Amelia & Joshua

New Zealand
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Travel information
We are currently
Travelling
Our next destination:
Canada
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Description
Kia ora (Hello)! Our names and Josh and Amelia. We are from Aotearoa (New Zealand), and currently live in Canada.

Our interests:

-Anything outdoors related. Hiking, canoeing, camping, fishing, ranching, riding, to name a few!

-Meeting new people, experiencing new places. We are very easy going people who love to banter with others and don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Our work experience:

-Josh is a fully qualified carpenter and site Forman. He has experience working in commercial and residential and arctic conditions.

- Josh has ranch hand/farm maintenance experience.

- Amelia has ample hospitality experience in serving, house keeping, bartending, and kitchen hand.

- Amelia has outdoor guiding experience. She is a dog sled guide in the winter season.

Other bits and pieces:

- Currently as seasonal workers we have lots of experience living in close quarters with our workmates in shared living facilities. We are clean and tidy, and get along well with most people.

- We have excellent work ethic, you will not catch us slacking off! We are diligent and hard workers, this is something we take pride in.

- We are your typical kiwis, we have outgoing personalities, get along well with people, and have awesome senses of humour!

-We have travelled widely and love getting to know people and especially people from other cultures!
Interests
Astronomy
Books
Winter sports
Yoga / Wellness
Sustainability
Sailing / Boating
Nature
Outdoor activities
Pets
Mountain
Languages
History
Hiking
Gardening
Cycling
Culture
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Camping
Animals
Adventure sports
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Maori: Beginner
More details about my language interests
We are interested in learning all languages and are able to teach a couple words in Te Reo Maori, the native language of New Zealand.
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Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn
We're interested in:
Life at a Farmstay
Eco Projects
Charity Work
Teaching
Some knowledge of:
Gardening
Animal Care
Able to teach about:
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Helping around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
Languages
More details about your skills
Josh is a qualified carpenter with 8 years of experience in New Zealand. He also has just completed a season of building down in Antarctica so has experience building and working in extreme conditions. He also has arctic skills such as knowing how to drive a snowmobile etc. Josh is strong and naturally athletic so picks up any physical skill very quickly. He has a great attention to detail and and is also a good fisherman.

Amelia is not so much a handyman but is very quick learner, will give anything a go, and will ask questions to make sure she gets it done right. She is very organised and has good time management skills. Amelia has a great attention to detail so is excellent at cleaning and other household chores, and also prides herself on being pretty good cook/baker.

We met working at Subway part-time during high school so both have experience and skills in hospitality including barista.

Both of us are self starters and put 100% effort into all jobs/tasks with a good natured attitude. We are also both great with kids and animals. Amelia has experience in babysitting younger and older children.
Age
27 & 28
Some more information
- Smoker
- Driver's licence
- Allergies
- Special dietary requirements

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19 Dec 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us at our historic, ...)

We worked here for 3 1/2 months from July to October 2024.

Overall we had an excellent time. The main thing that made our time here was the people we met. I made life long friends with 3 other girls and we travelled together afterwards. The people that work here are truely the best thing about the place. The Saturday and Wednesday (in summer)… read more line dancing nights were also such a highlight!!! We now both have such a love for line dancing.

I worked in Service, Josh worked in Maintenance. The work wasn’t hard, just very repetitive as seasonal work can be.

Taylor, one of our 2 managers, was excellent, even though we didn’t have a whole lot to do with her. Thanks for being a great boss!! I know you had an insane workload but still treated everyone with respect :) Boomer (Taylor’s Dad) is the light of the ranch, always down for a dad joke! Josh really enjoyed working with him, he is one of the people who overseas the maintenance crew. We miss you Boomer!!

THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
1. You really do need a vehicle. You are a 2 hr walk away from the nearest town. On your time off there is not much to do on the ranch, especially once the pool closes. A lot of people struggled with this. We actually ended up buying a car and would not have been able to stay out our whole contract without one.

2. The hours of work are varied and are different for each role. As a server I only worked around 25 hrs a week so do not bank on full time hours.

3. Some roles have split shifts. Service has the most with you working up to 4 different shifts a day between 1-3 hrs. A typical day with all shifts was 0700-0930 breakfast, 1200-1400 lunch, 1730-1900 dinner and 2100-2200 dessert. Some days you did all 4, some days you only did 2 shifts. Housekeeping was morning and afternoon shifts and maintenance was more consistent with either half days or full days.

4. I cannot speak for all seasons and I do not know if this year was just particularly bad but I found there to be a negative work culture (this did ebb and flow, not the whole time).

