Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
17 Jun 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
41
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
Update: Four people have now confirmed and I have two on stand by as well. Please favourite this Workaway experience if you are interested in a future date around March 2025. I am leaving this online for transparency for the people who are confirmed.
Are you looking for a one week stay at a half way point between Sydney and Brisbane on a rural property? Usually paying guests come here for short term rentals however as a backpacker doing Workaway you help us and in exchange you get to stay with us in top rated accommodation, be taken to local tourist spots and eat with our family. This is a high value opportunity and we can even pick you up from the train station. Our ideal is to invite 3 or 4 people.
---
We are asking for only 4 days help out of 7. Arrive Monday when we are making our food plans for the week and baking tasty treats. You are welcome to participate in the kitchen. You can wash your clothes, shower and eat. Work Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday rest days to explore National Parks, local swimming holes in The Promised Lands, Dangar Falls and to explore the town of Bellingen and Dorrigo. Work Saturday and Sunday. Leave Monday after washing clothes and remaking your bed and cleaning your room. After completing work during the week you can be dropped off to exploration spots so you are not restricted to the property at all. Do your research on Dorrigo National Park Sky Walk and Crystal Showers Walk, Waterfall Way Scenic Drive, The Promised Lands Gleniffer, “What’s on in Bellingen Shire” and Dorrigo town home of Dangar Falls.
I am happy to supply breakfast, lunches, dinners and snacks. Don’t worry about transport as I can pick you up from Urunga train station and drop you back. I have room to transport your push bikes and packs in a Ute. I drive you to tourist locations as well.
We are a few years established with Workaway experience. Basically the work is unskilled it just requires enthusiasm and a good try hard work ethic. All I ask for is for 25 hours of your effort over 4 days. Essentially I match that time with the time I put into showing you around and providing a clean beautiful accommodation experience and nourishing food. This Workaway is a family and pet friendly safe space for a cultural exchange that benefits mutually and equitably. I would be happy to FaceTime you and show you around to meet the family, pets and see the place prior to commitment. We have excellent reviews with Workaway and hundreds of positive reviews on the short term rental stay platform.
We are a family of two parents and two girls 13 and 15. Goats, cats, Guinea pigs, quails, chickens and ducks. The property is 14 acres in rainforest with a large orchard and permaculture/syntropic gardens situated in a tourist town popular as a holiday destination.
I put together a structured plan for tasks, outings and meals so everyone knows what to expect and write it up on the white board in the cabin.
Monday…Arrival. You can participate in the cabin kitchen and familiarise with your surroundings. Get to know the family and animals. Explore the property. Enjoy your room with internet. In addition to your accommodation in the big house, the log cabin is our meeting place and that is where we cook/eat, bird watch from the balcony, play games, listen to music and hang out by the wood fire side.
Tuesday and Wednesday…10 hours. Help with Peta.
5 hours We are placing a couple of pipes into a ditch already created and covering them gently with hand placed rocks already on site to protect the pipe as we are building an eco friendly in ground air conditioning system piping cooled air into our Mongolian Yurt.
5 hours carry buckets of Clivus Multrum Compost to Syntropic banana rows to help build biomas and add chop and drop foliage on top of the compost ready for planting
Thursday and Friday…your choice we drop you to the tourist spots to enjoy and basically help you to have a fun time exploring. We provide food so you can pack lunches and snacks.
Saturday and Sunday…15 hours help with Mick and Peta
3 hours if we are successful in purchasing a round bale of straw the entire bale will be spread out along the banana rows for the planting of pumpkin, zucchini, water Mellon and squash.
5 hours Mick has already built the goat fence so all we need to do is add an additional finer mesh panel to contain the ducks on top and clip it on. The clipping is monotonous and easy to do but is relaxing and not physically taxing.
5 hours with Peta doing General yard work so anything that needs to be done that week such as pruning, weeding, raking, collecting firewood etc
2 hours to clean the kitchen in the cabin after a busy week hosting new friends. Let’s all grab a wash cloth, a broom, a mop, a BBQ scrubber and tidy up. Thanks guys.
We do have a wet weather plan so if that is the case you are working inside. Window cleaning ground floor only, reorganisation/ wiping of pantry and kitchen cabinets, painting in Japan black the second coat, hot mop polish the floor, baking cakes, muffins and slices to put into freezer…you choose your job from a list on the white board and tick them off as they are completed.
We start work at 8am and have a mid morning snack and drink break, go back to work then lunch then go back to do the last hour. So the day is broken into three parts so it is fun and not exhausting. We can run over time if the daily time schedule on the white board is not adhered to but I am careful not to do more than what was agreed to.
