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20 Sep 2024
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Hi Workawayer's I’m Karen.
Strong, fit person preferred, 25+
if you like to keep fit whilst taking on a challenge this is the place for you.
Good English is nessasary.
Work hard in the morning and enjoy the wildlife and property in the afternoon.
The usual tasks are:
Picking up sticks and taking them to a fire pile
Cutting down some small weedy trees and getting them to the fire pile
Raking up leaves
Weeding
Moving rocks about in the creek to form a rock pool
Emptying gutters of leaves
And plenty more.
When you come here it's NOT all about the animals, it's working in the bush, to maintain wildlife, habitat.
I live on 11Acres of real (native) Australian Bush with winding tracks and Rainforest at the winding rocky creek.
It contains a few rare native plants and there are lots of different ferns, palms, rainforest plants, vines and very tall gum trees.
The creek has natural beauty even when it is dry.
Hand raised Wallabies lay about during the day, and wild possum’s roam around at night.
I renovated a site office and turned it into a home to temporarily live in. Now 15 years later it needs a bit or repair but still livable.
A shipping container provides work shop and storage. And a second container has been turned into backpackers accommodation with bunk beds, but there is no heating or cooling, so you have be tough and live within the elements.
My workawayers are allowed one square foot of wall space to leave there international mark. The wall is nearly full, and is fun to read.
This property is totally self sufficient which means there are no phone cables, no power lines and no water pipes........a "stand alone" solar system and very noisy generator provides electricity, water from tanks and mobile phone and wireless Internet have great reception. BRILLIANT!
But this does mean restrictions on power and water. So peeing outside is necessary!
Experience with manual labor is preferred, or have building skills.
The work is hard but rewarding.
The animals you might find here are:
Red Necked Wallaby's
Swamp Wallaby's
Paddymelons
Koalas
Thousands of wild birds
Frogs
Water Dragons
Land Mullets
Goannas
Bandicoots
Snakes
Ticks
Spiders
Big Ants
Leaches and heaps more but it depends on the season.
PLEASE DON'T APPLY IF YOUR NOT INTO HARD WORK OR AFRAID OF CREEPY CRAWLIES!!
I only take people for short stays 7-10 days.
I can pick you up from Taree train station, or the state to state Premier Bus/Coaches stop at Nabiac.
Greyhound Busses DON'T stop in Nabiac.
If you have your own car it's only 20 minuets to the beautiful beaches of Forster and Tuncurry or you can come with me into town on a day off.
I'm a licenced wildlife carer and a conservationist and my property is certified as "land for wildlife"
I also have a Certificate 3 in Conservation and land management, and Cert 2 in Horticulture
PLEASE NOTE: I only provide 3 meals a day, so if you want anything to snack on between meals or alcohol they are at your own expense.
On Days off we usually go into town and do shopping and sight seeing but you feed yourselves for lunch and dinner.
Contact me for any questions,
And please include your Australian phone number for quicker communication.
Cheers,
Karen.Types of help and learning opportunities
Art ProjectsHelp with Eco ProjectsTeachingGardeningDIY and building projectsAnimal CareFarmstay helpGeneral MaintenanceHelp with Computers/ InternetUN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Learn about our Ozzie wildlife and native plants.
How to live off grid.Help
Volunteer help is mainly working in the bush restoring habitat.
Also lots of little odd tasks.Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
You will have your own private room inside a shipping container, with two single bunk beds,
cupboard and lounge.What else ...
Internet reception is available if you have a smart phone and your with Telstra.
Intermitent with Optus ok.
Limited WiFi
I provide 3 meals on the days you work, and any extras like snacks, sweets, smokes and alcohol are at your own expense.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
I can accommodate any size vehicle, but must be self sufficient for power, water and waist.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
4 hours a day 5 days a week
Feedback (38)
She is always happy, very helpful, outgoing, and fun to be with. She is well traveled therefore interesting to talk to.
She will get stuck into anything and wants to learn.
Always welcome back.
