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Last replied
16 Nov 2024
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Description
Hi,
We are looking for people to share our home and help us with our large vegetable garden and small home orchard, there is also maintenance work with the house and land as well as helping look after the horses and other farm animals (cows, sheep and chickens).
We have a small, beautiful farmlet nestled in a bend of the picturesque Ruakokoputuna River Valley near the wine growing village of Martinborough (15 minutes away). Martinborough is in the Wairarapa province - we are 1.5 hours from Wellington. We work from home with Melissa involved with the horses and equestrian activities and Burton as a writer, publisher and inventor. We have 4 grown up children and several grandchildren.
Even if it looks like we are already booked up with Workawayers, there are sometimes cancellations so it is always worthwhile making an inquiry. We have been hosting volunteers for 20 years now and have made some wonderful life-long friends.
We are looking for people to help us with our farm/garden/tree planting and household jobs. We also are looking for people to help us with our horses. Our horses are spirited sports horses or young horses - so if you want to ride then you need to have a very good level of riding experience and be 70kgs or less. Of course there are lots of jobs to do with them that are not about riding them and they are all interesting characters.
There is also plenty of work in the garden, the orchard and the house etc. We love it when volunteers like to cook too!!
(we always have a well stocked pantry for those who want to bake and cook). We are meat eaters - (mostly from our own animals), but are fine if you are vegetarian - though we are not set up to cater for vegans.
We have free-range chickens, a few sheep and cows and a wonderful cat as well as the horses.
We are looking for self motivated, hard working, physically fit, responsible and energetic people who like a variety of work and who appreciate healthy living, good conversation, interesting ideas, a bit of crazy humour, scenic beauty and physical activity. Volunteers need to be able to work independently as although we are mostly around, we are often busy with our own work. Sometimes you will be on you own in sole-charge of the place and the animals. Therefore we are more suited to people who have lived away from home for a few years - so age 20+ rather than your first experience away from home.
We are non-smokers and prefer you are too.
Comfortable accommodation, good food, and beautiful surroundings are what we offer in return for your assistance around the property.
Our daughter has another small farm close by us where she trains her horses and is often also looking for someone to help her with the horses and their pre-school son, house and garden.
We are also sometimes looking for experienced responsible people or couples who would be happy to look after our place for a week or two when we have to go away.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Melissa and Burton.Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco ProjectsGardeningDIY and building projectsAnimal CareFarmstay helpCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceHelp with Computers/ InternetUN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We have both travelled and have had interesting careers - writing, inventing, journalism and equestrian sports. We are parents of adult children and enjoy communicating with all sorts of people. We love New Zealand and like to share our knowledge of this special country. We have set up our place from scratch and so have considerable knowledge about small farming and growing your own food. For those interested in horses both Melissa and Francesca have a lot of experience which they can share with you if you are keen to help and learn.
Help
We have several horses and a big home vegetable garden, a home orchard and also run a few sheep, cows, and chickens as well as a wonderful cat - Ru. We are not commercial but have our farmlet to enhance our family's health and well-being. Tasks include working with/looking after horses, gardening, planting, helping with animals, composting, household tasks, cooking, property maintenance etc. We are not vegetarian but don't mind if you are - particularly if you are happy to help with cooking.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
We have either a bedroom in our house with a queen sized bed or a very quaint gypsy caravan type house truck. This has a double bed and a table and sink etc.
Meals are shared with us. We have broadband internet access but it is a bit slow as we are rural.
Our home is fairly open plan and warm. Mostly it is just the two of us here during the week with our daughter coming back sometimes to help with the horses.What else ...
The Wairarapa is a non-touristic area which has many beautiful places to discover - Cape Palliser Seal Colony, Castlepoint, Mt Holdsworth Forest Park, Patuna Chasm and Lake Ferry to name a few.
The weather like all of New Zealand is unpredictable and so you need to have clothes for all weathers.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
5 hours per day, 5 days - but flexible. Can work more sometimes and then have day off.
Feedback (56)
Melissa and Burton are both heartwarming people who welcome you into their home. I did both gardening and taking care of their many animals. I got the chance to work with their wonderful young horses which was an amazing experience. Melissa really care about her animals and has a lot of knowledge.
I… read more
They live in a beautiful farm surrounded by wonderful mountains. If you want to reconnect with nature this is the place to be! Very… read more
She gives us much hope for the future as she has such a wonderful spirit and personality. We were so happy to host her. The time she spent with us was great - she was super helpful with all tasks and was an enthusiastic and hard worker who really listened to… read more
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Melissa and Burton are both heartwarming people who welcome you into their home. I did both gardening and taking care of their many animals. I got the chance to work with their wonderful young horses which was an amazing experience. Melissa really care about her animals and has a lot of knowledge.
I… read more
They live in a beautiful farm surrounded by wonderful mountains. If you want to reconnect with nature this is the place to be! Very… read more
She gives us much hope for the future as she has such a wonderful spirit and personality. We were so happy to host her. The time she spent with us was great - she was super helpful with all tasks and was an enthusiastic and hard worker who really listened to… read more
If they apply to you… read more
I had the most amazing time at Melissa's and Burtons farm, they created a paradise living with nature in the Ruakōkoputuna Valley. Their animals are lovely, so beautiful horses that are just a pleasure to ride, I loved feeding and looking after the Chickens, sheep and… read more
We spent 3 weeks at Melissa and Burton's place. The time spent here really flew by.
