Enjoy sunrises and ocean views, helping a retired couple out in the garden and home on Vancouver Island, Canada
Last activity
: 28 Apr 2025
Min stay requested: at least a week
Workawayers needed
Possibility that workawayers are needed
No availability
Details
Host ref number: 737398287669
Website Safety
Feedback (2)
What a pleasure to have Maria and Markus with us. They have great energy and are a fun couple. Very easy to get along with, they were also keen and eager when it came to helping us out.
Getting ready for winter required a fair bit of physical work and they were easily up to the tasks. Markus’s knowledge of trees/plants helped out determining how
… read more to plant and prune bushes and trees. Maria was willing to learn and try new things out and was a very quick study.
They both expressed a lot of interest in checking out what our area provides.
This was a wonderful experience all around. We highly recommend Maria and Markus.
Staying with Kathryn and Vic for a week and a half in October has been beyond amazing. The communication was great since the beginning and they warmly welcomed us into their home. They are both incredibly kind, knowledgeable, warm, well traveled and a lot of fun to be around. We had our own apartment that had everything we needed and more. Before
… read more we arrived, they asked us what we like for breakfast and when we arrived, everything was there.
The tasks we helped them with were different everyday. We mainly helped in the garden with planting, harvesting, mowing the lawn, cutting branches, moving pots and protecting them. We had a lot of fun doing it and were also happy that they appreciated our work.
Both of them are excellent cooks and we had the best food with them. Some of our favorite meals included salmon, Moroccan stew and herring soup. We even tried Dim Sum with Vic in a restaurant. We enjoyed our conversation with them a lot - they have a lot of great stories to tell! During the time we were there it was also Thanksgiving and they invited us to celebrate together with their friends which was a lovely experience. Both of them were always so kind to drive us to numerous locations and give us a lot of advice on things to do and see. Some of the things we did in our time off include hiking in Goldstream Park and Thetis Lake Park, biking to Sooke, visiting Hatley Castle and downtown Victoria. The area has so much to offer and Vic and Kathryn have a lot of knowledge and will find something for everyone to enjoy.
All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better experience and are very thankful that we got to spend time with you. We truly hope that we will meet you again in the future! :)
We wish you all the best,
Maria & Markus
Left by host for Workawayer (Breeanna & Aiden)
Aiden and Brie are an interesting, congenial, and genuinely lovely couple to spend time with. It was a pleasure to introduce them to our friends and everyone spoke positively about meeting them.
The weeks flew by as we learned some Aussie slang and of their many travels and culinary adventures in various parts of the world.
Aiden and Bree were
… read more very happy to try foods they’d never had before and adapted to our schedule and manner of eating.
They also introduced us to some of their favorite foods and cooked for us some of their favorite dishes including the Australian national dish.
They were easy and undemanding to accommodate for their trips and sightseeing and grateful for everything that we tried to do for them.
From a work perspective they:
• were very willing to learn new things and took great pride and satisfaction in their work.
• rolled up their sleeves and got into the work and didn't complain about any task we requested.
• tidied up after themselves very well without being asked and enjoyed eliminating tasks on the list.
• were always offering to help to do things, clean up after meals next tasks on list etc.
They were respectful of the suite that they stayed in, leaving it in great shape when they left
We couldn’t recommend Aiden and Bree any higher and we appreciate having got to know them
Left by Workawayer (Breeanna & Aiden) for host
Wow where to begin! Over the last month we can truly say that this Workaway with Kathryn and Vic had to be one of the best experience we have ever been involved in. From the very first conversation we had on the phone we knew what wonderful people they were going to be. They made sure that we had our Coffee/Tea order there in our suite ready for
… read more when we arrived and they even scoured the island to find us Vegemite, all to make us feel right at home. Kathryn and Vic are both excellent cooks, so meal time with them was always so tasty and we enjoyed all the conversations we had, whether that be food, culture, sport, wine or music. It was very enjoyable getting to know them and they make an effort to invite you to many of their personal activities. Such as whisky tasting with their friends, going to an African Drum class and heading up to Parksville for the sandcastle competition. Vic and Kathryn also did not hesitate to take us anywhere we needed to go such as the bus stop to Downtown, lakes, supermarket etc. to ensure we had the best chance to explore what Vancouver Island had to offer.
In terms of the work portion, all of it was really rewarding and manageable. Kathryn created a checklist for us so we knew what jobs needed to be done. The work was fairly straightforward and either Vic or Kathryn would be home if we needed to ask questions on any of the projects. They were very flexible on when you could work and were happy to substitute us working a weekend to have days off during the week. The jobs we completed ranged from gardening, weeding, yard clean up, exterior painting, building stairs and waterproofing their pond.
All and all you will not regret completing a workaway with this really kind loving Canadian couple who truly care about your time on the island and ensure you also get the most out of the experience!
