Gardening and help around home with our foodie family of three in Northwest Auckland, New Zealand

Details

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  Description

  We are a couple with a 12 year old son.
  Our paradise is 9 acres 40 minutes drive Northwest of Auckland, near a small village called Waimauku. The 9 acres is set on a hill sandwiched between two large farms.
  6 of our 9 acres is protected native New Zealand bush with mature trees including Kauri, Puriri, Rimu and Nikau. It's an extremely private spot and our house is nestled into the hill over looking the bush. There is great bird song, minimal light pollution and on clear night a spectacular nightscape.
  Our house is 25 years old and was built to be completely independent of nationally supplied electricity. Thus we generate all our electricity from 12 solar panels. A generator tops up on the few times through out the year that the sun does not shine enough to meet our needs. Water is heated via gas so hot showers are guaranteed regardless of the weather. We enjoy a large log fire during the winter. However it doesn't get very cold here with only occasional frosts during the winter.
  As food and wine lovers, and meals are very important to us. We always cook from scratch and aim for mostly organic produce. We are meat eaters who often enjoy a glass of wine or craft beer. During the summer we love to dine outdoors at which time the BBQ is an important extension of our kitchen.
  Homemade cheese features on our menu.
  Hens are our thing, we have about 30 pastured, heritage breed layers and each year raise about 50 chicks.
  Our vegetables garden are a continual work in progress. They don't provide 100% of our needs but there is always at something seasonal and super fresh on offer.
  We are 20 minutes away from one of New Zealand's best surf beaches, Muriwai and 30 minutes from beautiful east coast swimming beaches, 40 mins to Auckland City (outside of peak times). Also close by are vineyards, thermal hot pools, a brew pub, mountain bike parks, horse riding, sky diving, fishing, cruises on the Kaipara Harbour, bush walks (some with water falls), Gibbs farm and other sculpture trails, Shops are all within a 10 minute drive.
  Sharing all this gives us great pleasure and extras in the house is fun for us.
  We've hosted over 70 people in the last five years. We take our hosting responsibilities very seriously, please read our extensive positive feedback comments.
  If our way of life appeals to you we would love to hear from you.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  A very peaceful environment.
  All our guests are treated to excellent food and wine, some of which will be grown here, raised here or made here which they may be an integral part of.
  Chris is very knowledgeable on fine dining and is a fully qualified wine expert and Natalie in nutrient dense food as prepared slowly and traditionally.
  The opportunity to learn to make cheese and yoghurt.
  As part of honouring the animals that we consume, we also make soap using rendered fat. If of intrest we could include you in that process.
  Learn to kill and process roosters and ducks ready for eating. (It's easier than you think and only if you want to be involved)
  New Zealand's unique flora and fauna are literally right outside the front door.
  If you're inclined there are possums to be hunted.
  We are an ideal location to do some Auckland day trips from. It is easy from our home to visit paces such as, Waiheke, Rangitoto, Tiritiri Matangi, Auckland museum, Auckland art gallery, Auckland Zoo, Mt Eden, Muriwai Beach, Omeru Falls,
  In the summer we visit our local beaches regularly. Workawayers are welcome to tag along.
  Chris is from the UK. So we are a mix of European and New Zealand culture. We like to think the best of old and new worlds.

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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

  We are busy juggling away from home work, being parents as well as meeting our goals for our property/ home. Thus there is a plethora of things to done and we really value help.
  Depending on your skill set and what you feel comfortable with.
  Outside tasks could include; Line trimming, feeding hens, mowing lawns, harvesting produce, vegetable gardening, pruning, tree felling, culling roosters, tending to the evening fire and chopping wood,
  Inside tasks such as: Sweeping and vacuuming, hanging out washing, cleaning windows and floors, making cheese, helping to prepare an evening meal, washing dishes.
  Taking time to interact with our son who is home-schooled, mature for his age and social.
  We are currently preferring to host singles and find best are people who, are happy to work on their own, are physically fit as well as being willing to put on outdoor boots and wet weather gear if required.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  We offer a comfortable double room in our house with a rural outlook and a Queen sized bed. Adjacent to the room is a family bathroom which you will share with our son. The shower is awesome but in the summer we need to be mindful of water usage so we ask that you keep your showers to 5 mins max)
  The house is modern and warm.
  There is unlimited broadband.
  We do not have terrestrial TV. Favouring movies instead played on our multi zone DVD player or netflicks
  All appliances are switched off at the wall while we are sleeping to minimise power usage.
  Breakfasts and lunches are to be prepared by you from our well stocked pantry, garden and fridge. Evening meals we all eat together as a family.
  It is an important part of hosting workawayers for us is to share this evening meal. Our evening meal almost always comprises of some meat and sauces made with meat based broth. We've found in the past that catering for vegetarians or vegans doesn't suit our type of cooking. If you prefer to not eat meat please do not apply as we know there are better hosts out there who can accommodate you more easily. We can however easily manage gluten free or low carb type diets.

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  What else ...

  We are close to Auckland but public transport through out New Zealand is patchy. We are happy to collect and deliver you to and from the bus stop at Kumeu or Kaukapakapa. Or if times line up with our trips in and out of the city, from central Auckland. However if you are staying in New Zealand for some time we really recommend you purchase a cheap car as it really is the best and most economical way to see lots.

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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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  Can host digital nomads

  Talk to us about what you needs are, we can usually tweak things to accommodate anyone interested in sharing our lifestyle.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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