Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
3 Mar 2026
Reply rate
98.4 %
Usually responds within 5 days
Feedback
11
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We're Andrea, from New Zealand and Australia, and Gregor, originally from Austria. We're a travelling, worldschooling family with 3 kids, dividing our time between Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and sometimes other countries.
Right now we're at a peaceful rural property in the historic town of Wakefield. It's near Nelson in the 'top of the south', the sunniest place in the South Island! The backyard is like a big park, with lots of trees, birds and a creek. We're not far from Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks, and beach towns like Tahunanui, Ruby Bay and Motueka.
We'd love a hand with household help, childcare, gardening and yard tasks. We appreciate helpers who can see what needs doing, and tune in to the flow of the family. This is a new profile, but we have 5 star feedback from hosting for many years at other locations in Australia and Austria.
We homeschool our kids, who are 6, 8 and 10. We love to explore nature, do crafts, build, create, invent, and learn. For childcare, we look for people who are sensible, confident, fun, experienced, and have good domestic skills. We have a child safety policy and a carer's guide, for extra clarity.
The details of the exchange are by negotiation. We are open to host travelling families like ourselves :)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
House & pet sitting
Interests
Culture
Sustainability
Self development
Politics / Social justice
Pets
LGBTQ
Farming
Plant care
Photography
Music
Languages
History
Gardening
Drawing & painting
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Books
Astronomy
Art & design
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Outdoor activities
Nature
Mountain
Hiking
Dancing
Cycling
Beach
Camping
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You will learn about life in a Kiwi-Aussie-Austrian bilingual family ;)
I am interested in learning how to support children to thrive. I love plants (food and ornamental), and I make preserves and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir. I like to have conversations about the meaningful things in life. I have a deep love of the natural environment, learning about ecosystems and many other science topics, and have passed on to the kids my over-the-top rock collecting and interest in non human animals ;)
Gregor's interests include intermittent fasting, playing guitar and singing Austrian folk songs with the kids, and 'meta politics' (ask him more!)
Our intentional community project: We have taken a break from this, but we hope to return to it in the future. We would like to live in an extended family or tribe to support each other in raising children, and give the kids (and adults) a different experience. If you are interested in how intentional communities form and work, and what the challenges and benefits might be, we can share our insights with you.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Our main needs are help in the house, gardening, and help with the kids.
Help in the house: for example cleaning, tidying, organising, laundry, making preserves and ferments
Garden: eg weeding, harvesting fruits and vegetables
Fixing things: eg sewing, gluing, changing parts
With the kids: We only ask for help from people who are confident and experienced with children. We do teaching sessions with them, and they do some organised activities like gym and bush school. In their free time, they love to play games, dance, sing, run around the backyard, do art and craft, wood and metalwork, puzzles and board games, and so on. If you have skills like teaching, art, music, sports, or knowledge of child development, that's a bonus. We always take it slowly, and give time for everyone to get used to each other. Our kids are happy, friendly and playful. Gregor or I will almost always be nearby. Sometimes you might care for them by yourself, and sometimes we all do something fun together.
When new helpers arrive, we spend the first few days getting to know each other and make sure it is a good fit for everyone. After this, we prefer helpers to stay with us for two weeks or longer, as we find this leads to a better experience.
We ask for your help 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. But we're happy to work out different arrangements. We try to match the tasks with your skills and interests if possible. We value helpers who are proactive, enjoy contributing, and know how to get things done.
We provide all your food, except alcohol (we are happy to pick it up for you though). We usually have dinner together and sometimes lunch, while breakfast is usually self serve. We will feed you a healthy mixed diet including homegrown vegetables, fruits and fermented foods. We can also provide vegetarian, vegan etc - just talk to us about your needs. You are welcome to cook :)
We supply sheets and blankets, soap, shampoo & conditioner, towel and wash cloth. Please bring all your other personal items, including clothes and shoes suitable for gardening, if you are coming to do some gardening with us.
We prefer non smokers, but if you do smoke, please let us know. Butts should be disposed of thoughtfully and please smoke away from the house.
We want you to feel at home when you stay with us! You always welcome to talk to us about any questions or concerns. If you have particular needs or circumstances, please let us know before you arrive so that we can be sure we can accommodate you. We respect your privacy, but please tell us if you have any limitations that may affect your ability to contribute to our household.
We all speak English. Gregor and the kids speak Tyrolean German to each other.
I (Andrea) speak basic Mexican Spanish, only a little German, and I have forgotten most of my Italian 😅
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
Happy to share our English and German, and practice our Spanish :)
Accommodation
Possibly your own room in the house, or otherwise in a self contained caravan under the trees in the backyard.
What else ...
We try to make sure our helpers can have fun when they're not busy helping! In your free time you can visit national parks or beaches, the local city and towns, or borrow a bike and hit the local pump track or bike trails (there are many). There's not much public transport, but the town is very walkable, and there are some buses. There's a possibility of borrowing a car, and we can also help you to get where you would like to go, or take you with us on adventures :)
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have wifi :)
Space for parking camper vans
There's heaps of room for your portable home here :) choose your favourite shady tree.
Can possibly accept pets
We can host child safe pets by arrangement, but the yard is not effectively fenced.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (4)
I engoyed so much playing with their thee kids (Max, Delphi and Hugo), jumping on the trampolin, learning english with them, and sharing many lovely moments (cooking pancakes, doing manualities and… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
I engoyed so much playing with their thee kids (Max, Delphi and Hugo), jumping on the trampolin, learning english with them, and sharing many lovely moments (cooking pancakes, doing manualities and… read more
Our stay was short (one week) but Gregor and Andrea showed us around their beautiful property and introduced us to the diverse and manageable work right away.
After having our own breakfast in the morning, we started collecting sticks and putting them on a trailer to go to… read more
The work was fair and I always felt accomplished after the days work. Andrea was sure to check that I was keeping track of my worked hours to be sure I did not overwork the agreed upon time.
The kids are great and have a lot of… read more
The stay was outstanding. I enjoyed the work and my stay with the family. They oftentimes asked how we were doing amd made sure we were fed.
Their home is in a more quiet area so perfect if you want to take a… read more