We took care of the house, animals… read more
They are a wonderful couple and if they apply to come and stay with you then grab the chance as they are very skilled and super helpful with gardening, farm work,… read more
Though she did not have much gardening or farming experience she really listened and observed what was… read more
He helped us out with a big variety of tasks - some of them were really hard work - lots of digging and carting of earth, sand, stones… read more
She did everything with energy and a smile and we had the best of times together - be it working hard lugging wood and stones, gardening, riding and working with the young horses or… read more
The trust warmth and openness that was… read more
She was always looking for… read more
She was very observant and took initiative as well as taking instruction really well too. She was up… read more
There are lots of animals on the two farms — horses,… read more
Mellissa made many wonderful meals and helped me improve my cooking skills (which were very minimal) I came to the farm super eager to learn about farm life and the animals,… read more
In my first email to them after their enquiry to stay I said that we wanted them to help us get our winter supply of wood - so it was surprising for us when they did not understand that this was what we wanted them to do. They were not very used to physical work… read more
There were some misunderstandings about the work at the beginning, so you just need to know (because it wasn't clear for us) that if you are boys coming during the summer, you will only chop wood for the winter, 5 hours a day and 6 days a week.
But once the job itself was clear, we enjoyed our stay… read more
It was a pleasure cooking together every evening and sitting round the table. After a year of… read more
They are great workers who get on with whatever task is needed to be done in a competent and efficient way. They are very easy to communicate with and took responsibility and pride in their work. Everything was… read more
We stayed for 2 weeks and there was never a dull moment... be it Burtons stories at the dinner table or chasing cows with Melissa in the pouring rain!
The work was tough at times but satisfying - alongside general maintenance jobs, Dan helped collect, split and store firewood, whilst I was able to get… read more
We've done a lot of different jobs and we got the chance to work with the animals of the ranch!
Melissa and Burton are very friendly, both interested and interesting, with great knowledges about their region, which they are keen to share with us. The view is… read more
Lee is super helpful and responsible. We would have felt completely… read more
Melissa and Burton are wonderful people with an amazing sense of humor. We loved it.
The… read more
The house is amazing : a really warm atmosphere with the firewood always running and a big kitchen full of good&healthy food, with some herbs and veggies from the garden (delicious rhubarb crumble!). The room is very comfy, we felt at home while we were there.
We loved… read more
This is a beautiful part of the world the scenery will take your breath away. I was lucky to get to ride Case up the mountain a few times, it was an exhilarating experience!
Thank you for the delicious food and wine, the… read more
thank you so much for having us at your farm! Both of us really enjoyed it. It made our trip to NZ complete as we had a great opportunity to experience your way of life and living on a farm. Thanks for answering all our questions and for all the conversations we had. We always felt welcome and accepted. On our time off we… read more
I had no previous experience in dealing with horses, so did not know what to expect, but with Melissa's openness, friendliness and trust, my whole volunteering turned into a… read more
Thank you so much for all your hard work and for your enthusiasm for our home,… read more
My expectations of my first volunteering experience were to learn more about the way of life in New Zealand, get involved into the work with horses, acquire more knowledge about gardening as well as to support… read more
You were wonderful company and became a great part of the "team". It was always a pleasure to cook for you as you… read more
She was really helpful and enthusiastic about the work that needed doing and was excellent with the horses.
Thanks you for… read more
When we meet young people of your calibre we feel very hopeful of the future. Your enthusiasm, intelligence, humanity, humour, and integrity shines out with everything you do. It is very hard to believe you are 18 and grew up in a city apartment as you have taken to country life and farm work as though it has been a real part of your… read more
you are the loveliest, funniest, dearest, most caring, warm-hearted, beautiful, special and amazing people that one can imagine.
I have enjoyed every single day of my stay at your wonderful farm with your wonderful gardens and wonderful horses, sheep, cows (even though they gave us some trouble) and cats. I… read more
Their home is such a comfertable place with some lovely sofas ( and chairs ), a very nice very hot shower and an amazing bed.
Work was always much fun and never boring (Exempt grass… read more
The work was strenuous on some days and easy on others - and always left us with a feeling of accomplishment. Nathan spent most of his time helping Burton with various… read more
Best wishes for your travels and adventures.
She was really happy to go exploring around the area by herself and loved the local scenery. She was a really good help around the… read more
I had a great time staying with them and loved every minute of them. They are just great: friendly, helpful, smart, welcoming, generous and offering amazing food... Well, the list goes on.
Thank you for a great… read more
While the food and accomodation was very nice I felt greatly taken advantage of as a volunteer. Since they both work from home 7… read more
P.S. She is an amazing cook - we had so much fun with making delicious meals together.
The three weeks she has been here have flown by. She helped us with the horses a lot - riding a newly broken in mare, weeded the vegie… read more
Thank you for being a part of our trip!
Melissa and Burton.