Jess & James

Travel information

We are currently

Activities we are interested in:

Keen cyclists. Jess favors road riding and Ebikes for off road. Paddle boarding on lakes or the sea... James like to surf SUP. Newly stocked up on art supplies, mainly oil paints

Description

Hi there! We're a couple from the UK, excited to explore New Zealand and meet new people along the way. We're taking a break from our busy lives to be busy travelling :)

I'm a children's social worker—and looking forward to experiencing something different. James is a Technical Support Engineer in the construction industry with a wide variety of work experience from sales to being a bike mechanic, ski technician and other maintenance roles. He's a practical learner, and is especially excited to get away from the desk job!

We’re hoping to learn new skills, try out different types of work, and get to know New Zealand from a local perspective. Workaway seems like a great way to mix things up, contribute where we can, and make our travels more meaningful.

Outdoor Activities: We are big on cycling and I would like to get into mountain biking, and we’re keen to take advantage of New Zealand’s great outdoors. We also enjoy water sports; surfing, paddle boarding and would love any chance to get out on the water. We enjoy going sailing and have done a day skipper theory course, we hope in the future to buy a sailing boat, so any experience with boats would be an absolute bonus.

Back home, we love traveling in our van, exploring the UK and Europe. Our new van is a LWB mid-top Transit with plenty of solar and all the green sticker amenities. We’re animal lovers, especially dogs, and would be happy to help with pet care. James has worked as a professional gardener and we don’t mind getting stuck into physical work. We’re interested in trying a variety of jobs, from farm work to helping with local businesses, and are eager to learn as we go.

Back home Jess has renovated two houses and James has renovated his home so have lots of experience. I enjoy painting and decorating projects. James is more handy having done; rewiring, plastering and plumbing but we would both be keen to get stuck in!

Interests

Yoga / Wellness

Water sports

Van life

Politics / Social justice

Sailing / Boating

Sustainability

Technology

Plant care

Pets

Outdoor activities

Nature

Music

Mountain

Hitchhiking

Hiking

Gardening

Farming

Events & social

Drawing & painting

DIY & crafts

Cycling

Culture

Cooking & food

Carpentry

Camping

Books

Beach

Art & design

Animals

Adventure sports

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
French: Beginner

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Life at a Farmstay

Art Projects

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

Babysitting and creative play

Eco Projects

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Hospitality/Tourism

Helping with Computers/ Internet

House sitting

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Able to teach about:  

DIY and building projects

General Maintenance

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Teaching

More details about your skills

DIY home and van
Painting and decorating
Pet care
Child care (dbs available)
Gardening

Age

33 & 33

What else ...

We arrived for NYE 2025 and started our journey in the North Island working with sheep, cows, gardening, rust prevention/ painting, and maintained mountain bike trails. We have loved travelling about, time in the sea, dips in the rivers, and have met some amazing people along the way. We have drenched sheep, fixed fences, used chainsaws, internally boarded huts, minor electrical works... all sorts.

We are now in the South Island. We're keen to explore the mountains, enjoy the ski season, and experience the change of season in New Zealand. We're pretty easygoing and don’t have a solid plan yet—just excited to see what opportunities come our way through the Workaway site. We’re flexible and open to whatever sounds interesting and fun!

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies

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  Special dietary requirements