Help on the Farm in Central Victoria, Australia

Details

Description

We (My partner Ruby and me (Ross)) have just moved to a little property in Central Victoria about 2 hours from Melbourne. Now we need to set up the place!! We will be doing fix-ups to the houses and a lot of gardening over the next while. My background is in horticulture and landscape design and construction so we will be putting in a lot of effort to the gardens.

Our place is set on the edge of an ephemeral creek on about 4 acres of land at the bottom of a ridge. We have an old tavern from around 1860 (now a house), a fairly new studio a bungalow and workshops on our property. No animals yet, but hopefully some chickens soon.

Ruby and I are both vegetarians and really like food!

We are a 5 minute drive the closest town Newstead where there is a general store and a couple of pubs. It is about a 20 minute drive to Castlemaine where you can get a train to Melbourne. It would be best if you had a car as this will allow you to explore the local area in your down time.

Some of the things we will be working on over the next while:
– General cleaning of our house and airbnb guest house
– odd jobs
-Veg Garden
-Painting
-Compost toilet
-Outdoor shower
Type of help

Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Help in the house
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

I teach landscape design and horticulture and have a garden design and construction business with international awards so can pass on skills in gardening, woodwork, metalwork, irrigation etc.
Help

Most of the work at the moment will be odd jobs, some days it will be cleaning other times it might be chopping firewood, help in the garden, cooking. If you have particular skills though we would love to utilise them!
Languages spoken

English
Accommodation

We have a few different buildings on our farm. Depending on which we are renovating you could be staying in a two bedroom studio a room in an old tavern with us or in a bungalow.
We run the place off of tank water and gas for hot water. We have just set up the internet here which isn't quite like what it is in the city, but works fine. Phone reception is only available in a couple of spots here.
What else …

We are in between Castlemaine (small town in the goldfields) and Daylesford (in the foothills of the great dividing range) which are two fairly popular rural holiday spots in Victoria. There are plenty of hikes/walks, swimming holes, antique/vintage bazaars, cute towns, great cafes, pubs, wineries, weekend markets and local events to explore. It is best is you have a car or a drivers license to be able to fully explore the region at your own pace, however if you don't that's ok too… we will do our best to show you around!
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

Show all photos

Feedback left by and about host (3)

18/02/2019

Left by Workawayer (MARGAUX & LAURE) for host

Ruby and Ross are the best hosts you can possibly imagine. They own a beautiful piece of land in central-Victoria, approx 20min from Castlemaine which is about 2hours away from The Southercross Station in Melbourne (17$ one-way train fare)

I met and shared the jobs/projects with 2 other helpers, which was awesome.
The house has a lot of… read more character and is very comfortable : You’ll have your own private double bedroom, shared bathroom and free access to the kitchen. You'll instantly feel at home and share good times around the most beautiful kitchen island 😉

From weeding, gutters cleaning, to wood working, ladder building, plums jamming or bungalow fixing the work is varied and you will for sure, learn a lot.
Ross is a brilliant landscape designer and builder, Ruby is an amazing cook and very good card player 😉 They are both very cheerful, always ready to share a good story and laugh.
Time has passed so fast, I wished I could have stayed longer.

Make sure you get out of track to go visit and help Ruby and Ross!!

(Excellent )

26/01/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Berber)

Thankyou for coming to stay with us BB! We loved hosting you!! You were such great help, easy going, relaxed… the perfect house guest. We look forward for you to come back and stay with us next time you're in Australia. All the best for the rest of your travels. Xx Ross & Ruby

(Excellent )

19/01/2019

Left by Workawayer (Berber) for host

(Sorry sorry for the late feedback, but here it finally is :)).
I enjoyed my stay with Ross and Ruby so so much! Their place is lovely and the atmosphere was really relaxed. They’re so incredibly sweet. They showed me all these awesome places and little towns in their area and even arranged a place for me to stay in Geelong and St Kilda after I… read more left their place.
I had my own room, with a two person bed, which was great after sleeping in hostels for two months. Apart from that they’re both really good cooks, so if you like good (vegetarian) food I can recommend their place even more. The area they live in is really quiet with just a couple of other houses around. It’s still pretty close to other towns. Since I wasn’t able to drive a car myself they would drive me to town whenever I wanted and pick me up as well.
The work I had to do was different every day, which made it a lot more fun! I helped Ross with some of the furniture that he was building (he makes some really beautiful stuff), I did some gardening, did some cleaning, etc. Actually most of the time Ross would ask me what I felt like doing and I could pick my own ‘task’.
Once again: thank you guys so much for letting me stay at your place! Please keep me updated about how everything is going and let me know if your ever in Europe / Holland 🙂

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(Excellent )

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Help on the Farm in Central Victoria, Australia

Description

Type of help

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Help

Languages spoken

Accommodation

What else …

A little more information

How many Workawayers can stay?

Hours expected