Conneaut, Ohio by Conneaut Kid

Thanks to Gina Minick from Conneaut, Ohio, USA for writing all about her trip to New Zealand which was planned using workaway to find host families to stay with there.

This article illustrates very well the process of organising a journey and the way that anyone regardless of age can use the site.

Using Workaway to travel to the other side of the world

January, 2012

Resolved: We will travel to New Zealand. For me it was the most improbable place to ever visit and for Len it meant Hobbit Village. Everything should fall into place by 2013: I would be retired from teaching and Len… well, his semi-retired lifestyle always allowed a green light for adventure.

Our first concern was finances. What was the most economical plan for stretching our dollars? While reading an outdated Sunset New Zealand Travel Guide, I came across the suggestion of staying with host families, which would not only reduce the cost, but offer the opportunity to immerse ourselves in Kiwi culture. Green light! I googled “find a family to stay with in NZ” and up popped workaway.info. I was dazzled!

A bit of history before I continue my story. Workaway.info was created by a Brit named David Milward. In the early 90s David extended his two-week Hawaiian holiday to two months by exchanging a few hours of work each day for his room and board at a hostel. He then began to put this concept of free exchange into action by opening his own home to travelers.

Signing up

So for 29 euros (about 38USD) Len signed us up as potential workawayers. We filled in our personal information page including our individual descriptions, type of work we can do and skills we possess. Len is a handyman/jack of all trades; I, on the other hand, am not. But I’m not entirely without “handy.” I love adventure, love to say, “Let’s give it a go!” and can handle most domestic stuff. But…and it was a big “But” for me, there was the dreaded “age factor.” On the workaway website it says, “There is no minimum or maximum age to sign up.” But, being 69 and Len being 61, I wondered if our ages (especially mine) would limit the number of host responses. Well, I am pleased to say New Zealanders apparently don’t pay much attention to age. I did discuss this with Donna, one of our hosts, and got a kick out of her response: “Well, Dennis and I weren’t too sure about bossing older people around, but we got over it!” Age is not an issue, Gina. Get over it!

The website offered almost 200 New Zealand host families to contact. It didn’t take long to get the hang of it. First we read the description of the place (geographic location in NZ) and the family, their work needs, their expectation of daily work hours (usually 3-4 with weekends off), and what living accommodation is available. We also took time to read workawayer rating and feedback before placing them on our host list. This included a four smiley-face rating (number four indicating “excellent”), and an opportunity for them to speak their mind. We then sent off emails to selected hosts and waited with bated breath for replies.

Fiordland by Trey Ratcliff

There are two variables to consider. First there are the people, places and things we wish to see or visit: Hobbiton in Matamata, the hot springs in Rotorua and the kauri forests in the Northland of North Island; and Christchurch (where the earthquake of 2011 hit the hardest), the replica gold mining town of Shantytown near Greymouth and Fiordland National Park in South Island to name just a few points of interest. The second variable is finding available host families who live near these points of interest. Sometimes the two come together and sometimes not.

Planning the trip

This is where we as workawayers need to possess a high degree of flexibility coupled with a low degree of frustration. Thank goodness Len and I are well honed in both qualities! Our itinerary went through two complete overhauls. Things happen. One host family accepted our offer, but then regrettably reneged due to undisclosed “family issues.” The calendar dates for another host were set, but when a returning workawayer showed up, we were bumped into another time slot which conflicted with dates already set for yet another host family. Although one host had “iffy” workawayer feedback, we included him in our host list because we wanted to visit that particular island. More about this later.

We purchased our airline tickets (Air New Zealand through our AARP membership…$3609.80) three months prior to departure. A good move on our part! Even with that amount of lead time, our connections were limited (airline stipulated a minimum of two hours between connecting flights) and available seats were disappearing fast. We decided on a six-week stay and chose New Zealand’s late summer/early autumn (off season) for arrival. There was some conflict with our selected time frame (March 1 through April 15) and the availability of connecting flights so we had to concede a couple days to make the booking work. Finally…our booking was confirmed! We would depart on March 4 and return to the US on April 14.

There was one more financial concern: Once on New Zealand soil, it was our (the workawayer’s) financial responsibility to get from one host family to another. In our emails host families often mentioned picking us up at local bus stations. That was a good starting point…and thank goodness for the Internet! I was able to check out the cost for bus, ferry, and rail travel to our confirmed host locations on both North and South Islands. Our estimated cost was around $1000. In real numbers, however, our transportation, including bus, rail and shuttle cost $898.45. Bus and ferry (between North and South Island) connections were such that we had to secure overnight lodging. Each time while crossing Cook Strait between islands, we (accommodation for two) stayed at DownTown, a BBH/World Traveller Accommodation in Wellington. The first time the cost was $65 (w/ shared bathroom) and the second time $85 (bathroom ensuite).

