The image depicts a large house with a gray roof and blue siding, surrounded by lush greenery and set against a majestic mountainous backdrop under a cloudy sky.
The image depicts a small boat with a motor on the shore of a body of water, set against a backdrop of trees and mountains under a cloudy sky.
The image shows a man and woman in a kitchen, with the woman\'s arm partially obscuring the man\'s face. They are both wearing aprons.
A young boy with outstretched arms walks down a dirt path in the mountains, surrounded by lush greenery and overcast skies.
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Ex-guesthouse and kiwi family in Whataroa, New Zealand

Availability

  2025 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    We are a family of four (with one family member currently living/working away from home) in an old guesthouse, on the beautiful wild West Coast of New Zealand. We are located an hour south of Hokitika, and 30 minutes north of Franz Josef Glacier. If you love nature, hiking, fishing, hunting, exploring.. you’ll love it here.

    We will host couples or female friends travelling together - it’s not ideal being solo as the family is busy and could be lonely. No solo males at this time.

    Our home is a large building on a very large property, and it’s hard to keep up with it on our own, especially as we have “real” jobs now too.

    The work for this season is mainly outdoors - the garden is overgrown and the grass needs frequent cutting, there is painting work if you are comfortable on a ladder.. as well as general maintenance like cleaning windows. If you like building tasks, I would love to have some garden boxes built. If the weather is wet, anyone who is interested in helping with decluttering/organising would be amazing. Also general cleaning/maintenance.

    We offer a lovely warm home and good company, we love meeting people and making new friends. The children are aged 14 and 16 and will respect your space but are also great fun. We have a very energetic young Labrador who would love you to take him swimming and walking down by the river (next to our property). We also have an outdoor game that we invented - it’s called shovel-ball - that we’d enjoy teaching you.

    We do recommend having your own car to make the most of the area - we’re some kilometres from the nearest town (though right on the main highway) and our place can feel quite isolated if you can’t go anywhere - though we’re happy to drop you off or pick you up if your destination aligns with our plans for the day.

    We also do require housesitters from time to time (generally within the NZ school holidays).

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    House sitting
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    If you want to experience life with a very relaxed rural kiwi family, we fit that bill! We love to share our skills and learn from you, give you advice on local attractions, hikes, or you can just simply relax or read a book.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

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

  • Help

    Help

    We ask for 3-4 hours help per day, five days per week, as well as participating in our family's normal daily housework. I’m not the time police, we work around your plans so you can make the most of your time here.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We provide a private room with your own bathroom, wifi, and your main meals. You provide your own snacks. If you do have a specific diet (vegan/veg/allergies) you'll need to bring your own proteins and specialty foods to hold you over for a few days, until we know more about you and can order what you need. There are no grocery stores here.

  • 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

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide space for campervans.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • My animals / pets

    My animals / pets

    Profile photo of Ashley Oswald

    Ashley Oswald (3 years)

    Ash is a black Labrador Retriever, he is bred to be a working dog instead of a pet, so he has a lot of energy and needs firm boundaries. He is also a big cutie who loves belly rubs and all of your attention. He is allowed indoors when supervised, and you must say “big stretch” when he has a big stretch. It’s the dog law.

Host ref number: 327299697264

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Photos

The image depicts a small boat with a motor on the shore of a body of water, set against a backdrop of trees and mountains under a cloudy sky.
The image shows a man and woman in a kitchen, with the woman\'s arm partially obscuring the man\'s face. They are both wearing aprons.
A young boy with outstretched arms walks down a dirt path in the mountains, surrounded by lush greenery and overcast skies.
The image depicts a large house with a gray roof and blue siding, surrounded by lush greenery and set against a majestic mountainous backdrop under a cloudy sky.

Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host

+16

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