As the kids and I have been helpers with the HelpX community, now we are settled into our own home and property, its our intention to host helpers from around the world by being hosts ourselves! I have also just joined Workaway as a host as well.
The tasks will be drawn from jobs that need to be done on "Turners Creek" and at "Whispering Gums".
We are after a win/win situation with our helpers. In the spirit of helpx, we are looking for helpers who will be enriched by our lifestyle and those who are genuinely interested in lending a hand across a huge variety of rural based tasks. It can be dirty, cold or hot; but we try to make sure its always fun at the end. In exchange for your help, we will do our best to show off our part of paradise, take you ( or advise you) on places to visit in the district and make your placement THE BEST you've had in Australia.
Placement is on a mixed practice farm on the Granite Belt. We have mainly fine wool sheep, but also have a herd of cattle, a few milking cows, an ancient Shetland pony, two working dogs, three geese, four chooks and one guinea pig. Mustering is done on quad bikes. Currently, we run 600 high quality breeding ewes, with other mobs of prime lambs, wethers and rams.
We are an extended family, with kids aged 10 and 12. Del and Jim live in a separate home 3 Km away from Annie, Morgan and Lilly.
Annie and kids have travelled the world extensively and worked in a number of placements with helpX as helpers. Please click on the website link to take you to more photos and info on the placement. http://mitchell-family-travels.blogspot.com.au/p/helpx.html Annie is a special needs teacher and has worked as an ESL ( English as a Second Language) teacher - so is more than happy to help you out with some English ( and Aussie lingo)
Her HelpX helper link is here http://www.helpx.net/profile.asp?usercode=1541778GX
Roles are seasonal and task dependant and dependant on the skills of the helper. Outside and inside tasks including home maintenance and cleaning as well as farm work and gardening - all depends on the skills and talents of the helpers available.
All year round tasks involve herd and pasture maintenance - weed control and fence repair. Mowing, pruning trees and bushes and general gardening tasks is pretty constant as well.
Seasonal tasks will include lambing patrol ( early morning/ late evenings while ewes lamb) and shearing ( we have professional shearers, but there are plenty of tasks to do while its shearing time)
Specific current tasks involve deep clean of 100 year old farmhouse - washing walls, painting walls, cleaning cupboards and floors, organisation of tool shed, pulling down old berry trellis and fences, repairs to poly tunnel, carting rocks for fence repairs, weeding an overgrown garden, more weeding, replanting garden beds, building an extra chook yard and re - establishing a vegetable patch.
Some building projects are waiting for specific helpers with this skill. These include enclosing a garage with metal sheeting and preparing walls and ceilings to paint. If you've ever made a pizza oven or can lend a hand making a BBQ area - let us know!
Every day on your placement will be different and take you to a different spot on the property for various jobs.
Currently there are two double rooms available for helpers - so a couple or two singles or even a couple and a single - or a single person. Alternatively - there is also have a room with four bunk beds in it - so depending on who comes will depend on where you sleep!
Ideally we are looking for longer placements of 3 - 4 weeks long or more and would love for helpers to be able to stay for up to 3 months. Please DON'T apply to be helpers with us if you only have a week available in your itinerary. We also prefer to host helpers who have references - if not within helpX, then independent references. When you contact us, give a short brief on yourself and your area of skills ( even if its that you are keen, fit, strong and willing to learn!).Did I mention the food? Annie has worked in hospitality and can whip up a range of tasty, nutritious meals along with her famous morning teas full of home baked cakes, biscuits and slices. Our only complaint has been that helpers put on too much weight when they come here! Meals are family orientated and shared, with meat mainly sourced from our own herds. We are meat eaters, so although supportive of various food and lifestyle choices, specific individual food requirements cannot be catered for.
All meals and accommodation with good wifi are in exchange for 25 actual contact hours a week. Time may be done over 5 or 6 days - or even less if you "bank hours" as work can go longer on some days. (dependant on tasks.) Work is not backbreaking or hard and we ensure we take breaks and have fun along the way. Please note that if you are a clock watcher you may see that sometimes overall you may be "out and about" on the farm for up to 30 hours a week. (Don't freak out - its not a slave camp) There is a fair bit of travel time included in this 30 hours as tasks can range all over the property - so its not like you will be working 'hard yakka' for 30 hours straight but rather you may be sitting in the ute getting to the next spot for up to 2 hours a day! We are NOT looking at forced slave work with this mention of 30 hours - but rather a realistic expectation of how long you will be 'out' at work ( but you won't be actually working 30 hours)
If you are a native speaker of Italian and would like to assist my children learn some basics, let me know! They are studying Italian at school and I'd love some more assistance with accent and correct terminology. (half an hour every few days is heaps!)
Work within Spring and Summer can begin around 5 am dependant on the task.You MUST be prepared to get up early for these seasons. We are very flexible with work days and building up hours for days off as we want you to enjoy your time in the district as well.
The Granite Belt is 2 hours drive from Brisbane and is Queensland's Wine Country, with wonderful wineries, breweries, gourmet delis and cafes in area. Good bushwalking National Parks in area with plenty of natural beauty. The Gold Coast and Byron Bay area are an easy day trip and worth going to while you are here. You will be encouraged to go and do the touristy things and be given flexibility with time off around the work to do this. Annie is happy to help you plan your larger trip around Australia with some great tips.
Past helpers have taken days off to go camping ( Annie has some basic camping gear you can borrow) at Girraween National Park - a beautiful spot to visit, even for the afternoon.
Willing, flexible workers need only apply. A good grasp of English is required. Ensure you have your own sturdy boots, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen and long sleeved shirts for work. Helpers will be carefully selected after considering their application letter, references from past HelpX placements and good communication through either email or if possible, skype chats. You MUST have your own medical insurance ( most travel insurance covers hospital or medical visits - but please check)
As you will be part of our family when you stay, you will be expected to 'pull' your weight with daily household chores, such as washing up, hanging washing out and cleaning the table or floors after meal time. These sorts of things don't count as your 'worked hours'.
This may be the "Real Australian" farm placement you are looking for! Plenty of opportunity to see kangaroos, wallabys and parrots, with chances of seeing other wildlife including koalas, bandicoots, echidnas, waterdragons, platypus, quolls and an abundance of birdlife in their natural habitat.
Along with all this beautiful nature comes the opportunity to experience our other "less appreciated" creatures. Please be aware that you may see snakes, spiders and other creepy crawlies.
Placements available for either a single person, a couple, a couple and a single or two singles - or more! ( we think the more the merrier - especially if you are travelling with friends.)
Dates where NO PLACEMENTS available are 26 Nov - 30 Nov 2015 and 21 Dec - 8th Jan 2016.
Dalveen can be reached easily by bus from Brisbane on Crisps Bus Line. There is a daily public transport bus into the local town to do shopping, but little other public transport available. If you want to do alot of sightseeing in your time off, a car is necessary.
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