Enjoy life at a peaceful nature retreat near Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Details

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  Description

  Countryside Nature Retreat — Peace, Nature & Tranquillity in the Bay of Islands
  
  Come and enjoy our peaceful 3.3-hectare countryside property with Noelle and Graham. Share our olive groves, ponds, gardens, beautiful white swans and abundant New Zealand birdlife.
  
  We offer Workaway guests a comfortable, modern, self-contained apartment, specially suited to a couple, two friends or a young traveller. The apartment is 40 square metres, fully self-contained and sleeps two. It is quiet, private and very comfortable.
  
  Please ask to see our property . . . we have made a short YouTube film and we would be very happy to send you the link. It gives you a much better feeling for our home, the gardens, ponds and countryside than photographs alone can do.
  
  The film also features a peaceful soundtrack of cello and piano together with recordings of New Zealand birds from our own property.
  
  What is the work like? Our Workaway schedule is deliberately light: three hours in the morning, from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon, five days a week.
  After three weeks Graham changes the schedule to four days on followed by three days off. This allows our guests extra sightseeing opportunities.
  
  There is no heavy work and no weeding!
  
  We enjoy having help with a variety of small and interesting maintenance jobs around our home, gardens, orchards, olive groves and ponds.
  
  We like our Workawayers to enjoy the property and the surrounding Bay of Islands as much as we do.
  
  Spring on the property . . . the months September to January are a particularly lovely time here, with warm days, young ducklings, flowering gardens and plenty of bird activity around the ponds.
  
  Our location . . . . we are in the rural Bay of Islands in Northland, within easy reach of Kerikeri and Paihia. It is a beautiful part of New Zealand, with beaches, native bush, walking tracks, historic places and the spectacular Bay of Islands all nearby.
  
  We welcome Workawayers throughout the year and there is always something interesting to do on our 3.3 hectares ( 8.5 acres).
  
  Please take a few minutes to read some of our many Workaway feedbacks. They will give you a good idea of the experience of staying with us and the trusting relationships we have with our guests.
  
  Enquiries are welcome for October, November and December, and for next year.
  
  If you are looking for a peaceful rural experience, comfortable accommodation and a relaxed few hours of interesting work each morning, we would love to hear from you.
  
  If you are a pianist, you are welcome to play Graham's lovely piano.
  
  Please note . . . all our guests have their own transport and are non-smokers.
  
  Please contact Graham and ask for the link to our short property film.
  
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  Where we are
  We are at Waimate North, in the beautiful Bay of Islands region of Northland, close to Kerikeri and Paihia (pronounced Pie-here).
  Since 2004 we have created a very special and peaceful corner of rural New Zealand on 3.3 hectares
  There are two olive groves with 140 trees, four large landscaped ponds, flowering water lilies, ducks and wetland birds and landscaped gardens, expansive green lawns and a small waterfall.
  Nature is very much part of our everyday life.
  There are lots of birds, rabbits, and two beautiful white swans called Princess and Prince.
  
  We often raise orphaned young birds and have become particularly experienced with young magpies, some of which learn to play Graham's piano.
  
  Our orchard has about 30 fruit trees, including ten avocado trees representing four varieties, as well as fruiting citrus and bananas growing in our rich volcanic soil. We willingly share our fruit with our workawayer guests.
  Our modern two-storey, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home is a silver award-winning Master Builders House of the Year.
  
  Where you will stay
  Workawayers have their own 40-square-metre, fully independent guest apartment, designed to provide privacy, comfort and everything you need for your stay.
  The apartment has:
  a modern all-electric kitchen
  ceramic cooktop
  microwave
  refrigerator
  freezer space in our shared freezer
  bathroom and hot shower
  laundry facilities
  two new, very comfortable king-single beds
  easy parking immediately beside the apartment
  Tea, coffee, milk and basic seasonings are provided to get you started. Bedding and towels are supplied.
  The laundry is shared and has a top-loading washing machine.
  
  Although the apartment is completely independent, we enjoy getting together from time to time, often for a meal outdoors among the gardens and flowers, or during winter in front of a warm lounge fire.
  The help we need
  
  Our work is varied and generally involves helping us keep this large property neat and well cared for.
  Typical jobs include:
  pruning and chipping trees
  general tidying around the property
  helping with our small but very productive vegetable garden
  small gardening jobs around Noelle's gardens
  cleaning windows
  using a cordless battery leaf blower around the paved areas surrounding the house
  occasional odd jobs around the house or property
  
  Graham has a back injury. He has difficulty walking and now does his outdoor work mainly from his quad bike or electric farm vehicle, so having some extra help with physical jobs is particularly valuable.
  
  We ask for no more than about three hours of help per day, five days a week.
  This is considerably less than the traditional five-hour Workaway day.
  We deliberately keep the hours short because we want our guests to have plenty of time to enjoy Northland. You can spend your afternoons exploring beaches, walking tracks, villages and the many attractions of the Bay of Islands.
  
