences a person encounters — not because of the object created, but because of the stillness and humility required to work with it.
  
  Bone carving may also be shared where appropriate — understood not as ornamentation, but as a practice carrying deep spiritual responsibility. Meaning is present from the first moment of approach, not added afterward.
  
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  Seeing Through the Lens
  
  Photography is shared here as a sacred art and a tool of restoration, not as technique alone.
  
  Over the past eight years across Aotearoa, countless free community photography programmes have been run — offering space, dignity, and voice to those who needed it most.
  
  This has included:
  • working with women who have survived and exited domestic violence, supporting the re-awakening of their strength, resilience, and womanhood,
  • helping people reconnect with their sense of beauty, worth, and presence,
  • youth work with young people at risk, including those affected by gang environments, offering photography as a safer and more constructive way to contribute to community and identity.
  
  These programmes have spanned both islands, grounded not in exposure or promotion, but in care, patience, and trust.
  
  As a globally published master photographer, instruction and guidance are offered here as health allows — always tailored to where a person is, and what they are ready to see.
  
  Photography in this space is not about images.
  It is about recognition.
  
  To see a person, a place, or oneself more clearly than before — and to mirror that truth back with respect. When this happens, it is often met with quiet emotion, sometimes tears, not from sentiment, but from being genuinely seen.
  
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  Time, Not Urgency
  
  We do not accept stays shorter than two weeks.
  
  Time is essential.
  It takes time for masks to soften.
  For nervous systems to settle.
  For people to arrive fully in themselves.
  
  Some feel at home immediately.
  Others need days to unlearn before they can truly learn — and before it becomes clear why they were drawn here.
  
  Nothing is forced.
  Nothing is rushed.
  Knowledge is shared when it is ready to be received.
  
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  The Quiet Truth
  
  All of these things — carving, photography, place, and knowledge — are bonuses.
  
  The greatest offering here is time itself:
  time shared,
  time held,
  time lived without demand.
  
  That is where the real journey begins.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  I seek someone that is open minded and loves Kids!
  Playing with my daughter is always a joy to all who spend time with her, and she will warm your heart from the start.
  Some simple help like washing dishes after dinner and playing with Blessing is about all I really would like help with and happy to include you in our day-to-day activities as a member of our family :)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  Interested in Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Italian
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  Accommodation

  Due to our apartment only being 2 bedrooms the accommodation will be a simple mattress on the floor as above talked about and has been accepted by all. This open plan living mimics the ancestral living style of my ancestors and connects you closer to the earth whilst still feeling connected to our whanau (family). For privacy you will have the use of Blessings room to change along with the bathroom naturally, but we are also aware of our bodies and not shamed of self and respect others completely.
  
  Options are also available like a single room for workaway person due to policy they have we honor.

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  What else ...

  The Nature of the Journey
  
  Meaningful journeys are rarely flat or linear.
  
  There may be moments of ease and moments of release. This is expected. Letting go of old ways of thinking and long-held protections can bring both tenderness and relief at the same time.
  
  We are both very familiar with this process.
  
  We have witnessed — many times —
  tears of happiness,
  tears of release,
  tears mixed with laughter,
  and the quiet calm that follows.
  
  There is nothing here that needs to be hidden or held together. There is nothing we have not already seen and held with care.
  
  I cannot promise constant comfort.
  What I can promise is safety, presence, and respect while you move through whatever arises.
  
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  The Intention
  
  The intention is not to change who you are, but to help you remember yourself more clearly.
  
  To reconnect with the part of you that does not need to shrink or prove anything — the inner strength that knows it could stand in the centre of the room, yet does not need to.
  
  That is the outcome.
  That is the purpose.
  
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  A Final Reassurance
  
  You are welcome here — completely and without condition.
  
  You are not expected to be anything other than yourself.
  You are not required to have the right words, the right story, or the right answers.
  
  When you arrive, you are safe.
  You are seen.
  And you are already home.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  My animals / pets

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