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Host rating
100 %
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Details
Description
Available for fully vaccinated only.
Heather and I have recently returned from 13 years living in Europe and need help getting the house and garden into shape. We live 30 km from the center of Sydney on the edge of a 15,000 hectare national park with another boundary being Pittwater which is a harbour 10 km in length that joins Broken Bay. As we adjoin the national park there are brush turkeys, wallabies, echidnas. lyrebirds and possums and lots of native birds as well as our 3 chickens - Beryl, Claudine and Daphne.
While we are close to Sydney we are insulated from city life by a stretch of water. Our little peninsula has 8 houses with a mix of young families and retired couples. People from other bays walk or boat around for social occasions or to play tennis. There are no roads to the house and access is only by water - ferry, water taxi or commuter boat.
If you are interested in cooking (or just eating) we have distinctive Australian foods and flavours such as the Finger Lime, Warrigal greens, etc as well as the fresh produce from the kitchen garden and freshly laid eggs all on hand.
UPDATE: February 2022: The new boatshed is almost complete - just waiting for doors and windows - before final painting and internal fitout. We have got 4 new chickens who are slowly integrating with the 3 survivors of the first group and a hive of native stingless bees - very small and stingless but good pollinators and great to watch. The kitchen garden is improving and much to do in the coming months. The native regeneration project at the back has been a lower priority while building the boatshed so needs some serious sustained effort.
UPDATE October 2022: The new boatshed fitout is coming together and will be completed by Christmas. Tasks in the coming months include rebuilding the sea wall, getting on top of the weeds in the bush regeneration areas and continuing work on the kitchen garden. Later we will start on rebuilding the other boatshed, installing solar and water desalination and associated pumps and tanks. Poor Daphne (one of the original four chickens) has suffered a lane leg - no sign of break or bite but held in "special measures" - in a nesting box inside during the night and a small pen outside during the day. We hope for a full recovery. (the asparagus patch is coming into full production and there seems to be a bumper crop of finger limes this year)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We enjoy meeting and learning from people from different countries and cultures and sharing our Australian way of life.
Help
There is a large wallaby proof fenced kitchen garden which has been neglected and needs renovation - rebuilding garden beds and paths, weeding and pruning trees, composting and building soil quality with the aim of achieving near self sufficiency. We have established (and fruiting) avocado, mango, lemon, finger lime, macadamia and olive trees and are looking to add to this bounty. In addition there is a large garden going down to the waterfront which requires mowing, weeding etc. The house needs some painting and general maintenance - depending on your skills and experience we could tackle some basic carpentry tasks.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Accommodation is either in a wonderful boatshed or in the house with a private room with a queen sized bed and exclusive use of a bathroom. We are omnivores - currently reducing our meat intake - and are happy to cook and would welcome the opportunity to share some of your favourite meals.
What else ...
Getting here is easy - an express bus leaves Sydney every few minutes for the 50 minute ride to Mona Vale from where a local bus takes 10 minutes to Church Point. From there a ferry can be caught but we go "to the mainland" daily and can sometimes pick you up. On the property you can play tennis, the piano / pianola and enjoy peaceful views over the water. We also have a 30' racing yacht (an Etchell) and there may be opportunities for sailing. From the property there are numerous bushwalks and you can go swimming, fishing and paddling. Nearby there is surfing from Mona Vale or other Northern Beaches.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have NBN fibre to premises.
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (14)
My primary tasks centered around the garden—pulling weeds, swapping non-native plants for native ones, mulching leaves, and cleaning up after tree felling. I even got… read more
I slept in a room in the main house where there is a great bed that’s so comfortable that you’ll easily be late for work in the… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
My primary tasks centered around the garden—pulling weeds, swapping non-native plants for native ones, mulching leaves, and cleaning up after tree felling. I even got… read more
I slept in a room in the main house where there is a great bed that’s so comfortable that you’ll easily be late for work in the… read more
The tasks included:
- weeding
- painting and sanding
- help with organizing the shed
and taking a little care of the chickens (who don´t listen).
I did a lot of walks and a little bit of paddling in this amazing area which is close to the… read more
Thank you so much for this first experience in Lovett Bay, it was great. I had a lovely time with you and and loved painting the boathouse.
Thanks also for the good food and many other things. It was so nice staying with you that I will for sure come and visit you again someday.
We wish Nathalie well in her continued travels and would welcome her back at any time.
Such perfect place to start our travel in Australia. The experience to live in the natural reserve it's amazing. Everyday you can see many beautiful animals and birds. Hugh feed them all the time with a big pleasure !
The kitchen garden it's look just super clean, lot of différents herbs, fruits and veggies. There is not a meal without… read more
completed and has a wicked sense of humour. When faced with unexpected
challenges he would ask for help or advice but otherwise would just independently
get on with the many jobs. The jobs included demolishing and assisting with the
rebuild of the kitchen garden,… read more
An incredibly beautiful location, just an hour north of Sydney, this workaway was an idyllic location so spend so much… read more
It was a pleasure to have Brian as a Workaway. He has broad interests; good conversation and he took pride in his and our environment.
Brian’s experience in building and general maintenance was invaluable to us both in the house and the garden. Brian was very organised and considered what he was doing before. If in doubt regarding the… read more
She is also a very talented cook - we were regularly spoiled with her fabulous meals and knowledge of food and… read more
My 2 weeks stay turned out into a 2 months journey thanks to the pandemic, and it was a pure bliss from the beginning to the end!
Heather and Hugh are both amazing and generous people. They always made sure to include me in their activities, and I enjoyed so much meeting… read more