  We are relaxed about how the three hours are organised.
  If you enjoy cooking, for example, we are very happy for preparing a shared meal to form part of your contribution from time to time.
  
  Food and transport
  IMPORTANT: Workawayers must provide their own transport and their own food.
  This is an important part of how our arrangement works, and our reduced working hours reflect this.
  
  All our Workawayers have their own transport and buy and prepare their own food. The arrangement has worked very well for us and has been popular with our many previous guests.
  The apartment has everything needed for independent cooking.
  We sometimes cook together, however. Occasionally Graham will prepare a meal for everyone, and sometimes a guest will cook for us all in our large kitchen.
  We particularly enjoy those spontaneous shared meals and the conversations that come with them.
  We have hosted many people
  
  Since 2017 we have welcomed more than 220 Workawayers from 24 countries.
  Most people stay for three or four weeks, although some stay considerably longer - we have had guests stay for 16 weeks, and many have returned to stay with us on several occasions.
  We really do enjoy meeting people from different countries and cultures.
  What can you do when you stay with us?
  Our location is particularly good for exploring Northland.
  North
  Take a day trip to Doubtless Bay, Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga.
  West
  Explore the Hokianga Harbour, isolated west-coast beaches and the magnificent ancient kauri forests.
  East
  Visit Paihia, take a boat trip among the islands, explore the walking tracks, or catch the ferry to historic Russell.
  For longer trips - such as Cape Reinga, the Hokianga or Russell - our guests simply take the whole day off. We want you to have plenty of time to explore rather than feeling that you have to rush back to work.
  You can even head north for several days or a week of camping and hiking and then return to your apartment and continue your stay with us.
  We are very relaxed and happy to fit in with your plans.
  
  Our location
  We are approximately:
  16 km from Kerikeri CBD, our main shopping centre
  10 km from Kerikeri Airport
  18 km from Paihia, with its beaches, ferries and maritime attractions
  
  Who are we?
  Graham is retired. For 40 years he was a Bay of Islands cruise-boat captain and has spent much of his life on the water.
  Noelle is also retired. She served for many years with the Royal New Zealand Navy as a hydrographer/cartographer. She was a receptionist at the Waitangi Treaty House and National Trust for twelve years
  We are both sixth-generation New Zealanders.
  Graham writes and publishes non-fiction books and has a particular interest in New Zealand's maritime history, nature and the Bay of Islands.
  We have been retired for many years and live a quiet, relaxed life here.
  
  We appreciate companionship, cultural exchange, conversation and some practical help around our property.
  We like meeting people and seeing our guests enjoy Northland.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Elderly Companionship

  Light gardening

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  The practice of their English language skillls is No 1 on the list. But our lifestyle is one of living in a beautiful rural area where peace and tranquility reign supreme. This really is a lovely place (see our video of 2025) and the house and the helpers' apartment are modern and comfortable. This apartment (also called a 'flat' or 'unit') is suited to one person or two. Noelle and Graham do not smoke and nor do our guests.

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  Help

  We have two olive groves of 140 trees which need occasional pruning of branches. We have four landscaped large ponds which need to be kept neat and tidy for our two white swans and ducks and other birds. . A small vegetable garden and an orchard are close to the house. There is sometimes work to do there. Graham mows his 2.2 hectares of lawns every week, using a big machine which he will not ask helpers to use. But he cannot use a weed eater (line trimmer) because he broke his back and is now not strong enough. Safety helmet and protective leggings are provided where needed.
  
  Noelle would like the windows in the house cleaned from time to time ( about every 3 months) using a K'Archer electric window vacuum. Some help with housekeeping might be nice. Some guests like to cook a shared meal in our big, all electric kitchen and that has been a lot of fun but it is not expected of guests. If you do like cooking we would like that very much and it could be part or all of your helping hours on some days.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  As described : a modern unit, all electric kitchen with cooktop and microwave, fridge. Share our laundry and our freezer space if needed, you are welcome. But note that you will cook your own meals. In return we ask for only 3 hours help per day (not 5). We are retired, relaxed and just appreciate some help when it is offered. If your stay is for longer than two weeks we are happy for you to take extra whole days off free of obligation to go camping or hiking.
  
  Want to stay over the winter months? Why not? But in this case, please include some regular meal preparation for Noelle and Graham in our own kitchen. The house is warmed by an everlasting wood fire right through the cold months because we grow our own firewood and have a big reserve supply in dry storage.
  
  Wifi is unlimited data shared with our helpers/guests

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  What else ...

  As described in our "description" we are an excellent base for exploring Northland and a delightful home to return to at the end of the day. Even if you go north for a few days camping, you can return home to us and tell us all about your trip! We will keep your unit available and secure and you can continue your stay.

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have lots of room for parking on a large concrete apron which surrounds the east and south sides of the house. Level parking. But unable to supply electricity to campervans because we do not have the correct power points. A standard extension lead could be provided for charging devices.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Nico

  Seal point Ragdoll who much prefers to be indoors and who sleeps 22 hours a day but does enjoy meeting visitors

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