We have a few raincoats, yard boots, t shirts, hats and long socks available that you can borrow so just ask we understand you travel light or you may be completely unfamiliar with outdoor work it’s ok we are just happy to have you here with us and we will take care of you as best we can.
Menu plan. I do not cater for particular diets such as vegan, raw and meat only however I will adjust for gluten free. I do not supply shop nuts but ask me where they are growing here instead ie Macadamias and Pecans if the birds don’t get them all first!
Cooked breakfasts…changed daily ie rolled oats porridge with toppings , pancakes, eggs and bacon, toasts and toppings, yoghurt and stewed fruits. No commercially made cereal.
Lunches…large round flat breads where you choose your fillings and make yourself. Includes BBQ chicken pieces, sliced ham, grated cheese, condiments, tomato, cucumber and mixed salad. You can pack in take away containers for outings. Toasting machine available.
Dinners…pizza night with home made dough and you choose your particular toppings from a selection. BBQ night with chicken satay and creamy cucumber salad. Roasted chicken cream of corn egg drop soup with crusty sesame oiled rolls. Bolognaise with fettuccine, grated Parma and cheesy garlic bread. Minced meat rissoles, mushy potato and gravy with seasonal steamed vegetables. Taco night with mince and a selection of taco fillings. Hungarian chicken paprika slow cooked stew with potato wedges in savoury tomato sauce. Air fried Salmon pieces with crispy skin, bread rolls and green salad with dressing. (Last minute edit…Mick (who grew up in the bush on the land) has offered to do a camp oven meal in the outdoor fire pit using a traditional drover style method if the weather is permitting so that will replace one meal in the above plan which would be worth the trip just to do that!).
Dessert…ice cream, left over pancakes, bananas, strawberries, stewed fruit, yoghurt, carrot and pineapple jelly (sounds weird but you will love it)
Snacks…chocolate mud slices, apple cinnamon muffins, banana cake. No commercially made biscuits or boxed snacks are provided. (Pre warn me of gluten free requests).
Doing Workaway is a big deal for our family and we really look forward to these fun times with our new friends. Our kids love to chat and learn about your culture too. We do a games night, a movie night and we have a large outdoor entertainment area with a fire pit if it is in season. The other nights we can pick you up from town if you are going out for the evening to the pub/Tavern.
We ask for respect…no smoking during help time or meal time, no foul language, good manners, help to prepare meals and tidy up, basic cleaning after yourself, complete sobriety when showing up to work (includes pot and booze) and being on time. Any trouble makers get evicted immediately back to the train station and get a bad review.
This Workaway opportunity is aimed at international back packers who are looking for short term experiences. If however you are an Australian who has “need to find a place” (aka shelter and a two way street work ethic) for the longer term we may be able to point you in the right direction so please talk to us so we can work something out. References will be required and a police check.
Life is too short not to make it fun so lets have fun together.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Pets
Plant care
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Situated 15 minutes drive to Bellingen town famous for music and cultural festivals. 5 minutes away from the picture perfect Promised Lands swimming holes.
You can walk to the upper Bellinger River from here called the Gordonville Crossing. There are many bushwalking trails around and Dorrigo National park has the Skywalk lookout and Crystal Showers rainforest walk, sculptures in nature and the Dorrigo Visitor Centre.
Coffs Harbour Airport, Urunga beach and Coffs Botanical gardens are an hour away. Once a month the Community has a Market Day in the Park at Bellingen. Weekly on Wednesday afternoon the Local growers have locally grown food for sale at the show ground.
If you want to stick around outside the Workaway commitment we can make suggestions for local spots to camp (Thora free campgrounds with showers and toilet plus convenience store is 10 minutes from us) so you can further your holiday experience in the area and we are still happy to get you back to the train station at a later date.
Help
We basically just need extra hands to help us get through our rural life days and the tasks are not hard and doesn’t need skill it just needs you to partake and enjoy the experience. In the past we have had various long term projects however this is a very short time commitment and is more of a holiday on the cheap for the lucky applicants who are just passing through and need to break up the journey between Sydney and Brisbane. We can pick you up from the train station or the Bus terminal in Urunga which is not far from Coffs Harbour. You can stay in a miniature Yurt here (fits one person) and borrow our large tent and bedding (fits four) for a few extra days for free if you can self support your own food. Or if you prefer we can drop you to a local camping area and later assist you to get back to the train or bus terminal when we pick up our repacked tent (no bedding). If you come in your own vehicle you could stay on our land for a few days to extend your time in the local area provided you are self supporting food however we will let you hook up to our power for a few days in the garage and store food in our fridge. Of course you can use the shower, gas cooktop and toilet.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
The shared space our home kitchen is a log cabin. It is rustic and bohemian with a wrap around verandah. It could be called a true Bellingen experience. It has a composting toilet and outdoor under cover hot shower. Cooking on a gas stove, electric oven or our newly made wood fired stove. Bread making machine. Sandwich toaster. BBQ. Large fridges and freezers. Large dinner table and stainless steel food prep table. Fireplace with oven suitable to bake vegetables. Ice crushing blender. There is a clothes drier and washing machine. There are outdoor sun lines for drying. Everyone cleans up after themselves and puts things away. Initiative to replace the last toilet roll is very much noticed and appreciated.
