Love the outdoors? You’ll love it here! Stunning surroundings while you help & learn - Karangahake Gorge, New Zealand

Detalles

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  Descripción

  THE PLACE
  
  Join us on our beautiful 1.5-hectare property, nestled in the hills above the river in the heart of the picturesque Karangahake Gorge. Much of our land is covered in native bush, with paddocks for our goats, an orchard, large vegetable gardens, and three separate homes shared by our multigenerational family.
  
  When we arrived in December 2021, both the land and buildings had been quite neglected. Since then, we’ve put a huge amount of work into bringing the property back to life - with plenty of help from some wonderful Workawayers along the way!
  
  Karangahake is recognised as a National Heritage Area for its fascinating gold-mining history and natural beauty, and is popular with both Kiwis and international visitors. There are numerous walking and cycling trails to explore, with some beginning just three minutes from our house.
  
  We’re conveniently located between Waihi (15 minutes away) and Paeroa (7 minutes), with beautiful Waihi Beach around a 25-minute drive away. Both towns have shops, cafés and bus connections for getting to us or continuing your travels.
  
  THE PEOPLE
  
  My parents and aunt, along with my husband, daughter and me, live in three separate houses on the property. We each lead fairly independent lives while sharing and caring for the land together.
  
  We spend a lot of time outdoors tending the gardens, maintaining the property, caring for our animals and enjoying our beautiful surroundings.
  
  Health and wellbeing are important to us. We enjoy eating well, including home-grown vegetables, our own eggs and organic beef from a nearby farm. None of us smoke, although we do enjoy the occasional glass of wine. After busy days, we also value a good night’s sleep, so we ask guests to respect our quiet hours between 10pm and 6am.
  
  We’re an independent-minded, fairly traditional family who value common sense, personal responsibility, humour and open conversation. We’re not especially politically correct or aligned with progressive or activist culture, so we’re best suited to someone who is comfortable with different viewpoints and doesn’t take political differences too seriously.
  
  THE PETS
  
  There are plenty of animals to keep us company! Piper the dog; Otto, Daisy and Gil the cats; Wilma and Betty the goats; Henry the rooster and his 15 ladies; Poof and Puff, our frizzle chickens; plus two ducks and two geese.
  
  WHAT WE DO
  
  My retired parents and aunt keep themselves busy and active around the property. Aunt Jeanette loves gardening, particularly propagation. Dad Leon is a talented inventor and fixer who is happiest with his tractor or chainsaw, while Mum Judith has a flair for decorating and vegetable gardening - and loves to sing.
  
  I work Monday to Thursday managing an organic fertiliser company. At home, I look after the health and wellbeing of our animals, drawing on 20 years of experience in the veterinary industry, as well as helping care for our extensive gardens.
  
  My husband Craig works as an After Sales Project Management Specialist for an automotive accessories manufacturer. A former member of the New Zealand Air Force with a lifelong passion for aviation, he previously flew his own planes and now enjoys golf and watching Formula One. Craig helps with all sorts of jobs around the property and is looking forward to tackling more building and woodworking projects.
  
  Our daughter Brydie, 18, loves the outdoors and is involved with our local Land Search and Rescue organisation. She works part-time as a waitress while finishing school and is also an excellent extra pair of hands when it comes to caring for our animals.

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Jardinería básica

  Proyectos creativos DIY «hazlo tú mismo»

  Cuidado de animales

  Ayuda en una granja

  Ayuda doméstica

  Mantenimiento básico
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  Intereses

  

  Historia

  

  Cuidado de plantas

  

  Películas y televisión

  

  Autodesarrollo

  

  Mascotas

  

  Fotografía

  

  Jardinería

  

  Bricolaje y manualidades

  

  Libros

  

  Animales

  

  Naturaleza

  

  Senderismo
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  We’re a happy, close-knit Kiwi family spanning three generations and living in a small rural community. Staying with us offers the chance to experience everyday New Zealand family life, local culture and, of course, plenty of Kiwi humour!
  
  We love sharing our beautiful part of New Zealand with travellers and helping them discover places they might otherwise miss. 
  