Happy adventures Kato!
They are happy to take on any challenge with a good attitude. They like to be outdoors doing anything with animals.
They have a very bright future and I wish them well. Cheers guys.
He loves a good workout so i had him digging out stumps.....he loved it!
I wish him well for the future.
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Cultural exchange:
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Communication:
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She is always happy, very helpful, outgoing, and fun to be with. She is well traveled therefore interesting to talk to.
She will get stuck into anything and wants to learn.
Always welcome back.
Happy adventures Kato!
They are happy to take on any challenge with a good attitude. They like to be outdoors doing anything with animals.
They have a very bright future and I wish them well. Cheers guys.
He loves a good workout so i had him digging out stumps.....he loved it!
I wish him well for the future.
You would be a mad host to let Kevin and Margo get past your door.
They are welcome back anytime and I’m sure they have a… read more
She is head over heels in love with animals and would do anything for them.
We did weeding, picking up sticks and more. Also due to the rain, house work and washing my filthy car.
Thanks again, and keep safe from Corona!
My week in the middle of the bush was really good, didn’t want to go back to Sydney (one more week would be good)
Karen is a very nice, kind, caring and funny person) it was pleasure to help her
Hope to be back again one day:)
They got stuck into any job with enthusiasm and did great work. They are respectful and easy to live with.
Sorry about the badly trained Wallaby guys! Lol.
Good luck for the future and your welcome back anytime.
The wallabies are so cute. There is bit of work in the morning then the afternoon is all yours. You can have a beer and swim in the creek. The container is very comfortable, don't forget to… read more
I loved this guy, he was so helpful and interested. He was easy to feed, very respectful and easy to get along with.
We got lots done then I enjoyed chilling out with him in the afternoon.
He has an invitation to come back, this time with his girlfriend, so I hope they do.
Highly recommended to hosts.
We work in the morning and in the Afternoon we chill out in a very good… read more
They tackled the bush work, but Larissa had an allergic reaction to something in the bush,
and had to leave early.
Big shame, they missed so much.
I wish them well, and hope they find more fun adventures.
Any host would be glad to have them, they are easy to be with.
Always positive and very helpful.
I wish them well and they are always welcome back.
Hopefully I will catch up again in the UK. Good luck to you both. xx
Our daily work involved morning poo picking in the animals yard, which - believe it… read more
I was looking forward to getting to know the girls, but to unforeseen circumstances they had to leave early.
Your welcome back some day Caroline.
Thankyou Zoe and good… read more
They were happy and friendly, so hosts, grab them if you can.
Hope you are both well again,… read more
She has a lot of energy for her age and she is funny too.
We enjoyed a lot the work she gave to us because it was different every day. Seeing her babies jumping around all day long was magic and of course we loved to feed the joeys.
She also took us sightseeing around… read more
I only had to mention something and it was done. He's punctual and courteous and fits into any situation. He's interested in everything and interesting to talk to.
I wish he could have stayed longer. Your welcome back anytime Piotr, stay safe, and happy.
They work realy well as a team and made great company.
So if they send you a message grab them fast, before you miss out!
Happy and safe travels guys, and your… read more
Good luck for the future, and I hope you come back one day. xx
"An enchanting forest (bush) of Gum Trees. The smell of euctaplus with the shuffle of the leaves. The sky expansive of blue . The grass covered in green on the hill side where the kangaroos frolic
together.. the assortment of birds soaring across your gaze singing a sweet… read more
She loves her animals I could see it! She lives in a paradise! Be aware it s can be cold at night ! She did everything to make me feel less cold! I was complaining a lot about… read more
They are easy to get along with and flexible.
They are welcome back any… read more
Working from 8am untill 13pm is reasonable, hard but made a lot of fun. Food is also good.
Thanks dear Karen so much let us join your wild life for 8 days.
If Leonie comes knocking on your door, please take her in, you won't be sorry.
All the best for your future Leonie, your welcome back some day.
I enjoyed the evenings after a working day at the fire with the kangoroos and wallabys around. They are so cute.
