Come and help us to become self-sufficient in Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand

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Host rating
Feedback
24
Last activity
11/09/2019
Nº of Facebook friends
249
Reply rate
54.6 %
Average reply time:
within 2 days
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2019

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Description
Our family of 3 children, 1 slightly tubby Bearded Collie, 2 cats, 2 sheep , several chickens and three rabbits live on 2.5 Acres, of regenerating native bush and grass.

We are working hard to be self sufficient but have some way to go (the veggie patch is looking a little bit sad right now...). We generate our own power, harvest water and use worm composting for our septics which seems to work well. The house is almost five years old and built to be energy and materials efficient.

Our village is in the heart of a fantastic slice of countryside with beaches, shops, cafe's and every activity you could imagine a short drive away. We are out dog walking, mountain biking, swimming as often as we can...trying to find a balance between getting on top of the weeds, housework and having fun!

We have had some great times with people we have hosted and every day we look out our windows and see what we have achieved together. However we still have a fair bit of work to do and are slowly working through several landscaping projects including clearing weeds / gorse / bramble and planting the property with shrubs, natives and fruit trees. As soon as one project is finished there always seems to be another one in the making :-)

Right now we are in need of some help to refurbish our dining room, table and some wooden chairs we have just bought on Trade Me - both need some sanding and filling to get them ready to repaint. This won't happen without your help as Juggling three sporty kids and the washing that comes with it means there are rarely enough hours in the day to make a dent in the backlog, let alone start new projects! It won't just all be about sanding though, we will mix it up a bit - there is always stuff to do in the garden and after a bit of recent de-cluttering we are really keen to start a big house clean ready for spring which will hopefully soon be upon us!

We would love to welcome a cheery, sociable couple who enjoy a challenge and don't mind mucking in in our busy, noisy household - if that sounds like you - please get in touch!

The weather is very unpredictable at this time of year but right now we have plenty of inside projects that can be done if we have days of rain ;-)

Just mucking in, having some fun, great food and a few beers at the end of the day would be great! Surf board, mountain bikes available for use...
Type of help
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Help in the house
Animal care
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are keen travellers (albeit more sporadic these days) and love sharing travel stories and tips with our guests. We are happy to offer advice about places to see and things to do in NZ and have really enjoyed sharing our little piece of NZ with our guests from overseas :-). Staying with us you will get to see how we live on a day to day basis, juggling fun times with getting things done. You will be welcome to come out with us on the weekends and be part of our busy, noisy family during your stay. We hope that you will learn a little bit about Kiwi life, enjoying the great outdoors!
Help
The kinds of things we would love help with include
- sanding and repainting tables and chairs (11)
- weeding, planting and mulching
- help with landscaping projects
- clearing bramble to restore the stream and planting with natives
- help with our animals
- help with housework if its raining and we can't get outside
Languages spoken
English
Accommodation
We have a room with a double bed and loads of space in the house to hang out. This has been perfect for couples. Internet is available 24 hours. We have use of the village pool in the summer and we are a short 10 minute drive from the nearest shopping centre, Albany. The drive to the centre of Auckland is 20 minutes (if traffic is good). Murawai is our closest surf beach (25 minutes) and Long Bay or Orewa on the east coast (15 minutes).
What else ...
We do live in the country. There is no public transport in the immediate vicinity but we are happy to drop you in Albany when we can if you need to shop / travel by bus to other parts of Auckland. We have space for your car or van and we have Mountain bikes available to borrow if you like to ride.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Photos

Feedback left by and about host (24)

16/07/2019

Left by Workawayer (Claire & Philippe) for host

THANK YOU SO MUCH :)
We have stayed two weeks with this family and we just loved it! It was the beginning of our WHV in NZ and we couldn't dream for a better start! Sarah is so nice and she cooks so well and Maurice is so funny and nice too!
The work was fair and we could go out in the afternoon to visit the west coast with good advices.
We loved… read more

(Excellent )

07/01/2019

Left by Workawayer (Hannah & Sebastian) for host

The most important thing first: We can't express our gratitude for Maurice and Sarah, they made our
travel through NZ possible. They helped us to sort out some serious problems so we could stay instead of
flying home.