Waihi Beach by davidr

At the time of our departure on March 4, our itinerary looked like this: March 6 through March 8 we would stay in Waihi Beach (NZ is one day ahead of us. We never experienced March 5 due to crossing the International Dateline), from March 9-12 on Waiheke Island, from March 13-20 in Morrinsville, then to South Island where we would stay in Amberley from March 25-31. All other dates were either unconfirmed or up for grabs. We were going almost 9000 miles away from home to an undisclosed place of residence. We would arrive baggage in hand along with the name and phone number of a host…that’s all. Just a little bit scary! This leads me to another important topic. Trust. And I have a lot to say about trust.

As returning emails from host families unconditionally invited us into their homes, I was simply blown away. I know I am who I say I am in my workaway description. I am kind, I am willing to work, I can do the things I say I can do. But the workaway host knows only my words, not my actions. This is where trust comes in…

Trust

By the time of departure, however, at least 4… maybe 5 or more…emails passed between us and individual host families. They were personal conversations and we, as well as they, got a “feel” for what quality of people we were. Len and I felt safe; I think the host families felt safe too. It almost felt like we were going to a friend’s house, someplace we’d been before and couldn’t wait to return.

Both of my daughters, however, were not feeling “safe” vibes about our forthcoming trip. Our adventure, in their eyes, could easily become a mis-adventure. The younger daughter said to the older daughter, “If Mom disappears, you’re in charge.” My confidence did not allay their concern. I sent the older daughter our itinerary which, of course, included the uncommitted dates and meant we didn’t know for sure where we would be staying. But Len and I had a plan. We were in touch with two other possible host families who told us to contact them mid-March to see if work was available. We trusted the universe would put everything in its place in its own time. The most important thing at this juncture was to have a place to hang our hats upon arrival in Auckland…and we did!

A note about our “iffy” host. There was only one workawayer response to go on and it was somewhat negative; however, we decided to give him a try. The last email we got prior to leaving the US confirmed the March dates, but we had no address and nothing was settled about meeting the ferry. We sent one more email after arriving at Waihi Beach, but no response. When we explained the situation to our host, she graciously invited us to remain with her for the week. Thank you, Lorna! Later in our travels we did receive an email from the “iffy” host. Apparently we had a communication mix up; he thought we were scheduled for those dates in April instead of March. These things happen and life moves on.

Last minute idea

While packing, it occurred to me that I just might get the opportunity to cook…or maybe even bake…so I included some of my favorite recipes. Boy, I sure am glad I did! While we were in Morrinsville, our hosts, Donna and Dennis, had a big event coming up. Every year their family and friends get together for a combination St. Paddy’s Day /Pumpkin Festival. In addition to wearing green, everyone who grew pumpkins brought his/her biggest to enter in the “Who grew the biggest pumpkin” (measured by weight) Contest.

Donna asked me if I had any ideas for dessert. “Pie,” I said, “I’ll make an apple pie.” I called out the ingredients I would need while Donna checked her cupboards. The only ingredient I needed and she didn’t have was solid vegetable shortening for the pie crust. “Let’s go shopping,” she announced, and we did. I found a product called “Kremelta” that fit the bill and home we went. That evening I prepared my pie dough and left it in the fridge overnight just as I would if I were in my own kitchen.

The next morning I was up at 6am and ready to bake my pies. I opened the fridge, took out my pie dough and…Uh…oh! Shock of shocks! My ball of pie dough was a solid rock! A little small perhaps, but other than that, it would’ve made a fine bowling ball! An hour later…no progress. Len arrived in the kitchen about that time, assessed my distress and suggested I slice it. Now it looked like I had a plate of pork! I began to warm the smaller pieces between my hands, then knead it, and soon it was pliable enough to roll out. The crisis was over! One other comment about the dough made with Kremelta. It was a very heavy dough, but still flaky when baked.

So what was the difference between American vegetable shortening and New Zealand vegetable shortening? After reading the ingredients, the best answer we came up with was coconut oil. Kremelta contains it and Crisco does not. Oh by the way, my American apple pie was a great hit with the Kiwis. One woman even told me her mother-in-law made the best apple pie ever, but my pie bested the best!

As it turned out, I had more than one opportunity to cook and bake in Kiwi kitchens. I experienced a variety of ovens and learned to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius. Not only did I prepare American dishes, but I tried my hand at preparing Kiwi recipes, too. My apple shortcake wasn’t as good as Lorna’s, but I’ve got the recipe now and will keep trying. I left behind (by request) my recipe for American apple pie and brought home recipes for Afghan and Anzac cookies and pikelets, all Kiwi favorites.

