Applications Closed!
Too late this time round, but we have plenty of other house sits available!
Rural living in North Otago
| Hilderthorpe, Otago
-
27th June 2024 - 9th July 2024
-
12 days
- 27th June 2024 - 9th July 2024
- 12 days
Description
Would you like to escape to the country for a week or so and stay on my small (7 acres/2.89 hectares) North Otago property and take care of my 3 Kaimanawa ponies, 3 horses, some cats, 6 alpacas and a hen for me while I go on a short trip home to Australia.
The perfect house sitter will be a non-smoking/vaping person (or couple *) who is/are happy to consume a100% plant-based diet for the duration of the house sit.
Although my property is relatively close to Oamaru you will need to have your own transport as I have to use my car to get to and from Christchurch airport (and take my dogs to and from boarding kennels). Here are links to a couple of very useful sites: https://jetsettingpetsitters.com/2024/02/16/roadtripping-new-zealand/
https://www.petrinadarrah.com/posts/getting-around-new-zealand
It would be great if you’ve had some experience with horses. My ponies and horses are very easy-going animals, but you do need to feel confident feeding them and opening and closing gates for them. They have breakfast and dinner in their night paddocks and they spend a few hours in their larger day paddocks. One water trough fills automatically but the others do need to be checked and filled if necessary.
If you love cats you’ll be in your element at my place. My property has been a magnet for stray/dumped/wild cats in recent years. I’ve made friends with and had several speyed/neutered and they’ve become part the feline family I adopted from a cat rescue organisation. All but 2 of the cats are ‘contained’ making feeding them and filling water bowls a quick and straightforward process.
The alpacas are very low maintenance and need just hay and pellets daily. Their water container may need to be topped up. One of the alpacas is very fond of people and enjoys being stroked.
The one surviving ex-battery hen no longer lays eggs but she is treated like royalty and is fed twice a day.
My house is comfortable late 1920s/early1930s weatherboard bungalow. It’s surrounded by established oak, flowering cherry, Japanese maple and an assortment of native trees. Wood burners keep the house warm in winter (and spring, summer and autumn) and a wetback supplements the electric hot water service. The kitchen has an electric stove and microwave oven, toaster, electric jug and other appliances. The bathroom, toilet and washing machine are in one room. There is a second toilet at the back of the house. Washing is dried on the clotheslines.
You don’t need to do any gardening or pick up horse manure.
* My preference is for one person to house sit but I could consider a couple in special circumstances. I have one spare bedroom with a double bed in it. The property isn’t connected to the mains water system. Instead, water is pumped from a well to a water tank and then it’s filtered and pumped to the house. Waste water goes into a septic tank which is emptied every year or two.
I recommend that the house sitter/s and I spend at least two full days together before I head away. This will allow the house sitter/s to meet the ‘family’ and get an understanding of their feeding requirements and the layout of my property. This has been factored into the date range shown in my listing.
Information
Property Features & Location Features
- Free Internet
- Golf nearby
- Mid/Short Term House Sitting (under 4 weeks)
- Netflix
- Rural Location
- Washing machine
- WiFi
Pet/Garden Care
- Cat Care
- Farm Animal Care
- Poultry Care
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