Help our family in our home and garden in the beautiful Shoalhaven region, Australia

Details

• 

  Description

  Hello Travellers!
  Avail to host: Late April
  We are a active family who have recently moved to the lovely Shoalhaven region 2 hrs south of Sydney.
  
  In and around the family life your tasks could be helping with gardening, support in repairing, small DIY projects, and cleaning. If you are a native german speaker then helping out the kids with their German homework is always welcome. Plus helping us all to declutter and unpack. Support with any or all would be awesome!!
  
  ----
  
  THE FAMILY: German scientist (Felix) works full time. Australian massage therapist/teacher ( Cami) working away 3 days, and from home 2 days in a new teaching role. Two daughters (9 and 12) social, fun, quiet and very feisty. They love to play soccer, dance, read, draw and play. Also our littlest and sassiest family member is a guinea pig named Marmalade who gets a bit lonely and needs a cuddle at times.
  
  EXPERIENCE: We have enjoyed hosting volunteers and renting to lodgers on and off for the last 15 years across Melbourne, Perth, Hunter Valley and Germany. Our workawayers have made a huge positive impact on our kids development and the help around the house has been phenomenal.
  
  We try to live a sustainable lifestyle in a comfortable home with access to some truly beautiful nature trails right outside our doorstep. We are vegetarian.
  
  LOCATION: Our yard looks out over forest and a small creek where the kids love to play. On early morning and dusk walks you can often spot native Australian animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, kookaburras, a lyrebird, a wombat and even an echidna grazing nearby. 4 kilometers from town, a bike ride, bus or jog away. Country NSW (North Nowra, 160kms/2 hrs sth of Sydney. Train connections are avail from Sydney-Bomaderry, 3-4 hours.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  Interests

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  Music

  

  Languages

  

  Plant care

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Gardening

  

  Art & design

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Books

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Team sports

  

  Hiking

  

  Fitness

  

  Camping

  

  Beach

  

  Cycling

  

  Dancing

  

  Nature
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are an almost 'normal' family, busy, happy, intense, loving, sharing. There is a real mix of practical skills that could be learned and we attempt to match your interests to the tasks at hand. If you are here to improve your English then we are patient and provide lots of opportunities to practice. Supporting the children getting ready for school and doing homework is a great English exercise. Learning 'on the job' everyday words and phrases is also a natural way to improve. Playing and hanging out with the kids in your own time is a great way to accelerate your language learning too 😀

• 

  Projects involving children

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

• 

  Help

  SHORT STAYS(1-3 weeks): We are looking to host independent, efficient, energetic and practical people who could assist in garden maintenance, day to day house help, cleaning, home DIY projects with paint or wood.. (old clothes and shoes recommended). We have just sold our house and have moved to Nowra in late December 2025.
  
  LONGER STAYS(4 to 12 weeks): All of the above plus, if you enjoy children and have experience at being both a friend and a mature adult then some child care opportunities may be included. (up to 6 hours per week help with homework, getting to school, sport and bed on time, meals etc).
  
  The property is also in a beautiful location with forest, a waterfall and beautiful boulders to rest and look out from near by. There is a local volunteer bush care group who help preserve the area with weed removal and path maintenance. Its a great eco project to be apart of and they are all friendly and knowledgeable.
  
  All stays regardless of whether they are short or long helps so much to reduce the 'motherload' of a working mum, and a dad who is away most of the week. We all get to rest and play a little more when volunteers come to stay. :)
  
  FOCUS PROJECTS: In April and May we are finishing off renos for upstairs with new wooden floors, and a shower refresh with new grout, and silicone. We are also trying to bring the garden back from the brink of neglect and keep the weeds at bay. From May to Aug we will look at fitting out the ground level floor to become a beautiful studio apartment and massage clinic.
  
  EVERY DAY HELP could be:
  + day to day general housekeeping, cleaning, laundry, deep cleaning
  + general gardening maintenance, weeding, pruning, mowing, edging
  + eco project weeding and maintaining the bushland in the surrounding area
  + simple handyman/woman repairs and DIY projects
  + deep cleaning and decluttering garage
  + preparing a space to begin a vegetable garden. Improving soil quality with compost and manure.(late 2026)
  + making and baking your own sour dough bread, kombucha and kefir
  + cooking simple and wholesome vegetarian meals
  + German language practice with us all
  + Homework help: German, English, Maths
  + Painting projects
  + repairing things, working with wood and restoring furniture,
  + supporting the family to declutter and pack
  
  Up to 22 hours of volunteer help exchange includes accommodation, vegetarian food and WiFi. Cooking a couple of meals and/or helping clean up after some meals are in addition to your weekly help exchange hours.
  
