Zsolt

& Veronika

Travel information

We are currently

Description

Zsolt:
Back home, in Hungary, I worked as a lawyer, but have been lucky enough to live and study abroad quite some time. I spent a year in England during my early university years as an au pair, which in many ways opened up the world for me and laid the foundation for my future travels and life. I later studied and worked in some incredibly interesting countries, including Turkey, Portugal, Finland, and Cyprus. These experiences, and the people I met along the way, have added so much depth, perspective to my life, and still motivates me traveling to new places.
I see myself as an open-hearted person who loves connecting with others. I love music, cooking (trying to be more plant-based in the last couple of years), and visual arts, especially film and painting. I'm always keen to learn about the history of the places I visit (it's a strong interest of mine that I've carried with me since my college years, when I volunteered as a history teacher). I also enjoy traveling (duh!), being outdoors, swimming, dancing, reading good books, sharing stories, and getting to know new people and cultures. Small things in life make me happy.

Veronika:
I studied ethnology and worked as a museum educator in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, where I had the chance to share my love for folk traditions and crafts with our visitors, mostly children, whom I absolutely love working with! Folklore has always been a passion in my life, not just academically, but personally too. I’m fascinated by how culture connects people to their land, the seasons, food, music, and shared history. I believe it is fundamental to understand where we are coming from. I also love collecting and learning about traditional objects, textiles, songs, and stories, and I’m always excited to discover local customs wherever I go. In addition to my work in cultural education, I also have years of experience in the wine trade, where I learnt a lot about wine regions, grape varieties, and winemaking itself.
I'm curious and love learning about different ways of life. Alongside ethnology, I also studied philosophy as a minor, which remained a personal interest of mine (still couldn't figure out the meaning of life though, but am on it!). I'm a sucker for live music, love reading novels on a beach (big fan of Knausgård), animals, sunny days, talking with people and taking photographs.

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After some years of 9-to-5 life, we decided to take a sabbatical and step into something completely different, a slower, more hands-on kind of lifestyle connected to nature, people, and meaningful work, so we came to New Zealand on a working holiday visa. We've always been fascinated by the pacific region, so coming here was an actual dream coming true. :)

Beyond our professional vocations, we’ve worked in hospitality (Zsolt at a 4-star hotel in England and Vera in wine-retail and pubs), and more recently here in New Zealand, at a beautiful café called Colenso and its accompanying orchard (where we worked as kitchen hands/front of house personnel, as well as tending the animals and the veggie garden).

Interests

Water sports

Self development

Sustainability

Vegetarian or vegan

Politics / Social justice

Movies & TV

Events & social

Culture

Performing arts

Languages

Photography

Plant care

Music

History

Gardening

Drawing & painting

Animals

Cooking & food

DIY & crafts

Books

Art & design

Yoga / Wellness

Sailing / Boating

Outdoor activities

Hiking

Mountain

Nature

Dancing

Camping

Beach

Languages spoken

English: Fluent
Hungarian: Fluent

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Eco Projects

Charity Work

Life at a Farmstay

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

Babysitting and creative play

General Maintenance

Helping around the house

Animal Care

Hospitality/Tourism

Art Projects

House sitting

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Able to teach about:  

Creating/ Cooking family meals

More details about your skills

We have a diverse skill set that combines both hands-on and professional experience. We're confident with gardening, landscaping, general yard work, harvesting, and outdoor maintenance, including tasks like painting, cleaning green areas, handling tools, etc. We're experienced in housekeeping and kitchen help too, as well as guest service (hospitality).

In addition to the skills above, we love cooking (especially vegetarian and plant-based meals) and have a growing interest in sustainable food production. We're currently working in a winery in Seddon (NZ), which gave us a solid foundation in wine culture and cellar work too (which includes a lot of practical knowledge).

Age

34 & 31

What else ...

We love sailing on Lake Balaton (the largest and most beautiful lake in Hungary) whenever we have the opportunity, and we’re generally big fans of water sports. We have a canoe at home that we use every summer, but we also love supping, kayaking, and more. We got into surfing recently, we started taking lessons here in NZ over the summer and absolutely loved it! We’re really keen to learn more about sailing and, more broadly, about life on the ocean. :)

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  penicillin

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  Special dietary requirements
  pescatarian