We will miss you both and we hope to see you again in the future!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
(Excellent
)
Left by host for Workawayer (Aoife)
Aoife was our first workawayer. She was great fun and a real pleasure to have around our home. She needed no prompting and very little instruction, picking things up very easily and doing great work around the house. She really added a lot of ease to our work. I can’t recommend her any higher, you can’t go wrong with Aoife
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
What a pleasure to have Maria and Markus with us. They have great energy and are a fun couple. Very easy to get along with, they were also keen and eager when it came to helping us out.
Getting ready for winter required a fair bit of physical work and they were easily up to the tasks. Markus’s knowledge of trees/plants helped out determining how
… read more to plant and prune bushes and trees. Maria was willing to learn and try new things out and was a very quick study.
They both expressed a lot of interest in checking out what our area provides.
This was a wonderful experience all around. We highly recommend Maria and Markus.
Staying with Kathryn and Vic for a week and a half in October has been beyond amazing. The communication was great since the beginning and they warmly welcomed us into their home. They are both incredibly kind, knowledgeable, warm, well traveled and a lot of fun to be around. We had our own apartment that had everything we needed and more. Before
… read more we arrived, they asked us what we like for breakfast and when we arrived, everything was there.
The tasks we helped them with were different everyday. We mainly helped in the garden with planting, harvesting, mowing the lawn, cutting branches, moving pots and protecting them. We had a lot of fun doing it and were also happy that they appreciated our work.
Both of them are excellent cooks and we had the best food with them. Some of our favorite meals included salmon, Moroccan stew and herring soup. We even tried Dim Sum with Vic in a restaurant. We enjoyed our conversation with them a lot - they have a lot of great stories to tell! During the time we were there it was also Thanksgiving and they invited us to celebrate together with their friends which was a lovely experience. Both of them were always so kind to drive us to numerous locations and give us a lot of advice on things to do and see. Some of the things we did in our time off include hiking in Goldstream Park and Thetis Lake Park, biking to Sooke, visiting Hatley Castle and downtown Victoria. The area has so much to offer and Vic and Kathryn have a lot of knowledge and will find something for everyone to enjoy.
All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better experience and are very thankful that we got to spend time with you. We truly hope that we will meet you again in the future! :)
We wish you all the best,
Maria & Markus
Left by host for Workawayer (Breeanna & Aiden)
Aiden and Brie are an interesting, congenial, and genuinely lovely couple to spend time with. It was a pleasure to introduce them to our friends and everyone spoke positively about meeting them.
The weeks flew by as we learned some Aussie slang and of their many travels and culinary adventures in various parts of the world.
Aiden and Bree were
… read more very happy to try foods they’d never had before and adapted to our schedule and manner of eating.
They also introduced us to some of their favorite foods and cooked for us some of their favorite dishes including the Australian national dish.
They were easy and undemanding to accommodate for their trips and sightseeing and grateful for everything that we tried to do for them.
From a work perspective they:
• were very willing to learn new things and took great pride and satisfaction in their work.
• rolled up their sleeves and got into the work and didn't complain about any task we requested.
• tidied up after themselves very well without being asked and enjoyed eliminating tasks on the list.
• were always offering to help to do things, clean up after meals next tasks on list etc.
They were respectful of the suite that they stayed in, leaving it in great shape when they left
We couldn’t recommend Aiden and Bree any higher and we appreciate having got to know them
Left by Workawayer (Breeanna & Aiden) for host
Wow where to begin! Over the last month we can truly say that this Workaway with Kathryn and Vic had to be one of the best experience we have ever been involved in. From the very first conversation we had on the phone we knew what wonderful people they were going to be. They made sure that we had our Coffee/Tea order there in our suite ready for
… read more when we arrived and they even scoured the island to find us Vegemite, all to make us feel right at home. Kathryn and Vic are both excellent cooks, so meal time with them was always so tasty and we enjoyed all the conversations we had, whether that be food, culture, sport, wine or music. It was very enjoyable getting to know them and they make an effort to invite you to many of their personal activities. Such as whisky tasting with their friends, going to an African Drum class and heading up to Parksville for the sandcastle competition. Vic and Kathryn also did not hesitate to take us anywhere we needed to go such as the bus stop to Downtown, lakes, supermarket etc. to ensure we had the best chance to explore what Vancouver Island had to offer.
In terms of the work portion, all of it was really rewarding and manageable. Kathryn created a checklist for us so we knew what jobs needed to be done. The work was fairly straightforward and either Vic or Kathryn would be home if we needed to ask questions on any of the projects. They were very flexible on when you could work and were happy to substitute us working a weekend to have days off during the week. The jobs we completed ranged from gardening, weeding, yard clean up, exterior painting, building stairs and waterproofing their pond.
All and all you will not regret completing a workaway with this really kind loving Canadian couple who truly care about your time on the island and ensure you also get the most out of the experience!
We will miss you both and we hope to see you again in the future!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
(Excellent)
Left by host for Workawayer (Aoife)
Aoife was our first workawayer. She was great fun and a real pleasure to have around our home. She needed no prompting and very little instruction, picking things up very easily and doing great work around the house. She really added a lot of ease to our work. I can’t recommend her any higher, you can’t go wrong with Aoife
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