New Zealand
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We live in beautiful Waipu (1.5hrs north Auckland) on 25 acres including 1 hectare of native bush and Bream Bay to the east from the building site we are working on.
We adore the stunning beaches & friendly community that Waipu have to offer.
We (Haylee & James) have 3 adventurous children (5, 7, 10yrs) and Sandy our Labrador. Oh, and our sweet little chickens that are quickly multiplying!
After a little researching, getting a feel for our land and getting the cabins all setup, we were going to build a passive-solar home, however we decided on the easy option of a relocated house. We are currently renovating our relocated house.
Photos have not been updated, sorry! You'll should be impressed with the progress : - )
We have plenty of ideas to share and welcome suggestions that inspire creativity. We feel nature teaches the children so much...and us all. I'm in progress of making some tracks through our native bush area, our vision is to create a natural playground and to be self sufficient. We moved here jan 2015. We are loving living in this holiday destination and all are enjoying the start of our adventure.
There is a abundance of wildlife and 2 horses we share the land with and we expect to broaden this to include other animals too. once we have establish a man-made lake some aquatic life may appear.
Currently we're cooking in a 6 berth English caravan. We have 2 cabins (1 utility - being kitchen, laundry & shower/toilet and the other cabin for guest accommodation and has just been lined and we're setting up a compact lounge.
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
Farmstay help
Help with Eco Projects
Help around the house
Art Projects
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
We would enjoy hearing about your culture, if you feel like sharing. Have thought about learning a Maori welcome song for our beautiful workawayers...it certainly wouldn't sound very polished, however it may give you a giggle!
We find 7 day duration works really well With workayers and can extend subject to plans/availability.
Please kindly be as specific as possible with arrival/departure dates. Currently we are suddenly receiving many, many requests!! : - ) (18dec2017)
We are also working through concepts for planting of fruit trees, shelter/hedging plants and setting up an all important vege garden and similar permaculture activities.
Building
Gardening
Childcare
Many other things to do depending on your passion and skills.
English: Fluent
A cosy cabin that opens out onto timber decking front and rear and a sheltered pergola area that connects to a seperate utility cabin.
We have a 25kL water tank that is fed from the cabin roofs (and covered pergola when complete) and a worm wastewater system that is in use (so anything being emptied into laundry/kitchen sink/shower needs to be natural (feel free to use our organic shampoo/cond.)
The solar panels are up however we need to source a better battery for it to be more effective.
The cabin is very close to our house/ caravan with an ajoining deck. Our kids are outdoor kids and do wake early so be prepared for some noise in the early mornings, or bring some ear muffs!! Haha. Neighbours are further enough away to not hear the noise so we haven't trained them to be quiet during mornings sorry!
There are beautiful beaches all around this coast including Waipu Cove and Langs Beach. Also a lovely waterfall in Waipu where we often swim. Or you can venture thru Waipu Caves and see glow-worms etc. We are more than happy to assist with options of where to explore.
We will endeaver to find something that you find pleasant as we would like this to be an enjoyable experience. We love to eat organic, flavoursome food and enjoy loads of local sprayfree fruit. Vegetarians can be easily cateered for.
James is an electricial engineer and registered electrician so if solar power systems and off grid living is of interest to you we are more than happy to assist with guidance and hands on experience.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Two
4 hours a day, 5 days a week. May be slightly more/less depending on the specific work