  MIN STAY: 1 week
  MAX STAY: Up to 12 weeks
  
  MEETING FACE TO FACE B4 VOLUNTEERING: A a short video call to get to know each other a little before hand is the usual process we take before onboarding terrific volunteers. Its a great way to ask questions and get a feel for if we will all live and work well together. We also have a 'volunteer agreement form' that goes over what we have discussed and helps make us feel more safe with inviting people into our home and family life. It can also help you to feel confident that you are coming for a fair volunteer/work exchange and positive experience.
  
  We are happy to pick up and drop off from local train station (Bomaderry), bus depot (Nowra). Cami works in Shellharbour(TAFE) and can also pick up from the lovely Kiama those days. Also plenty of parking and camping space avail for anyone road tripping about Oz :).

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  We are working towards a bilingual English-German family. Practicing as much Deutsch as possible with native speakers is terrific for inspiring our kids to learn further. We traveled to Germany/Switzerland in late 2022 and their language development was fantastic. We actually got to visit some workawayers who we have hosted in the past. It was so very very cool for us to see them again and experience their culture and their own new young families. We can also be very patient with people learning English and give them plenty of chances to practice conversation and reading with the children. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, we are all learning!
• 

  Accommodation

  We have a large guest room on the ground floor, with your own entrance, queen bed and bathroom. There is a quiet yard porch and forest outlook. However it is a area we are working to improve on over the next year as some things need replacing and repairing. The last two workawayers we have hosted thou have really enjoyed the privacy and space down there despite the walls not yet being finished with plaster or paint. (This could be part of your job if you are keen to have a go), and a bit of disorganised 'stuff' left from our move in the foyer area (Also an area that Cami could use some help with :S).
  
  There's a communal kitchen, deck with peaceful views and a living room. All are welcome to share this space or enjoy their own peace and quiet.
  
  The garden is cute and colourful and we are attempting to bring it back into order.
  
  It is a lacto ovo VEGETARIAN house hold/kitchen. This means dairy, eggs and of course chocolate is enjoyed! In addition to your volunteer week, it is hoped that you can cook a meal to share your countries traditional flavour and taste secrets :).. if not we'll support you to try and follow a new vegetarian recipe for the first time. Helping with the dish washing up is also a extra for the evening/lunch meal if you are not cooking.

• 

  What else ...

  This region is renowned for its natural beauty. Bush walk/hike in nature, mountain bike, and rock climbing are all easily reachable from here. We are a short bus or bike ride into the nearby township of Nowra, or you can catch the train to the lovely town ship of Berry, and beachside town of Kiama. However rural bus schedualling means you need to be organised. We can provide lifts when going to and from work as well and on weekends we try to get out to explore this beautiful region as a family one day. There are also forests and creeks and rocky cliffs to explore by foot, or bike. All townships have interesting heritage from early settlers, boutique stores, good coffee and cakes. There are also vineyards, beaches and great big forests a bit further abroad if you have your own transport.
  
  You are always welcome to borrow a bike for some local adventures.
  
  This area is also just a typical quiet Aussie countryside setting... i.e it runs at a fairly different pace to the city in a friendly neighbourhood. Interesting to foreigners, and a nice place to take stock, follow your own creative pursuits and re-energise before jumping back into your travels..
  
  We think Workaway volunteers could benefit staying with us as they can explore the country culture, practice English or speak German, enjoy a bit of homely family life, apply and/or learn practical skills and balance their study/ work/travel with their exchange hours.
  
  We look forward to hearing from you
  
  Cheers and happy travels, Cami, Felix, Jana, Frieda and Marmalade the guineapig.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  Our NBN WIFI connection is reasonable for general internet use however streaming, heavy graphics applications etc would need to be used at times when we are not working from home as this can cause drop outs to other users. We ask that whilst you are doing your volunteer hours phone use is kept to a minimum. This ensures your own safety, efficiency and attention to detail for the jobs at hand. The hours a volunteer works is flexible and be discussed in the first week of your stay. Whether you chose to do 3 long days or just 3 hours every day works fine by us. In the summer the yard work should be done either early or late to avoid peak heat times. This leaves most of the day free for study, exploring, rest and play.

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  There is a flat parking space across from us next to the forest and creek. Other vehicles have plenty of space to park in the street.

• 

  Can possibly accept pets

  We do love animals. If yours is tolerant of being adored by kids then hosting you and your pet could be possible. We have a guinea pig,and whilst its in a cage we would need to ensure your pet does not hunt it. One of our tasks is to build a fence along the back of property as it is currently not a pet secure space.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

• 

  My animals / pets

  Guinea pigs

Website Safety

Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host

+12

Feedback (21)