5. If you have a placement in the summer between late June and early September, do not expect to ride much. Some weeks there were no staff rides if it was super busy. Most weeks it was only 1 staff ride. It picked back up to 2 rides a week in September and stayed that way till the end of the season.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about this Workaway I’d be happy to share more of my experience working here.

(Excellent )

11 Aug 2024

Left by host (Join us and our Siberian ...) for Workawayer ()

Amelia and Josh stayed with us for three months up to the beginning of July. They arrived at the end of winter so still had the chance to learn and practice sledding for a month until the snow melted in mid-May. During this time they helped to keep the dogs exercised as they were gradually winding down after a busy winter. The dogs were at their… read more

(Excellent )

10 Jul 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us and our Siberian ...)

This was hands down the best Workaway experience we have ever had and one we will treasure in our hearts forever!! Thanks again Jaana, Mel and Seppo for honestly the most amazing 3 months of our lives 😍

We stayed here for 3 months from beginning April to beginning July. This is classed as the Spring season, however, we had snow until mid May and… read more then June and up till we left was pretty much a mixture of Spring/Summer weather.

Wow where to even begin… firstly Korvala is a paradise, with and without snow. Situated right on the lake with gorgeous forest and trails. You will never get bored here there is so much to do!

Secondly… living situation. The cabin is small but comfortable, you share with 3 other people. You work live and have free time with these people so you get to know them well. We were lucky to be with another couple and got on very well which was an awesome bonus!

Thirdly… the work. A typical day with snow looked like: water dogs around 8, then either sled or free run around 10-1300/1400. Feeding and poo picking from 1400 onwards which usually takes 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. The work is very physical. You need to be fit and have an excellent back. You are carrying heavy buckets of food and water and bending down to shovel poo a lot. I would not recommend this Workaway to anyone with back problems as you will struggle. When the snow is gone and the temperatures increase the contact time with the dogs declines as they aren’t able to be exercised over 15 degrees. This means that if they can’t be run then Jaana will have some other chores that need doing. There is always something to do!

Hmm what else…
- the dogs need to be fed every day so you don’t technically get a day off. In the weekend you don’t have to do any other work it’s just feeding. We worked out a deal with the other couple to have a day off each and then the other weekend day you did double the work (as there was only two of you) and this worked very well :)
- Sledding is hard work!! If you come from Nov-May with the snow you will need to be heavy enough and strong enough to work the sled. To brake the sled you need to be a decent weight as you won’t be able to stop the dogs. Just something to keep in mind as otherwise you won’t be able to sled.
- THE MOSQUITOES ARE NO JOKE!!! If you are coming in the Spring or Summer season please be ready for an onslaught of mosquitoes. They really do impact you so you need to be able to deal with this.

Also… when you aren’t working there is so much to do. You can walk or run with the dogs on the trails, go for a walk anywhere on the huge property. Sauna, swimming, kayaking, fishing, wind surfing… the options are endless, as I said you will never be bored!!

The dogs are the best part of this experience. The huskies will win your heart!! We miss them all so much.

We cannot wait to come back to Korvala, I can guarantee you will not regret coming here!!

Thanks again Jaana, Mel and Seppo. Enjoy the rest of the Summer :)

(Excellent )

1 May 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our family and ...)

We stayed with Harriet, John, Jona and Maya Lý for a month in March 2023 and had a blast!

If you’re looking for a classic Faroese cultural experience, an awesome and friendly family to stay with, and lots of cute animals this is it!! We felt part of the family as soon as we arrived, everyone was so welcoming. From great chats with John,… read more

(Excellent )

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19 Dec 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us at our historic, ...)

(Excellent)

11 Aug 2024

Left by host (Join us and our Siberian ...) for Workawayer ()

(Excellent)

10 Jul 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join us and our Siberian ...)

(Excellent)

1 May 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our family and ...)

(Excellent)

2 Apr 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Join our family farm and ...)

We had a lovely week staying with Ricky and his family.

We would say this is more of a cultural exchange/homestay rather than a traditional Workaway (which we enjoyed!!). In the morning we would head to the farm and hang out with the goats for a couple hours. This was very chill ‘work’. It was mainly playing with the baby goats, bottle feeding… read more

(Excellent)

2 Apr 2024

Left by Workawayer () for host (Lovely homestay in the ...)

Thank you Sally and Jerry for this amazing Workaway! We stayed here for 1 week in January 2024.
Our highlights were:
- Stunning property (awesome pool!)
- Very yummy food
- Clear communication re working tasks/meals etc.
- Lovely people

The workday was 5 hours, often 3 in the morning then lunch break and then 2 in the afternoon when it cooled… read more

(Excellent)

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