Karen lives… read more
We had a few laughs at me learning French, and when I got the accent wrong she was a big help.
She will have a go at anything… read more
She is welcome to come back and stay longer anytime.
All the best with your studies Lauren, I'm sure that field of work will provide you a very interesting future.
I don't think bush work was her favourite thing, but she was certainly on the ball when it came to the animals.
You saved me a lot of back aches Maggie and I'm sorry I couldn't find you a church for Easter.
Good luck into the future.
Karen.
We had some gum trees to cut up and clear, piles of Lantana to burn, and holes to dig for plants. Not to mention buckets of Roo poo to pick up daily.
Sarah admitted to finding some of this hard work but handled it realy well and never complained.
I can definitely recommend Sarah.
She will have a go at anything, has lots of enthusiasm and was great with the Kangaroo's .
Can highly recommend Mallorie.
Karen has a great knowledge of the flora & fauna, and is more than happy to share this with you.
Obviously being around the Kangaroos is a HUGE plus, they are really lovely. Learning about them and getting to know each of their… read more
They both cooked and the meals were great.
Unfortunately my solar system wasn't working very well, and we had to use the noisy generator a lot, and they didn't even complain about that!
Can recommend Sarah and Robin to anyone.
Hope… read more
philosophy's. No matter what he chooses to do in the future he'll be a winner. Good luck for the future Isaac.
Coming from city life they weren't very good at understanding Stand Alone Solar Power Systems, but I think at least they learned a… read more
Thanks for hosting me, Karen, I had a great… read more
She loved the animals and got stuck into the work.
Shame the stay was only 5 days.
Don't hesitate to grab her if she emails you.
Enjoy the rest of your trip Janine.
Always willing to work and learn.
He realy loves animals and wanted to sneek "King" ( one of my Wallabys) through customs!!
Hope your foot doesn't bother you too much, and i will certainly give King a cuddle for you!
I wish you well. Enjoy life.
It was such a great… read more
She is a very active lady and she will make you work hard during the day, but enjoys nice relaxing evenings after the day of hard work.
She's got so much love for her furry family, and she would do anything for them!
I fell in… read more
Fruit and veg is all you need to feed her.....realy simple.
So if she contacts you, don't hesitate to grab her, or it will be your loss!!
She is great with plants or animals and not afraid of hard work.
Come back and be a wildlife vet Miranda!
I enjoyed having Calvin around, and he also got along with the neighbours and their kids really well.
His Military service has set him up well to accepting hard work with no problem.
I hope he returns one day.
It was such a shame my fear of her getting flooded in saw her leave a few days early. Thanks for your help with the Wallaby shelter and Im sure the Forrest feels a little better without a bit more Lantana! I hope you enjoy the rest of… read more
I enjoyed his company and he is very welcome to come back.
Good luck Alex, enjoy OZ.
My place is hard physical work, and even though the weather was kind that week, it was still very hot for someone from Scotland and he coped very well.
Enjoy the rest of your gap year Tom.
Karen is a wonderful person who is very friendly and easy to get on with.
Her property is a small piece of paradise. I felt privileged to be able to share it with Karen for a short time. Could not have hoped for a better… read more
I enjoyed her company and you won't be disappointed if Rhiannon stays with you.
He settled in well and worked more hours than required because we were doing some dangerous hazard reduction burn offs that could not be left alone.
He is polite and his English is brilliant
Happy travels Aaron, enjoy.
Thank you Karen for the opportunity to stay with you and for showing me all the animals,activities and beautiful places.
He is very keen to learn new tasks and improve his English. Nothing bothers him (except leeches) and he goes above and beyond the call of duty.
I hope they come back one day.
Enjoy the rest of your adventure girls. XX
I learned lots of new skills around planting and working in the forest as… read more
I think she found the work hot and exhausting, but we were in the bush lighting… read more
Just one correction, I have had many females here working with Lantana. All that is needed is enthusiasm and a good positive attitude.