Your personal private space is a room in our short term rental A frame house. The value is high so we hope that you appreciate this unique opportunity. You can access our composting toilet, shower and laundry in the shared space cabin. You will have access to internet, heating/fan and power. We the family live separately in a modified Yurt and we all come together at “The Cabin”. It is a good learning experience for you to see how we have chosen the path of alternative living while making an income from eco tourism and creating a really interesting lifestyle that we share with you.
I am happy to cook all your meals and provide travel packs for when you are off property. I would appreciate some help in the kitchen as required. Kitchen time is not work time it is fun time and I give you instructions but I still do most of the work and actually I do a lot of preparation before you arrive or before you start your day.
I fully plan every thing here…in addition to the above menu there are extras that you can make yourself once you have a tour of the kitchen supplies.
Home grown Turmeric honey milk tea (it’s so good you will never have the dried stuff again)
Spiced Bundagen Chai (a locally made speciality) in sweetened condensed milk
Brewed plunger coffee with milk (could be iced)
Iced Lime cordial
Herbal teas (lots of choices from home grown varieties)
DIY Home grown banana smoothies with garden greens and garden ginger.
Fresh fruit. The freezer is full of bags of home grown mandarin juice.
DIY Tea, coffee, lime cordial, smoothies, herbal teas.
Mountain fresh natural spring water from property.
Kitchen opens at 6.30am for breakfast
8.00am to 10.00am work
We break for half an hour mid morning break
10.30am to 12.30pm work
Lunch one to one and a half hours
Finish hours for the day time can vary depending on schedule keeping earlier
After work relax on property or go off exploring.
Dinner at 7.30pm
What else ...
If your stay happens to fall on the time when the Bellingen markets are on I am happy to modify the work plan around this activity.
Gordonville Crossing is within walking distance from here and it is a great place to swim and relax. 4km return trip. You can take the goat Midnight if you want some company.
We are situated in rainforest with Dorrigo National Park on our back boundary. You can explore Youngens Creek that runs through the property.
The cats live in a very large outdoor atrium which is very nice to visit and relax patting the cats while sitting on the logs.
The goats are very friendly and love a good scratch. They will eat bread from the ground and do not mind you posing for photos with them.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have a WIFi that is wireless. The phone service here is good.
Space for parking camper vans
We have had several travellers with vans and it works for us however you are welcome to stay inside the house as part of your experience.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
7 Dwarfs
Feedback (18)
From the moment we arrived, Peta made… read more
I learned so many new skills here. Peta taught me how… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
From the moment we arrived, Peta made… read more
I learned so many new skills here. Peta taught me how… read more
I have done a lot of different Workaway and this one was my favourite one. Pete is the best host, she's very interesting, kind and she treated us really well. The food was amazing and the work wasn't difficult. We had the chance to cook together (I really enjoy the handmade Pizza night). I would 100% recommend this… read more
and what was more, her cook is amazing, we enjoyed cooking together and having dinner… read more
Bellingen, the next town, is not really close. But Peta is always happy to organize or give you a lift to the surrounding areas. We went to the… read more
When Alice stayed with us she helped out with weeding a hillside. She… read more
She was so welcoming and made me feel at home all the time. I feel like I have learnt so much even though I only stayed 6days. I wish I could have stayed longer!
I loved working with Peta, we did some weeding, cooking, it was so nice to cook together and experience new types of cooking. We made some yummy… read more
We enjoyed all the things Peta asked us to do and loved how she took into consideration what we would prefer to do. Our jobs included… read more
They primarily helped with weeding which was my major concern however I soon discovered these workawayers have… read more
She and Mick are a very lovely couple, we learned a lot about the carpentry job, about building yurts and also some nice cooking tricks, Jade was such a funny and unusual girl, very smart and very good… read more
Peta and Mick were great hosts, and treated me like family. I spent 2 weeks in December there and learnt lots, from fixing yurts to building a platform. Peta is one of those rare generous souls who goes out of her way to make sure that… read more
Stu painted the outside of the cottage in Japan black. He trimmed the trees and bushes in the driveway and then ran the chipping… read more
