Staying on a farm in New Zealand is a unique and memorable experience and could be the highlight of your journey.
New Zealand is a great destination for travellers, and the many visitors who come here every year enjoy the natural wonders, activities and warm hospitality of the country. We have a hill-country dairy farm near Kaikoura, in the region of Marlborough, which is situated on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand (about 180km north of Christchurch). Kaikoura is famous world-wide for its ocean wildlife encounters - here you can swim with dolphins and seals, go whale-watching (by boat or aeroplane), dive with sharks (protected by a cage) or visit the seal-colony on the peninsula.
We have been hosting travellers from around the world for over ten years, and find that sharing our lifestyle with other people is interesting for both sides. We have made good friends with most of our visitors, and I have travelled overseas extensively, often staying with previous visitors to Woodgrove.
Woodgrove is the name of our farm. It is 160 hectares in size, including native bush, and is situated at the foot of the Kaikoura mountains, about 4km from the sea (10 minutes drive from Kaikoura town).
My name is Doug and my two children are James (aged 20) and Claire (aged 18). We have a lovely home with views to the sea and mountains and a large garden with on-going projects, including a recently established pond with a small island. We are presently landscaping around the pond, planting native trees, ferns and fruit trees.
We are host members of the Wwoof scheme and while our visitors are here, they do an average of five hours work per day in return for their food and accommodation (we can cater for vegetarians). We have fresh milk (in season) and eggs every day and we bake our own bread. We have a good vegetable garden and a wide variety of citrus and other fruit trees. Visitors have their meals with us and have their own room in the home. During your stay you could take in an ocean-encounter trip, explore the local scenery, or try other local activities like horse-riding or fishing.
We welcome travellers with an interest in farmwork, landscaping, gardening and cooking. Enthusiasm is more important than experience!
Sending email is the best way as I clear my mailbox morning, midday and evening. Please don't hesitate to leave a message and I will be happy to answer any specific questions you might have:
email: woodgrove@xtra.co.nz
ph/fax: 03-319 5175
mobile: 021-236 2114
