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***March 25th, NZ Government has moved us all into quarantine. We already have a couple of workawayers sheltering with us and I'm sorry but the drawbridge is up. We cannot take anyone else during the lockdown. Good luck out there, please take care of one another. Like Jacinda says: "Be strong, be kind. We will be oK"***
*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️ Please check our Workaway Calendar to find out when we are needing help *️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️
We are a busy, happy family of four living and working on our small landholding. Husband runs a digital media company from home, Wife is a researcher/writer who takes care of the children and cooks delicious meals. Big Kid rides the bus to the local high school and Little Kid attends our wee rural primary school. We listen to awesome music, work in the garden, and in the summertime we swim in our river.
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Farmstay help
Help with Eco Projects
Help around the house
Art Projects
Help with Computers/ Internet
We are staunchly proud South Islanders and fiercely patriotic New Zealanders. With us, you will be exposed to kiwi music that you mightn't otherwise hear. We like to ensure our visitors have access to NZ films, etc, and we are always keen to bust out the road map and help you plan the next leg of your adventure.
My husband is a born-again New Zealander, so he carries with him a personal understanding of what it is to adjust to NZ from the outside, whereas I can trace my family line back 7 generations to this region. North Canterbury for life!
We love having conversations about a range of topics. My husband is an entrepreneur and I'm a former university lecturer so between us we can cover a bit of ground.
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
We are involved in an ongoing project of reclaiming derelict land and planting a small forest. We'd love help with this! There are a lot of rocks on this land and elsewhere on our property that need moving. We aim to turn our abundance of rocks from nuisances into beautiful construction. It's hard work - time consuming and physical - but satisfying.
Depending upon the time of year, you might be helping with planting, weeding, harvesting or preserving. There are chickens to be fed, rocks to be moved, structures to be built. Or perhaps you can come and represent your nation in the unofficial international wood stack olympics! We've had Swiss, French, Australian, Spanish, American and English competitors so far!! We are very into home improvement and landscaping, and we enjoy creative pursuits. Aside from hauling rocks, who knows what you'll be helping with?!
English: Fluent
French: Beginner
Maori: Beginner
We live in a beautiful part of the country. It's less than an hour to Christchurch International airport, and our small landholding is set amongst vast farms. We are lucky to live in a spot that is private, quiet, and surrounded by gorgeousness!
You'll get to stay in a separate cottage, or your own house, depending upon who else is on premise. Both the guest cottage and guest house have their own bathrooms, kitchens and fireplaces. The guest house has a swimming pool and we have a spa pool, so you might want to bring your togs (aka swimsuits).
My office and the kids' arts & crafts stuff are also in the cottage, so sometimes we'll need access if you're staying there, but we will always knock so you can have your own space.
Make no mistake: we live fairly remotely. It won't suit everyone! We are about 15-20 minutes from supermarket & espresso - but we do have WiFi ;)
Mobile reception is not great.
We would appreciate if you could be as clear as possible with your dates and expectations/hopes!
We will abide by the Workaway advice of committing to only a week initially: if it goes well and the timing works for you and for our family we can look at extending your stay.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Two
5 hours a day 5 days a week