Making arrangements on the move

Back to the issue of the uncommitted days and… where in the world are we going to sleep? Before we left Lorna, our first host, and headed to Morrinsville to stay with Donna and Dennis, we queried her about returning to Waihi Beach for the final week of our stay, and she agreed. So… where in the world are we going to sleep? Well, Waihi Beach, of course!

Lorna (a sparkling kid of 86 years), introduced us to her married-with-children daughters. We met and visited with Jenny and Greg who live in Katikati (North Island) and with Carolyn and Richard who live in Nelson (South Island). When we arrived on South Island, we needed a place to stay. Carolyn and Richard ran a B&B, and, although they were not workaway hosts, invited us to stay for four nights at a reduced rate. They graciously included us in their evening meals, gave us access to their WIFI so we could catch up with family/friends, and…let’s not forget…catch up with our laundry. They lent us their bikes so we could picnic at Rabbit Island and gave us suggestions for other sites we could see by foot. Seeing the sheep trim the cemetery landscape was an unexpected treat!

End of the adventure… for now

By the time our six weeks of adventure came to an end, we had expanded not only our social connections, but had acquired a new family! Who would’ve thought! Len and I look forward to returning to NZ, but for a longer, much longer length of stay.

Well, there’s lots more stories to tell; I could go on and on! But that’s all for now, folks! Hopefully this article will encourage you to give workaway.info a try and let your travel dreams come true!

Thanks to Debs from www.livesmalldreambig.com/ who wrote this article on her blog, and let us re-post it here.

We are currently working on an article all about how travelling has been changed by the internet age, which Debs touches upon in her post. We would be interested to hear what you think about how the process and challenges of travelling have been changed for the better or worse by the march of technology.

Workaway: Amazing volunteer opportunities

Workaway.info is my …

We recently came across this interesting blog post written by Michelle on her blog. The article explains how she set about travelling on a budget, the sacrifices that sometimes have to be made before leaving and some good tactics once she was on the road.

My secrets to low cost traveling

Like many, I love traveling, immersing myself in a new culture, meeting people and learning from their perspectives on life, experiencing an alternative way to living, and above …

Here’s a quick Valentine’s day post to say congratulations to Kelly and Jason who have just got married!

What’s that got to do with Workaway? You might well ask. Well, as far as we know, this is the first wedding of a couple who met because of Workaway!

Jason, who worked as a farmer in Indiana, took a year out to see the world and ended up helping out with a host in Southern Spain.
Kelly was a host …

Thanks to Evelien and Tine, the authors of this post, who are travelling in Central America at the moment, mostly using Workaway to find ecological projects. They have been volunteering in the Costa Rican jungle at a chocolate farm and have written about their experiences there.

Chocolate in one form or another has been around since about 1100BC, but was in the form of a drink in its earliest incarnation. The Spanish conquistadors brought it back after their conquest of …

Learning New Skills

One of the great aspects of Workaway is the possibility of learning new skills by contributing your time and expertise. In this post we decided to look into the various chances to develop or learn the ability to surf. Having lessons can be expensive, but by choosing a Workaway host that is involved with surf schools or that can share their knowledge of surfing, those expenses can be paid for through volunteering.

Some History of Surfing

The …

Happy New Year to all in the Workaway world! The first article of 2013 is courtesy of Jo Crowson who also wrote the Permaculture ones late last year. For this blog she is looking at the options and possibilities to get involved with ‘natural building’ projects through Workaway, and also examining what sort of work is involved in these enterprises. Thanks to Jo for writing this informative blog.

Natural building is a broad term that covers any building technique that …

We like to hear about the different perspectives and expectations that people involved with Workaway have.

Listening to the voice of someone involved as a host with Workaway can give us an idea of the benefits and challenges that are involved in having a volunteer stay.

This blog post was written by Nicola who has hosted many volunteers at her place and shares some of her thoughts about the characteristics of a useful Workawayer.

How to Lend a Helping Hand…

In the second part of our discussion about permaculture, Jo talks about the types of volunteering work you might expect to be doing as a host, and also some more thoughts on the philosophy behind permaculture. Here’s the link to the 1st part if you missed it.

Reskilling Through Permaculture

Over the last few decades we have become increasingly busy outside the home, leading to the loss of many traditional skills including things that used to be …

I’ve been impressed recently by how many permaculture projects are signing up to Workaway, looking for volunteers to help in the garden and with the development of what looks like a great healthy way to grow in more ways than one!

Here Jo Crowson, a Workaway host and permaculture enthusiast explains a bit more about it and how you can get involved using Workaway.

Jo has been dabbling in permaculture for many years, finally got round to doing the …

Mention sailing and the chances are most of us will conjure up romantic images of wind in the hair freedom on the waves. But mention sailing to someone who has owned a boat and the response will likely be more measured.

Maintaining a boat requires dedication, commitment and hard work, but the rewards are commensurate.

