Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
18 Apr 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
51
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a fun, friendly family of 2 adults and 3 teenage children.We have diverse interests, have both traveled extensively ourselves, and love hosting international visitors. We enjoy good food and conversation.
Pippa works as a paediatric occupational therapist. Wayne works as a school teacher (Design and Technologies) and runs a small design studio.
Our kids, April (17), Fraser (16) and Erin (14) are fairly easy going and enjoy a wide range of activities including reading, swimming, and playing musical instruments (any help with the cello or violin are always welcome).
We live in the heart of Sandgate - a village-style seaside suburb north of Brisbane. We are only a 5-10 minute walk to the waterfront, parks, shops, train, bus, cafes, restaurants and bars.
A few very important things to know...
Our house is a traditional 'Queenslander', built in 1910. While these houses have a lot of charm, their thin timber walls mean they are not as soundproof as European houses. Our day usually starts at around 6AM, so if you are not a morning person this may be difficult for you.
We appreciate that different people have different dietary needs but we do want to know about these before you arrive.
Our family home is usually a thriving hub of social activity. It is not uncommon for us to have last minute guests at any time of the day. Dinner time can quickly and unexpectedly turn into a shared meal for 10 people. The dinner table is certainly the heart of our home.
All of our guests are invited to be part of our family while they are staying with us (we believe that is what Workaway is all about). We also understand that time to yourself is equally important and encourage you to explore the local area as much as possible. We always try to remain flexible as your travel plans and cultural discovery are very important.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Pippa has travelled extensively and is a great cook. Wayne has so many different projects happening that there is always going to be something new to learn. We are quite social so there are always opportunities to be part of Australian family life. This is a great opportunity to become part of an Australian family and experience the modern Australian lifestyle, improve your English and learn some new skills.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We always welcome guests who are confident and experienced at running a household. These tasks may include...
- prepping / cooking healthy and tasty meals,
- general house cleaning.
Most importantly you will need to...
- be able to be part of our busy family,
- be tidy and show attention to detail,
- be motivated, and
- be able to think for yourself.
We would expect you to help about 4 hours per day on weekdays in exchange for board and lodging. Occasionally the times may be split into a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon. The weekends are your own and we encourage you to explore this wonderful part of the world. We are very flexible with days and hours to enable you to have the best trip that you can.
While you are with us we will provide breakfast (cereals, bread, milk, yoghurt, cheese, tea and coffee), lunch (usually bread / crackers with spreads, cheese, salads), and dinner which we eat together as a family each night.
While you are part of our family we will invite you to share our family experiences such as parties, camping trips, visiting friends, etc. In turn, we also ask that you share the small responsibilities that come of sharing a house. These include occasional cooking (2-3 times each week) and other general cleaning and tidying such as hanging washing, sweeping the floor, and cleaning up the kitchen after meals. We don’t expect you to do everything by yourself, but to lend a hand with these everyday tasks.
We do not accept smokers (or vaping). We appreciate that this is your choice but none of us like the smell.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: FluentThis 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.
Accommodation
You will have your own room in our house with a queen sized bed.
What else ...
Sandgate is a thriving seaside village in beautiful sub-tropical Brisbane. It has a great community feel, lots of local events and great restaurants, bars and live music. Although the waterfront is tidal sand flats it is a great place for fishing, kitesurfing, stand-up paddle boarding, bike riding, walking or jogging. We have bicycles (and a unicycle) that you are welcome to borrow.
Brisbane City and Southbank are an easy bus or train trip away. You can even catch the train to the Gold Coast.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have reasonable Wifi for working online.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (21)
The Pippa & Wayne's family was incredibly kind and welcoming. We truly enjoyed cooking together and sharing great conversations in the afternoons over a glass of wine.
Wayne makes amazing sourdough bread—some of the best we've tasted—and… read more
Lucas was extremely capable at any task he was asked to do and showed attention to detail and pride in his work. They also make a very delicious carbonara. Their two weeks with us went by far too quickly. We look forward to welcoming them again if they ever… read more
She will always be welcome back.
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
The Pippa & Wayne's family was incredibly kind and welcoming. We truly enjoyed cooking together and sharing great conversations in the afternoons over a glass of wine.
Wayne makes amazing sourdough bread—some of the best we've tasted—and… read more
Lucas was extremely capable at any task he was asked to do and showed attention to detail and pride in his work. They also make a very delicious carbonara. Their two weeks with us went by far too quickly. We look forward to welcoming them again if they ever… read more
She will always be welcome back.
Chris and Britt are both able to work independently, are very efficient, and are excellent problem solvers. Their boys are great help and were always… read more
My son Fraser thinks that Baptiste is the best cook ever. My daughters have loved the hairstyles by Lydie. All the kids enjoyed the outings they were taken on. Pippa and I have loved the company.
They will be… read more
Our kids really liked her and we were all sad to see her go. We all appreciated her sense of humour. I cannot recommend Ling Min highly enough. She is certainly always welcome back to our home.
We highly recommend these guys.
It was our first time using work away and we are sooo lucky to have had the Van Wyke family.
We agreed to stay with them for 2 months and ended up staying almost 3.
Wayne and the kids met us by the train station and they all kindly asked if we needed a hand to carry our luggage as we had just arrived to… read more
Wayne, Pippa and their kids are very kind. They have taken me lots of places which were really fun. I could have experienced real Australian life thanks to them. The house is beautiful, and meals are healthy and delicious. Moreover the location is very nice. I think this host is one of the best family in… read more
We enjoyed their company and were sad to see them leave us. While they were with us Heike helped Pippa perfect her break baking skills while Stefan guided Wayne through a rather remarkable kitchen renovation.
We wish them all the best with their future travels and hope to meet them again sometime.
We spent 2 weeks, we helped wyne with the house s renovation sanding and painting.
Also we did camping with them and their friends.we really knew the aussi… read more
The work is not very heavy, we did mainly painting about five hours per day, but also we were plenty of time to visit around. They help us a lot to settle in Australia and also gave us good advices to… read more
We can highly… read more
We were treated as a part of the family which means that Pippa and Wayne always looked after our well-being, we watched out for the children as (if we were) older siblings and… read more
All in all, no day was like the day before. :)
It was a real pleasure to stay and help here - but for onward plans I could have happiy spent weeks more working with Wayne finishing off those… read more
I stayed with them one week, if I could have more time on my travels, I would stay easily more time with them.
I made little bit of all kind of work, easy ones, nothing hard and I enjoyed helping them.
Pippa and Wayne are… read more
Wayne and… read more
Chloe is friendly, confident and very capable. She is very good at figuring things out for herself and can work independently as well as with others. She quickly learnt the family routines, was attentive, and easily picked up new tasks.… read more
Kids are so kind and funny. Work is not hard at all. It is really easy to go to brisbane by train (not expensive !) and you… read more
Pippa and Wayne are really good people, they have 3 great kids.
They live in a beautiful queenslander house near to water front and train station.
It's was a pleasure to help them because if you need something they're here for you.
I recommend you this place, it's a of my best… read more
