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3 Mar 2026
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Description
Hello Travellers!
Avail to host: Late Feb and March
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!!
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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 day to day house help, cleaning, gardening, 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 community landcare eco group who care for and maintain this area removing rubbish, weeds and do path maintenance. Its a great eco project to be apart of and they are all very 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. :)
TASKS: We discuss which areas you have experience in or are interested in learning and helping with.
This 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.
+ making and baking your own sour dough bread, kombusha and kefir
+ cooking simple and wholesome vegetarian meals
+ German language practice with us all
+ Homework help German, English or 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), or on work days at Shellharbour or Kiama on arrival and departure if it can fit into our schedual. There are also greyhound busses, and local busses. Plenty of parking space avail for anyone road tripping about Oz :).
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: FluentThis 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
This year we are setting up a guest room with a comfortable queen bed and view to forest..We have just finished laying new flooring this month and will be working to finish the edging with plaster and skirting boards. Bathroom is shared with kids.
There's a communal kitchen, bathroom, 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 with natives, flowers, fruit trees and veggies, play equipment and a lawn to spread out on.
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 ...
We are a short bus or bike ride into the nearby townships of Nowra, Berry, Kiama and plenty of beaches however rural bus schedualling means you need to be organised. We can provide lifts whilst we are to and from work as well and on weekends we try to get out to explore this beautiful region as a family. 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 the guineapigs.
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
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (19)
The property is absolutely beautiful, with stunning views, and one of the first things they… read more
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Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
The property is absolutely beautiful, with stunning views, and one of the first things they… read more
Super lovely person with alot of joy to share with those… read more
Thank you for accepting us.
It was a brilliant experiences. we can leran a lot of things from you guys.
Cami is knowlegeable about gardening.
Every time she explained about what we did, how come we did it,how to did it,...
It was very interesting.
My English is not good, but they kindly to speak slowry.… read more
We would highly recomend hosting… read more
Hi it's Mako! I had been pretty busy since I got back in Japan, sorry to be late to leave a feedback.
We(my friend and I) have spent about two weeks with this adorable family and it was one of the most heartwarming experience in my life, inspiring me for the future. Sometimes my English was really… read more
They have… read more
I've been "woorking" with Camille in the garden, renovating the floor of a special room, learing how to cook veggie meals, and enjoying the time with the kids and all the family… read more
She is such a… read more
We stayed 5 weeks, we learned a lot, Camille helped us a lot with the improvement of our English, she cooked us very good meals. The little girls are adorable, we loved playing with them. Jana is very sweet and independent ; Frieda is… read more
Izzy and Joey:
*house, garden and pet sat for us over Christmas.
*Worked with solid determination preparing a lot of our… read more
He is a great 'problem solver', able to look… read more
When given clear instructions Niklas could follow and liked to finish his work to a high standard. He sanded and oiled 3 beautiful posts for our deck and helped blitz our yard with weeding and… read more
Camille und Felix geben sich viel Mühe, dass man sich bei ihnen wie Zuhause fühlt. Selbst als ich In der ersten Woche krank war,… read more
You are so wonderful hostfamily, and the food in your house is very healthy. Especially, I like
tea and tofu cuisine and pasta in your house.
Jana and Frieda are cheerful. Camille and Felix are polite.
Maybe you had suffered. Because my English is so messy!
But you're so patient.
As… read more
He… read more
They showed me their sustainable and healthy style of living which I find astonishing and cool at the same time.
I did a lot of digging in the garden and other everyday household tasks. I wanted to learn as much as I could from this… read more
Alain was always… read more
1week, stayed with family
1week, did housesitting with Yasmine:dog2:
We did walking with Yasmine:dog2:,
Feeding chooks, Collecting fresh eggs, Watering vege and flower...
Cami&Felix provided us organic food(fresh milk from farm, Cheese, great wine...)
It was great experience for us, thank you so much Cami,… read more
Work is not everyday the same, Yana and Frieda are two lovely girls, Yana is independent really smart and Frieda is very funny!
Its a sweet family and you won't regret to choose them!… read more