  Our family also has a fascinating WWII Polish refugee heritage. Our relatives were among the many Poles affected by deportation to Soviet labour camps during the war, a history that is not widely known outside Poland. We’re very happy to share our family’s story with anyone who is interested.
  
  Here on the property, you can experience a more hands-on, rural way of life. We grow our own vegetables, keep free-range chickens for eggs and try to grow our food as organically as possible. We’ve planted more than 30 fruit trees in our new orchard, and our many animals are very much part of family life.
  
  Karangahake Gorge is an area rich in both natural beauty and history. We take a particular interest in the people who once lived and worked here, the area’s gold-mining past, and the impact they had on the land. For anyone interested in history, nature and rural Kiwi life, there’s plenty here to discover.

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  Proyectos con niños

  En este proyecto podría haber niños. Para obtener más información, consulta nuestras directrices y consejos aquí.

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  Ayuda

  THE IDEAL HELPER WILL...
  
  Have gardening experience and/or be practical and hands-on. We particularly welcome people with gardening, building or renovation experience. You’ll need to be physically fit and strong, and not afraid of hard - and sometimes messy - work.
  
  We enjoy a good laugh and a good chat, so it’s important to us that our guests are cheerful, friendly and happy to engage in conversation. We’re looking for someone open-minded enough to live happily with people who may see the world differently, who enjoys genuine conversation without everything becoming political, and who is respectful of our home and family life.
  
  Mature travellers with some life experience, a good work ethic and the ability to work efficiently without constant supervision tend to fit into our family best.
  
  We’re unable to cater for special dietary requirements, including vegan diets.
  
  Having your own transport would be ideal, but isn’t essential. We’re unable to share our cars, but you’re welcome to use our mountain bikes to cycle into town, which takes around 20 minutes each way.
  
  THE WORK
  
  Work on our property is very dependent on the weather and the season, so no two stays are necessarily the same.
  
  During dry weather, most of the work is outdoors in the gardens - weeding, pruning, planting and general garden maintenance - as well as collecting, cutting and stacking firewood.
  
  During wet weather, we try to find indoor jobs such as housework, painting or other maintenance tasks. If there’s nothing suitable to do inside, we’ll simply count it as a non-work day.

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  Idiomas hablados

  Inglés: Fluido

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  Alojamiento

  You’ll stay in the largest bedroom on the property, upstairs in our family home. The room has a queen bed, comfortable chairs, a large table/desk, TV, and a spectacular view of our mountain.
  
  When available, you’ll have our Airbnb bathroom to yourself. If we have Airbnb guests staying, you’ll share the bathroom and kitchen in our house with us.
  
  Our helpers usually join my parents and aunt for dinner, while making their own breakfast and lunch at our house.
  
  Please note that we’re unable to cater for special dietary requirements, including vegan diets.

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  Algo más...

  The Karangahake Gorge is a spectacular place to explore, with rivers for swimming, beautiful walking tracks following old mining trails and tunnels, and fascinating ruins from the area’s historic gold-mining days. Native bush surrounds our property and is home to an abundance of native birds and insects - including New Zealand glow worms. Best of all, our property has its own private access to the local walking tracks.
  
  There are plenty of other nature trails nearby, as well as the Hauraki Rail Trail. We have mountain bikes you’re welcome to borrow, making it easy to get out and explore.
  
  Beautiful Waihi Beach is only 25 minutes away and is great for swimming, surfing or simply spending a day at the beach.
  
  The nearby towns of Paeroa (7 minutes) and Waihi (13 minutes) have a good selection of shops and cafés, and there are several other lovely small country towns to discover in the surrounding area.
  
  We’re also very centrally located for exploring further afield. The Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, Hobbiton in Matamata and Hamilton are all within easy reach, while Auckland is around 1.5 hours away.
  
  If you enjoy nature, walking, cycling, history and getting away from the usual tourist trail, there’s plenty to discover right on our doorstep.

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

  We have satellite WIFI and areas for laptop use.

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  We have carpark that can accommodate up to a medium sized camper.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Dos

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  Mis animales / mascotas

  

  Betty & Wilma

  

  Gil

  

  Piper

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