Being with the Hobans was just what we were looking for. We enjoyed the work, where Sarah taught us a
lot in gardening. Afterwards… read more

(Excellent )

10/10/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Hannah & Sebastian)

Hannah and Sebastian stayed with us for three and a half weeks during September. They were a real pleasure to host and quickly became part of the family. They help us achieve so much in the time that they were here including finishing the building of the steps down the front bank, clearing the 'jungle" ready for our new septic lines, weeding the… read more

(Excellent )

06/12/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Malte & Lisa)

Malte and Lisa stayed with us for three weeks at the end of November / early December. It was a real pleasure to host this lovely, easy going couple. They helped us with numerous projects in the garden including some serious weeding tasks, building a retaining wall for a small path by the pump shed so I don't slip down the hill in winter (!),… read more

(Excellent )

04/12/2018

Left by Workawayer (Malte & Lisa) for host

Lisa and I stayed around three weeks with the wonderfull Hobans after arriving in New Zealand!
Mainly we worked in the garden moving flax, weeding or trimming grass as well as building a retaining wall and helping a bit in the household. We also planted a few plants before the high summer hit:)
The Hobans are busy! There is always something going… read more

(Excellent )

20/09/2018

Left by Workawayer (jennifer & Callum) for host

The Hobans are great hosts who really helped us kick off our stay in New Zealand.

The food was great (I already miss your pizza!), we helped with weeding, planting and general upkeep. Sarah really helped us sorting out our bank account after a few glitches and Maurice gave us some great tips for places to go in New Zealand.

We loved all their… read more

(Excellent )

21/01/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Jan)

Jan and Maria stayed with us for four weeks just before Christmas and helped us so much. We had a few projects that we had been working on during the last few months and they worked really hard to help us finish them and tidy up before our Paddock Golf competition!! They finished mulching the driveway and one of the (very large banks), cleaned… read more

(Excellent )

04/01/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Maria)

(Excellent )

03/01/2018

Left by Workawayer (Maria) for host

We are so glad the Hoban family hosted us for our first workaway experience. Jan and me intended to stay 2 weeks and ended up staying for almost 4 weeks. We worked mostly in the garden which we enjoyed since their ground is a lovely piece of land with amazing views everywhere. We also liked the physical work like building parts of their terrace,… read more

(Excellent )

09/11/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Claudia & Stijn)

Claudia and Stijn stayed with us for five weeks. Not quite what they initially intended but as their van broke down when they first tried to leave, they were stuck for a bit longer than expected! Whilst this was frustrating for them, our kids could barely contain their delight when they found out they would be staying another week or two whilst… read more

(Excellent )

30/10/2017

Left by Workawayer (Claudia & Stijn) for host

Staying with this family was great! It is what we hoped for in doing Workaway. Sarah and Maurice are really kind and relaxed people. They have travelled a lot themselves and are experienced Workaway hosts. Their three kids are not at all shy and it's really fun to talk to Theo (8) and Amalie (11) about animals and superhero's and to Finn (14)… read more

(Excellent )

07/06/2017

Left by Workawayer (Rene & Lisa) for host

We stayed with the Hobans for 2 weeks and it was great! They are all lovable and kind people who welcomed us at their beautiful home. There was a lot to do in the garden and we were happy that we could help and learn from them. They also gave us a lot of tips for our journey and showed us things they like to do, e.g. mountainbiking, rugby. Thank… read more

(Excellent )

05/05/2017

Left by Workawayer (cecile) for host

We spent our last week in New Zealand with the Hoban family, after almost a year traveling, and we could not hope for a better way to finish our kiwi experience! We contacted them pretty much last minute but Sarah managed to perfectly organize our arrival even though they were all super busy!

