Australia
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Our picturesque family farm is in the Derwent Valley only 35 minutes from Hobart. Here is where we produce an exciting range of hand crafted, small batch drinks and award winning gourmet condiments.
Myself (Anne) and my husband (Robert) live on the farm and manage things together. We would love some help in our large garden which requires picking, weeding, pruning, bottling fruit and preserving. We are keen to meet new people and share our knowledge, accumulated over 40 yrs of farming, gardening and running a family business; as well as ideas and tips on travel within Tasmania.
We are on the beautiful Derwent River, so in spring and summer you will even be able to enjoy swimming, canoeing or lying on the banks of the river, or wandering through our 300ha of bush, along creek beds and ridges across a wide range of landscapes. On these walks you can see kangaroos, possums, perhaps echidnas, quolls and the beautifully coloured rosella parrots, souring eagles, kookaburras, fairy wrens and robins (to name a few).
We are looking for enthusiastic individuals, groups or couples who are open to new challenges. Those who have experience building, landscaping and gardening would be a huge bonus - but it is not a necessity. This summer, we plan to build a fire-pit or two for sharing food around, build a little verandah onto our beautiful 'chicken coop' accommodation unit, build a frame to support more wisteria as an arched walk and other electrical, carpentry and stonemasonry tasks, including re-building our courtyard. It would be a wonderful if you had the skills to help in accelerating our projects. If not, there is always plenty to do and we can find something that will interest you.
Having your own transport will give you more freedom, but we are always happy to run you into the local town 5 minutes away and a bicycle is provided as well.
Minimum stays of one week are ideal (in order to get to know you and also so you have a full and real experience). There are a number of choices of accommodation (when available) - with separate new shower and toilet. Our latest creation is "the Coop" - our cute little converted chook shed, cosy and warm (double glazed and insulated) and set within the garden. There is a caravan next to the house, or, if you prefer, you might enjoy privacy further away from the house in a converted insulated high cube shipping container, complete with own kitchenette and separate new shower and toilet facilities, but still join us to share an evening meal after the day to day activities around the home.
Most of all, we are flexible. If you would like to use us as a base to explore southern Tasmania from, I am sure we can arrange something that works for all. Many stayers have come back for a second visit!
If you like to learn, if you help with enthusiasm to the best of your ability, we will always welcome you here. Hopefully, you will leave us with memories of great home cooked food and interesting experiences - an insight into what it is to run a diverse farm and value added food production; having set your mark on some little project that will remain an ongoing memory of you for us, and for you of our little piece of paradise.
Looking forward to an enjoyable interaction.
Warmest Regards
Anne and Robert
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Lots to learn - and you can specialise in what takes your fancy and the season - from tending the veggie garden, the orchard, learning to propagate plants, harvesting berries, apples, pears, peaches for winter storage etc. Building and landscaping skills will be cherished and we will certainly provide a healthy home cooked meal at nights - including Annie's famous desserts. Goats, cattle and sandstone make up this mixed farm. So lots to see and enjoy and always plenty to do.
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
The help is varied depending on the time of year and your skill set. The help will be mostly around the home vegetable patch and our spot by the river.
Helping with landscaping, planting hedgerows & windbreaks, mulching, pruning, stone walling will always be appreciated.
Builders or handy men are very welcome, as we wish to enhance every vista and create photo opportunities wherever you look. Our projects are many and varied - we would love to build a shelter by the river with BBQ facilites and a deck - so, in summer you can swim, canoe or just sit under shelter to read a book when the days chores are done.
There are also tasks to do around the farmhouse such as gardening, mowing lawns, house maintenance and renovation, helping cook healthy meals at night, feeding garden refuse to our livestock - wherever you feel you can most be of help. At the moment we have two orphan kids who need feeding twice a day.
We are currently planting a few more mixed fruit trees, setting up winter protection for our lemon trees, adding watering systems and raising our vegetable patches so we can fit more compost in.
There is always the daily vegetables and fruit to be picked and/or preserved.
Or you may like to help out at Salamanca Market on a Saturday or at our mid-winter Festival.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Beginner
This 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 unit - there are 3 to choose from - the main one is in a simple but cosy warm cabin with very clean separate toilet and shower. Then there is a cute little caravan - a blast from the past - but the bed here is mostly suited to smaller people, so if there are two of you and you are both tall, this won't work.
We also have a newly refurbed chook shed, called "The Coop" - we are really proud of this as it has been completed with mostly recycled materials plus cosy warm cladding and insulation. Set in the middle of the fruit and veggie garden.
Camping - You can also camp or bring your own caravan if you prefer and sit by a camp fire (except in fire danger periods).
Nearby is Mt Field National Park, or visit Mona Museum, Agrarian kitchen, the many opportunity and antique shops only minutes away and just full of hidden treasures. Swim in the river, paddle, walk thru the bush, see native animals, cockatoos, kookaburras, owls, platypus, (sometimes) and plenty of kangaroo and possums.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
We have one cabin that is suitable with wifi access, or you can connect via own phone wifi closer to the house and garden. We could even set you up down on the river if you were going to stay a length of time - adjacent to the rapids - where the light play of sun on the water and the tinkling sound of the rapids will unfortunately be such a distraction that you may never want to stop and work! You can swim in the river and then walk up the hill to the home to share a meal with us or to gather produce from our huge herb, fruit and veggie garden.
We would love to have you come and visit and have plenty of site opportunities - some with power - others more remote. All beautiful - we will do all we can to help make your stay as memorable as possible.
More than two
Maximum 4 to 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
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