Finding the time to dedicate to the upkeep of any boat can be challenging, more so with wooden hulled vessels, and the addition of an …

Last week we took some time out to visit a few hosts in Portugal. Sometimes it’s useful to be able to get away and really see the Workaway experience happening and be able to speak to hosts directly. It enables us to listen to opinions about the site and think about changes that maybe need to be made and of course to meet workawayers “in the field” to listen to their stories and hear about other Workaway experiences …

Our latest blog has been written by Alex from a project in Thailand. Alex has her own travel sites which are listed at the end of the post on this page. She has been traveling for some time now, and has been using Workaway recently to help. Happy 30th Birthday to Alex!

Recycling in Thailand

One of my big goals for my 30th birthday was to make even the smallest bit of positive change in the world.
Fortunately, I was …

Launched in 2009, Travelettes is an online magazine / travelblog / network for and from girls who love to travel.

They have plenty of interesting information there, it’s well worth taking a look at.

Gesa has written an article on their site all about Workaway.

Here’s the beginning of the piece:

When most people think of the word “holiday”, it usually includes the picture of a fancy hotel, a white beach, a palm tree and laziness.

Unfortunately, this kind of

…

We’ve found another blog written from British Columbia in Canada, but not out in the wilderness this time. Rene the “Repurposed Redhead” writes from a ranch there and how her Workaway exchange went. From helping with the pigs to tending to the garden, it sounds earthy!
Here’s the link to her stylish looking blog

A bit about her:

“I’ve had a fairly normal life thus far, nothing too out of the ordinary. In fact, my life was pretty great …

This blog came to our attention recently and illustrates perfectly how the Workaway site can allow you to experience lifestyles that would be completely out of reach normally.

Chris Czajkowski is an amazing woman. She has lived in the mountains of British Columbia, completely off of the grid for the last 30 years.

She built her first cabins mostly alone, felling the trees and dragging them with a come-along, 150 miles from the nearest banks, traffic lights, supermarkets or cell …

We always appreciate hearing how people who use the site get along on their travels.

Jessica, who has been using Workaway for some time, wrote to us explaining the influence that the site has had on her attitude to travelling and the way that difficulties she encountered have actually improved her as a person.

Her blog is listed below. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us Jessica.

When Brent and I began our first Workaway exchange …

VickyFlipFlop is a 20something travel writer and adventurer who has been using Workaway recently. She has written an article on her blog about her experiences that also includes some good tips about writing profiles and safety concerns, it’s well worth a read.…

We came across this blog recently written by Lora about her and her partner’s Argentinian Workaway experiences helping to build a log cabin (amongst other things) and arguing with overcharging taxi drivers.

It’s a colourful and interesting read.…

Whilst travelling in Asia, searching for more hosts and visiting friends, I bumped into Alice, a Workawayer who had used the site last year to travel through Europe. She was so enthusiastic and full of energy about her time workawaying and asked if she could contribute. So here you go, 10 reasons why volunteering is the best way to travel:

Almost every one of us dream of traveling the world for a number of different reasons, but what really separates …

It’s always interesting to read about someone pushing their boundaries through Workaway, it’s sometimes the perfect way to break out of your comfort zone. In this blog from West Coast Nomads, Emah tells of her exploits with genial hosts in France:

West Coast Nomads in the South of France…

We often get enquires about whether it’s possible for families to use the website and workaway.

 Whilst of course sometimes it can be more difficult to find a host (look for hosts who also have children) it’s by no means impossible. Many families have enjoyed and benefited from volunteering in all corners of the world.

 Here’s a story from a Workawaying family who ended up in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica:

And now for something completely different

My partner and …

This recently came to our attention, and is interesting and inspiring in equal measures. The author of this blog is workawaying on a project near Quito in Ecuador, helping to build a house made from cob. I didn’t know what cob was, but it’s all informatively explained here.…

Even though we are all used to working online in “virtual teams”, it is sometimes very helpful to get together in real life to exchange ideas, talk about things and – last but not least – get to know each other better and have some fun

So this month I had the chance to get away from my regular daily life in my home office to go visit David in Spain for a week. After having met in Germany a …

We’ve been having a bit of a heavy week here in the Workaway virtual office. All sorts of server problems and technical tantrums.  I guess as the site grows it’s all to be expected.  Anyway the final solution is that we’ve made the decision to change hosting companies along with several new upgrades which should mean site speed problems and crashes will be a thing of the past.

During this time our good friend and one of our favourite …

Here at Workaway it is inspiring to see how many “older” workawayers are using the site and it seems that the word is spreading.

Many people who have had a fulfilling career and learnt many useful skills along the way have either become disillusioned with the monotony of routine or are taking the opportunity to do now what they wish they had done when younger but for whatever reason did not. That being… to see the world and travel!

Of course we´re not talking here …