The work they had for us wasn't much and they were… read more

(Excellent )

01/05/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (cecile)

Cecile and Seb stayed with us for a few days before they left New Zealand. It was a real pleasure to host them, it was just a shame it was for such a short time as they are a lovely couple and we all enjoyed their company.

They helped us with some garden projects including moving our fire pit project a little further along and a lot of weeding!… read more

(Excellent )

09/01/2017

Left by Workawayer (Jodie & Joseph) for host

We were lucky enough to spend 2 weeks with this laid back, welcoming, busy busy family :). They took us to the beach, to poker and to their friends BBQ! Oh AND... Even bought us an ice cream :D Sarah is such a lovely person who is super chilled and an amazing baker! She even set us off in our new van with a box full of brownies (which were gone… read more

(Excellent )

07/12/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Jodie & Joseph)

Jodie and Jos stayed with us with two weeks in November. We really enjoyed having this lovely couple to stay - they fitted in with our family very well and the kids loved them! They helped us with our latest garden project which was pretty tough and dirty and they really got to work on cleaning the house - Jodie was the cleaning fairy… read more

(Excellent )

07/12/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Louise & Stewart)

Louise, Stuart, Hannah and Eleanor arrived at a crazy time of the year but they managed to cope with our flitting here there and everywhere as we tried to keep all our commitments! On their second day they helped with the Scouts scrap metal collection, Louise whisking the kids away for a swim when the novelty wore off allowing Maurice, Stuart and… read more

(Excellent )

07/12/2016

Left by Workawayer (Louise & Stewart) for host

This was our first Workaway and it could not have been better. We had an extremely enjoyable week staying with the lovely Hoban family. Their house is beautiful with great views across the local area. We are a family of four (two girls aged 9 and 11) and we were made to feel so welcome. All the kids got on very well and had immense fun mucking… read more

(Excellent )

07/12/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Orane & Till)

We really enjoyed having Orane and Till to stay. They were warm, kind, hardworking and had a real sense of fun. They helped us enormously in the garden and the house as well as being wonderful babysitters. The kids adored them as they always found time to chat and play and we all had a real laugh playing Mario cart together! Finn was also… read more

(Excellent )

27/08/2016

Left by Workawayer (Orane & Till) for host

We extended our stay for 4 weeks with this family that we love !
Taking part of their projects was so enjoyable, there is so much to do, you'll find something for you !
Their home is warm and welcoming and the work-in-progress garden is promising (and the only one where you can see a flying trampoline !!!).
We loved our "family time" together,… read more

(Excellent )

28/05/2016

Left by Workawayer (Jonas & Sandra) for host

We stayed for two weeks with the Hoban's and enjoyed it so much! They have a big house and there is always a lot to do. The work we could do various a lot; gardening, mowing, housekeeping, cleaning, chickenfence repairing and so on. But there was also a lot of time to discover auckland.
We felt us like a part of the family and enjoyed the time… read more

(Excellent )

17/05/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Jonas & Sandra)

Jonas and Sandra stayed with us for last two weeks of April.

It was school holidays and their help around the house and garden was invaluable! They worked their way through our list of chores including mowing the lawns, repotting seedlings, cleaning windows (quite a job!!), fixing up the chicken run to stop the wily chickens escaping (yeh!),… read more

(Excellent )

21/04/2016

Left by Workawayer (Lisa & Martin) for host

Martin and I stayed with Sarah and Maurice for 2 weeks in March and we had the best experience! They are such a kind and generous family who were fantastic to be around. The kids were a joy and I loved reading to them, and frodo (the dog) was so playful. We thoroughly enjoyed the worked and it was really varied. Sarah and Maurice gave us so much… read more

(Excellent )

18/04/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Lisa & Martin)

Marty and Lisa stayed with us for two weeks during March. Whilst they were with us they helped get us back on track with the mowing and weeding. They also had fun with Maurice finishing off a block work retaining wall and provided great advice and muscle as we drove around buying the materials to build the wall!! The kids loved Lisa's story… read more

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 951487878238

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