Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
9 Mar 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
57
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Details
Description
*** At the moment we are still completing renovations the second house and need people who would be happy painting and as it's Spring we need people who like gardening too :)
We moved from Melbourne to a 12 acre property in South West Gippsland five years ago. Our location is atop a spur overlooking the Moyarra valley with fabulous views of the surrounding countryside. It’s beautiful but there is a lot to do!
The property suffered from about 20 years of neglect and we are working on a wide range of ongoing projects including the renovation and restoration of two houses, garden design and construction, farm fencing and machinery housing. Daily work includes cooking, cleaning of house and animal enclosures, weeding and general maintenance.
We have a growing menagerie which includes chickens, guinea fowl, a peacock, miniature goats, highland cattle, bees, livestock guardian dogs as well as a domestic cat and large parrots. The parrots are a big part of everyday life here and guests have the opportunity to interact and learn how to work with them if they wish. There is also animal grooming to be done.
In our mid fifties with no children we have worked in a range of industries including music, sound engineering, IT project management, teaching and running a fresh produce company. We have both travelled widely and enjoy the opportunity to share our experiences and learn from others.
Cooking, bread making, entertaining and listening to music are things we really enjoy and we love to learn more about cuisines and customs from around the world. We have a meat based diet and do our best to ensure that our food is ethically raised and processed. We try to eat seasonally and locally as much as possible. Growing all our own fresh produce is the ultimate plan.
Special dietary requests (vegetarian/vegan/coeliac/lactose free etc) can be catered for but please make sure you address this in your initial message to us even if it’s in your profile.
We are respectful of our workaway guests and expect the same in return. This extends to how you treat our facilities, equipment, machinery and animals.
Accommodation may be offered in either house but all meals are served in the main house where we live. We eat very well and the kitchen is very well equipped, including a cafe quality coffee machine. Cooking, meal preparation and cleaning tasks are shared with our guests.
Both houses have full, unlimited internet access so if you need to work online it’s possible.
Workaway work is usually 25 hours per week. Days and times can be flexible.
All workawayers must have valid travel insurance in case of accidents. No heavy smokers please.
Our property is quite isolated and not serviced by public transport. We visit the local towns quite regularly and you are welcome to come along but it is important that you are happy to be away from the hustle and bustle of city life. A drivers licence is an advantage here.
The holiday town of Inverloch is about 20 mins away with swimming and surf beaches on offer and there are a number of bushwalking trails as well as the Great Southern Rail Trail. We are about fifty minutes drive from Phillip Island and about 90 mins drive from Wilsons Prom. There are also lots of cafes to visit as well as a local brewery and several distilleries.
Please read our reviews before sending a message.
Al & Karen
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Art Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We have both travelled extensively and been closely involved in community arts and social organisations. Our property offers a chance to learn about sustainable hobby farming, cattle, chickens, parrots behaviour and training, bee keeping, cooking and local food and wine. There is also opportunity to meet a range of people including local farmers, brewers, artists and musicians.
Karen does a lot of volunteer work so there is also the opportunity to help out with some of those projects too.
Help
We are looking to find people to help with a range of tasks around the farm as well as assist in setting up the gardens and building works. There is also general property maintenance, cleaning, cooking and animal care to be done on a daily basis.
No specific experience required but you must be willing and able to follow instructions and be respectful of all tools and machinery for your safety and ours.
Good communication skills are an advantage.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Depending upon how many we have staying we have a guest room with QS bed and own bathroom in the main house and two bedrooms (DB & QS) with a shared bathroom in the second house on the property.
The second house on the property is currently undergoing renovation so is part accommodation (upstairs) and part building site (downstairs).
Full unlimited broadband connected to both houses
Air-conditioning/heating in both houses.
What else ...
Gippsland has a wide range of activities and sights including beaches, cafes, wineries, bushwalking, surfing...
Own transport may be an advantage but not essential as we can assist. Kayaks are also available for anyone interested in exploring the coastal inlet nearby.
