Creating a garden of great serenity and renovating historic buildings on our property near Whangarei, New Zealand

Details

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  Description

  We live in a rural area, 15 minutes from Whangarei and a perfect base for exploring to the top of the North Island. We live in an historic ex-hospital ward and are renovating both that and an old cottage on our property to make into a bnb with a studio to be able to offer artist residencies. It is a gorgeous setting already and there is much birdsong and we have a dream to create a truly beautiful, inspirational and functional garden from the whole property.
  We already have much natural beauty here and are always trying to listen and learn from the forest, pond and land to try to help each environment thrive despite our presence. We are not a business but a family who is developing their property.
  We are learning more and more about how to become sustainable and grow our own food, and it is a very exciting journey! We are currently doing major hard and soft landscaping and gardening work as well as have many little building jobs so any skills in those areas are especially valuable. The most important attribute is a willingness to try new things, an attention to detail and a solid work ethic. What you don't know we will show you! Hana is an artist and builder who believes that form and function need to be perfectly balanced in order to create beauty to live in. Richard is also very practical and works in construction education, but off the property, so mostly you will be working with Hana.
  
  Work is flexible to suit yours and our needs. About 4 hours a day, but you can combine 2 days (8 hours) then have a day off traveling (or more). We can guide you and point you in the right direction, what to see in our beautiful area.
  
  If you intend exploring NZ at all outside of the main cities, having your own transport is very important. NZ does not have a public transport system that can get you to the most beautiful places- including the fabulous beaches and walks Northland is famous for. (This is because we have too small a population but a very long coastline). For example there are only between 2-3 buses per day from Auckland to all of Northland. Fortunately both buying and selling cars in NZ is pretty easy if you know what to look for. Hitching is not advised any more. Most travelers end up buying and selling their vehicles for a similar price so it is also the cheapest way to see NZ. Of course you can also hire a car, but that gets expensive very quickly.
  We prefer stays of about 2 weeks minimum, but are also flexible.
  We are a non-smoking family so can only take non-smoking workawayers. We have 3 very friendly dogs, a cat and chickens on the property, so you must be ok with dogs. We also have our adult son and his fiance (in their 20s) living on the property, and our youngest daughter (also in her 20s) will soon be returning from travelling.
  
  Meals are often on the deck in summer, where we eat together looking out across sweeping views in a warm, relaxed family-friendly atmosphere (unless it's pouring with rain like today!). But you are also welcome to prepare your own meals if you wish and we are always interested to experience some of your cuisine. A sense of humor and a love of music and musical instruments are a bonus. We have a range of musical instruments , some over 100 years old, and have had some wonderful musicians come and stay.
  
  The Bay of Islands and Paihia are only an hour and a quarter from us so it is a lovely base for exploring the north of NZ, Auckland is just 2 1/2 hours away.
  The nearest suburb (Kamo) is just 7 minutes drive away for restaurants, doctors, etc, and the CBD of Whangarei 15-20 mins.
  
  Thanks for reading our profile and we look forward to hosting you,
  Richard and Hana.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are a warm, caring kiwi family and will show you how we live, our culture, our values, and help you on your journey in any way we can. We love to hear about different backgrounds and to share our stories. Sense of humor an advantage!! Plenty of musical instruments here! But dont feel pressured - only Hana plays, I just bang away at on the soundbox I made! We are both members of a community dtop-in chior that you are welcome to try if you wish to.

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  Help

  We need all kinds of physical help. Right now Hana is landscaping and gardening so the work requires a reasonable level of fitness and we may be building rock walls together. We will lend you work clothes and boots etc if necessary.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Hebrew: 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

  Accommodation is in our house, and is generally a room with a queen bedroom and an en-suite or a single room with a gorgeous view of the pond.

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  What else ...

  After work, there are many places to relax quietly, in the forest, read a book under the trees in any one of a few different seats or on the lawn., use the large trampoline, play with the dogs- they are always up for a cuddle, lay on the swing chair on the deck or kayak around the pond and explore the little island or wetland. There is a lot to see in our area if you like the country - plenty of beaches. One workaway visitor was so taken aback by one of the beaches that he visited the same beach 3 times during his 2 week stay (couldn't get enough of that one beach - Matapouri - google it !!) However its slightly different during the winter. Visitors use our home as a base for touring the area. There is no public transport out here but we periodically we go to town if you need to be collected/dropped off.

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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

  We have unlimited hi speed wifi and workawayers are able to stream movies etc in their own time. This was especially good during lockdown when an earlier workawayer returned and needed to self isolate!

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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?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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