Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
18 Oct 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 32 days
Feedback
9
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Details
Description
Welcome to the rebuilt of the Gardener's Cottage!. The cottage has been pulled down as it was unrepairable after substantial earthquake damage and in its place is a new dwelling which needs some finishing touches but is comfortable and welcoming.
Developing a food forest and building with recycled materials are part of the daily grind here in, where the sun makes diamonds in the water and the views are breath taking. Happy to teach you permaculture principles and share products of the land with you.
Only 7 minutes by ferry or a 40 minute drive and you are in the sunny side of the harbour. If you are interested to spend some time here you can expect a warm welcome and lodgings in a cabin built with recycled materials or inside the new house. There is plenty of time to explore the surrounding peninsula, climb a nearby mountain, find out about New Zealand authors in the library or laze in a cafe.
PLEASE CHECK THE CALENDAR. In your message PLEASE CONFIRM you are a NON Smoker and are happy to volunteer 5 Hours a day. We provide you with a comfortable bed, delicious meals, a hot shower and internet access.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We like to teach you about the particular way we develop our garden according to perma-culture principles, so if you are interested in living sustainably, come and check us out. We are developing our thoughts and actions on zero waste and are always open to new ideas how to reuse, up-cycle and do with less.
There is a piano, a guitar, a ukulele for muso's, lots of books in English and Dutch, comics, board games. We aim to show you some of the sights if you do not have your own transport. This will depend on the season, how busy we are and the length of your stay. There are many walks and a good tramp up mount Herbert on our doorstep, the cafes are close, and we also have a little supermarket. The Saturday farmers market and the Harbour Coop are just a ferry ride away and the bus takes you into bustling Christchurch with the transitional Cathedral, Art Gallery, Gap Filler, Community Gardens, Regenerate, Otakaro Project, Libraries, Markets, Canterbury Museum, Botanic Gardens with the Curator's Garden, to name but a few of the numerous attractions.
Help
At this moment especially carpentry and general gardening. The perma-culture food forest needs maintenance help. Tasks include gathering seaweed, pulling out grass, planting seeds and seedlings, mulching, building beds, making liquid manure, digging trenches, worm farming, composting, pruning, There is firewood that needs to be gathered, chopped and stacked and there are general clearing help after the big build there are quite some building materials left for building a new chicken coop and fire wood storage. If you are experienced and handy with a hammer, or know about water systems feel esp welcome. But whatever your skills are, we always match tasks to people, so don't feel shy.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Beginner
French: Beginner
Accommodation
You may be staying in the Cabin which has a comfortable king single bed or inside which has comfortable double beds. We provide sumptuous meals and are happy to cook for any diet including GF, DF, vegan. We offer one hot shower a day and internet access for emails. We provide mainly organic food and cook with vegetables from our garden.
What else ...
Diamond Harbour is a small village on Banks Peninsula, 30kms from Christchurch at the sunny side of the harbour. It can be reached by bus (there is a direct service from the airport) and ferry or by car. There are several vegetable patches, fruit trees, chickens, a cottage garden, a glasshouse and a little artichoke grove on the property . It's quiet and peaceful here and your entertainment would include walking, running, biking, swimming, reading, using internet at the library, meeting the locals, attending a class, getting a coffee at Soulful or a curry at the local, fishing off the jetty, climbing Mount Herbert, exploring Orton Bradley Park with its high ropes course, cafe and many walks to Rock, Waterfall and Mount Bradley and Herbert. We are only a 7 minute ferry ride away from Lyttelton, the port, with its cafes and shops and Farmers Market on Saturdays, then a bus ride to the centre of Christchurch with it huge array of attractions, from the Cardboard Cathedral to the Museum, from the Art Gallery to the Botanic Gardens, all its Community Gardens, the inviting Public Libraries and the library fridges on the way.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (5)
She welcomed me in her nice cottage with her beautiful garden and chickens. I could use her cabin in the middle of the garden, so I had my own cosy place to rest and chill during my shift off.
We used to take our… read more
The work was very varied including weeding, gardening, picking up fruits and vegetables, moving things and painting. We also had the chance to do some more creative projects… read more
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Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
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(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
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(5.0)
She welcomed me in her nice cottage with her beautiful garden and chickens. I could use her cabin in the middle of the garden, so I had my own cosy place to rest and chill during my shift off.
We used to take our… read more
The work was very varied including weeding, gardening, picking up fruits and vegetables, moving things and painting. We also had the chance to do some more creative projects… read more
entertainment. She has… read more
Thanks for the good food and great company! And good… read more
