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Description
We are retirees, who need help to manage our small property, Mistybank. In return we will share our beautiful home, our culture and knowledge.
We have 8 acres of native regeneration, a small ancient orchard and large veggie garden. We are on the banks of the Mongarlowe River, where we are nurturing beautiful unimproved native pastures.
We were impacted by the 2019/20 Black Sumer Fires, and we are working hard to manage weeds and the massive regrowth that's occurred over the last few years.
We are on the doorstep of Monga National Park. An ancient Gondwana remanent forest type and the source of the Mongarlowe River. The Mongarlowe River is one of the cleanest rivers in NSW, it flows parallel to the escarpment for 40kms before turning inland. It has one of few sustainable populations of the endangered Macquarie Perch, Rakali, Platypus and an abundance of bird and invertebrate life too.
The small parcel of land we live on, was cleared agricultural land, when it subdivided off a much larger property to the west of us. The plan was to build a Trout Farm. Patrick purchased this property in 1979, and with the cows gone, it’s been slowly regenerating ever since. We are at the top of the Clyde Mountain, part of the Great Dividing Range we are close to the edge of the escarpment.
Over the last 10 to 15 years, the regeneration reached a point in its regeneration where we are now gardening by subtraction. There has been so much regrowth that we are in a process of removing and planting vegetation develop this site.
We have a large food garden, primarily for personal use. We do propagate and pot up plants to sell and share.
We are 17 km from the nearest town - we can provide some transport to and from town where needed. Travellers with a manual driver’s licence or a car of their own would be ideal.
We only use poisons where necessary (topical poisoning of Blackberry) and we only use organic fertilisers. All our weed management is done by hand - this is a massive and ongoing job. We have removed invasive weeds around our home, our studio workshop and in what we call the chook paddock - with our weeding program we have been increasing the area where we are keeping them under control. What remains and continues, is removing invasive weeds such as blackberry, dandelions, and Fog grass from our orchard and the remaining native pasture.
The regrowth since the fires is significant - large tracts of Acacia’s and Christmas bush remain in some areas and they are growing so densely that without thinning, they will reach "lock up'. Lock up is where the regrowth is so thick that water no longer penetrates the soil which can become hydrophobic.
With the help of volunteers over the last 2 years, we have thinned most of the regrowth. There are still some areas that need attention and fire clearing, removing dead trees, splitting firewood, clearing bush litter, are ongoing tasks too.
We have separate guest accommodation. A two roomed hut that we call Sputnik Landing. There is a large fully equipped kitchen, with your own bathroom and laundry facilities.
Patrick is a carpenter - or was, there’s a fully equipped Carpenters workshop as well.
I have a studio too, that I use as my office, there sew and prepare things for sale on a monthly market stall.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Elderly Companionship
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
House sitting
Interests
Politics / Social justice
Sustainability
Culture
Self development
Music
History
DIY & crafts
Books
Art & design
Photography
Gardening
Cooking & food
Writing
Nature
Fitness
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
I have found that having others stay helps me to appreciate what we have here and how much I know about this part of the country. About the forest, the birds, insects and animals.
We have lots of books and movies - we love to talk about our life experiences, about different societies, people, and politics.
There will be opportunities to see the country side, to explore Braidwood and if you have your own transport, to check out places near by too.
Braidwood is a lively little community that is very welcoming of travellers. Some have picked up work locally too.
Help
The help we are looking for is with managing life here at Mistybank, helping us with whatever needs doing, and there's always something that needs attention.
There's the garden, there's the ongoing job of fire clearing. Gathering and removing bush litter. Thinning regrowth, cutting and splitting firewood. Pruning, weeding and brush cutting.
We have all the tools for these jobs and the protective gear you'll need.
There's also maintenance and domestic assistance, anything from helping me bake bread, to painting a window or repairing a chair, whatever needs doing and of course, weather often impacts what we can and can't do.
If you stay with us, you will get a real insight into our day-to-day life here. We recommend a 4 week stay, time for us to show you all the different things we do here day to day, time for you to get know our property and the range of things you can help with, and time to see some of the local attractions as well.
Initially we would be working together as we show you how things work and where they are - once you know your way around there is a degree of autonomy. Different people like different types of work and once you know your way around you can mix it up a bit to keep it interesting and to suit changing conditions day to day.
Those who stay help us with house sitting too – allowing us to visit places nearby together, where normally, one of us always remains here.
Most people who have stayed for less than 4 weeks have felt like they only just scratched the surface. We both have lots of skills to share, Patrick is a carpenter, I am a mentor, a photographer and maker. I love to cook; we bake our own bread. I love help in the kitchen and there will be times where you can cook for yourself too.
We love having other people here - it makes it possible for us to keep living in this beautiful place, it makes it safer for us to be here and we love sharing what we know and love with new people.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
We have a three roomed hut with all the amenity you need to live independently.
There is a large fully equipped kitchen, that's shared because I bake my bread in the hut. There's a longe/ bedroom combined and a good sized bathroom with shower, toilet and washing machine.
We also have good spaces for people who might be happy to camp too. The hut really only accommodates two people to sleep - so we could only take more than that if people are willing to camp out.
We provide food, some as shared meal, some that they have access to at their convenience in the main house, and some they will prepare for themselves with ingredients we provide.
What else ...
We would prefer non smokers. As Pensioners, with only a small property, there are limits to what we can provide. For example, when three people have stayed, they contributed replacing anything they have used the last of in their kitchen preparing their own meals sometimes.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
internet is a bit expensive here - we only have wireless broadband through the mobile network and broadband satellite - people have worked on line here, I work online here. I put limited internet access because it's not unlimited. If you are working online a lot, we may need to negotiate how we share the cost of internet.
Space for parking camper vans
We have a small undercover area that's out the front of our hut and I have 4 one man tents. We also have a large flat area that's suitable for Mobile homes and camper vans . As pensioners, any more than two people and those staying here would need to help out with the cost of food. Campers would generally be sharing facilities (kitchen and bathroom) with those staying in our hut. We do have a camp kitchen we could set up if needed too, but the hut kitchen is quite generous.
Can possibly accept pets
Maybe.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
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