Non smoking household and we would prefer no heavy smokers.
Whilst we have a meat based diet we are happy to accommodate vegetarian/vegan choices.
Guests will need to be ok with large parrots who are part of the family as well as our livestock guardian dogs.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Unlimited broadband available throughout the house and in the guest room. A number of different work spaces available.
Space for parking camper vans
We have capacity for travellers with their own accommodation but it can be very weather dependant. Send us a message if you are interested and we can let you know.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 25 hours / week, 5 days a week
Feedback (25)
Heather worked with Al on a lot of the renovation things we were doing and Alex spent a lot of time in the kitchen where he is very at home. Heather's renovation work was always well done with care and attention to detail and… read more
Simon also took a lot of lovely photographs of our property and animals which he kindly shared… read more
We wish him well with his new life here in Australia!
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
Heather worked with Al on a lot of the renovation things we were doing and Alex spent a lot of time in the kitchen where he is very at home. Heather's renovation work was always well done with care and attention to detail and… read more
Simon also took a lot of lovely photographs of our property and animals which he kindly shared… read more
We wish him well with his new life here in Australia!
Sarah was happy to take on any tasks and… read more
He seemed to enjoy the manual work we needed him to do as well as spending time with the dogs and was also very helpful in the kitchen. We cooked some traditional German dishes as… read more
Esmee willingly… read more
Not only does the property boast fantastic views all around and have gorgeous starry nights —, but Karen and Al are also such wonderful people. The weather didn’t… read more
He was very easy going,… read more
Karen and Al were very patient and kind. Despite the fact that my English is not good, I felt very welcome. Thanks for that! The work was different every day. Some painting, building the park beaches or gardening. I could feed the animals every morning,… read more
We… read more
The two are really good, easy going humans, caring hosts, great sense of humor and we always had good conversations, shared a couple of beers and great brekkies & dinners! Karen's food is simply amazing and made for all… read more
We undertook a wide variety of projects while she was here and she turned her hand to everything from painting and sanding chairs and windows to driving the excavator and gardening.
The house was… read more
Karen and Al also put a lot of effort into making the holidays like Christmas… read more
We really enjoyed having her here and would highly recommend her to any future hosts.
They happily helped with meal… read more
Tom loves to cook and he is very good at it so them being vegan was really… read more
Nothing was too much trouble and… read more
Their work ethic is fantastic and everything we asked them to do was done to a… read more
It has been a pleasure meeting Karen and Al. We spent two very comfortable weeks with them, the tasks to be carried out are easy and entertaining. Karen is a great cook, we really enjoyed her meals and the conversations. Not suitable if you are on a diet!… read more
They are very nice, patient.
They explained a lot of things to me about the animals, about the garden.
I loved cooking with Karen (the meals are amazing), she gave me lots of tips. She shares… read more
Mylene was very self motivated and did heaps of things around the place from cleaning, gardening and cooking to animal care… read more
Nothing was too much trouble for them and they were happy to tackle any projects they we had to do including gardening, path building and the design of our vegetable garden fencing. They also helped with all the meal prep and cleaning up… read more
Karen and Al were very good at matching work to the skillset of volunteers staying. Our days were filled with work that we had pleasure doing. We built raised garden beds, split wood, built a brick walkway,… read more
They also helped sew lots of pouches and liners for animals… read more
they have a lot of lovely animals and are both very fun and easy going.
Karen welcomed me over the Christmas holidays at her family reunion wich was very lovely and kind to do!
The work was nice honest work mostly outside and often including animals wich I usually enjoyed.
But be careful about Karen!
She is… read more
I would highly recommend… read more
They were so welcoming, they made me feel like home from the first day, I loved so much to be surrounded by all their animals, especially Polar, this amazing dog I fell in love with !!!
After the work outside, it was so pleasant to cook and talk about… read more
He was great with all the animals and has a positive and upbeat attitude. We would highly recommend him to any host.
Our animals have never had so much attention and the garden around the… read more
