13 March to 17 March 2014
We accepted a short term four day house and pet sitting period in Gulf Harbour - an area we have previously visited as friends moored their yacht in the marina here. It has been great to spend a few days in the area. The marina is well used and popular with boat owners and there is a ferry that operates from there to Auckland. A number of self contained motorhomes were parked up in the freedom camping area provided.
We have been caring for the home and an eighteen month old Golden Labrador, Poppy while the homeowners travel to Queenstown for a special occasion. The home is in a complex of houses and over looks the Gulf Harbour Country Club and Golf Course to the rear and the beautiful Hauraki Gulf in front of the property. This area could easily have been called "Golf Harbour"!
Poppy is a very laid back puppy. We collected her from doggy daycare and she happily came with us in the car but certainly knew her way around when we got home. She is very well trained, knows which parts of the house she is allowed in, sleeps outside in her kennel, walks well on a lead and is very obedient - a perfect puppy to look after. She had enjoyed her walks and is happy to go on as many as she is offered.
We knew that we were in for a stormy time as the many news reports warned about the arrival of Cyclone Lusi. As we were very exposed with only a reserve between us and the sea cliffs we expected to be very much affected. Yes, the winds did get up to around 100 kph, and there were periods of heavy rain for a twenty four hour period, but nothing like we expected. We were still able to walk Poppy twice between the rain periods albeit with the wind either pushing us down the road or us leaning into the wind to walk back. Poppy particularly enjoyed the walk down the hill to the rocky shoreline, collecting debris to carry in her mouth on the way - well I guess we can say she was helping in the clean-up!
On Sunday morning the cyclone had moved south so Peter was soon outside with the hose attending to a clean-up of leaves, twigs, etc and soon the property looked as though the cyclone had never happened.
We enjoyed a visit on Sunday morning to Hobbs Market which was just down the hill and then we decided to have a trip into Orewa for lunch at one of the cafes. Gill had holidayed many times in Manly as a teenager when she lived in Auckland so it was good to explore the area again.
After just four days it was time to say good-bye to Poppy and move on. A short stay but enjoyable and a great opportunity to explore the area again.
Wheelers Hill, Melbourne, Australia
7 May 2014 to 25 May 2014
We returned to Australia and were fortunate again to be offered our friends' home in Wheelers Hill to stay in. They are now retired, and had already left Melbourne for the warmer climate of northern New South Wales and Queensland. So for us it was a little like coming home. We love Melbourne and now we no longer own a home there to have the use of this house gives us independence to be able to visit lots of friends without inconvenience anyone by staying with them.
Our friends had already been away a month so it was time to mow the lawns, pull the odd rogue weed from the garden and air the house before we too left Melbourne for warmer days awaiting us in Queensland.
Yeppoon, Capricorn Coast, Queensland, Australia
29 May to 20 July 2014
Back in October 2013 we applied for a house sitting assignment in Yeppoon, an area we have camped in for a short period both in 2013 and 2012. After discussions with the home owners we were accepted as suitable house sitters when they visited England and Europe then Canada for a seven week period.
We arrived on the Thursday evening and met the homeowners and stayed overnight with them. The next morning it was with much excitement that they headed off to Rockhampton Airport to commence their long awaited holiday. In our care was Chase, a very big dog of an uncertain breed, and Sooty the much loved cat. We soon learnt that Chase is a very gentle giant and loves anyone who is given access to his garden. He has very sooky eyes and just loves to be talked too, patted and generally had notice taken. The 
Chase sleeps on his bed on the covered patio and is able to keep a close eye on anyone in the family room, kitchen and dining area. He is not allowed inside but stands at the sliding door keeping a check
on activities. Yes, he does at times put his paw over the door frame, and has even been known to lay down on the family room mat but follows instructions and soon goes back outside. As the nights got colder we went to the local opportunity shop and found a lovely pink blanket to keep him warm (as he had ripped his original one to bits) - he willingly laid on his bed to be wrapped up in it (just a joke of course) and soon adopted the blanket as his cuddly. He often pulls it off his bed and walks around the garden dragging it! Everyday the back gate leading on to 
the reserve is opened and with company he has a walk and check of the surrounding area. He is able to do this without a lead and willingly comes back in the gate when told.Going for a walk down the beach is a treat for him but unfortunately his manners on a lead are not the best. Still we have ventured down to Lammermoor Beach with him a number of times and also to the reserve and track opposite the beach.
Sooty's day involves three things - food, short walks out the front garden and sleeping. Although she has a cat door she is loathe to use it and waits patiently at the front door for it to be opened to let her in and out. If she gets half a chance she will sleep on our bed all day, and all night if she gets away with it. Food is high on her agenda also, and she can be quite vocal from 7 am onwards for her breakfast and then is quite content until nearing 5 p.m. when her body clock says it is food time.Chase and Sooty are not good friends and fortunately they both know their zones - Sooty does not venture out the back garden and Chase remains in the back garden unless on a lead. A peaceful life is sorted for them both.
Yeppoon is a lovely area and over the seven weeks we have stayed we have been able to have a good look around including day trips up to Byfield National Park, Rosslyn Bay Marina, Causeway Lake, Kinka Beach, Emu Park and Rockhampton. We have visited most of the cafes in the area, enjoyed the ever popular fish and chips on the foreshore, lunches in pubs, markets, walks on the many beaches, and meandering the local areas. The weather during the day was in the mid twenties most days, with little rain and cool evenings.
To fill our time in Peter has been working on our small internet based business (with excellent internet connection in Yeppoon), I have continued working on my project for 2014 which is building our family trees using both Ancestry.com and Genesreunited.com (we have over 1100 people in the tree now), Peter has been cycling, and I have volunteered at the local information centre. 
We always try to maintain the lawns and garden, as there is nothing worse than coming home from holidays to find the lawns unkempt and the gardens overgrown with weed. On this occasion the house had a reserve out the back of it and the homeowner also kept a portion of this mowed as well.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay and now almost feel as though we are locals. Of course, there are lawns to mow, gardens to keep tidy, and home to maintain to help fill in our days and make it feel like home. We were even invited to the neighbours for morning tea!
Dundowran, Hervey Bay, Fraser Coast, Queensland, Australia
30 July to 31 October 2014
We completed a three month house sit in the beautiful Dundowran Beach area. There were no pets to care for here but we provided security and some maintenance services for the homeowners while they were in the USA for three months. We were lucky to enjoy a very settled winter in nice temperatures and had plenty of time to explore the area extensively. Dundowran Beach is about ten kilometres north of Hervey Bay and is a beach side housing area. We were able to take a short walk down the street to the beach and then there was an extensive sandy beach to walk. The walk through the rainforest to the beach was really lovely as were the many walking and cycle paths in the area.
Peter loves to cycle, and Gill joined him at times on her electric bike (she has knee problems) and the flat area of Dundowran Beach and the wider Hervey Bay area really lent itself to lovely bike rides. I would think initially the local people wondered who Peter was in their area so often, and may even have missed him when we moved on.
The home was single level with verandahs on all sides with lovely outdoor seating areas surrounded by potted plants. One of our tasks was to ensure that these and the gardens were all watered regularly and maintained. The block is a reasonable size with a lagoon on two sides. A daily task was to collect the palm fronds that regularly fell from the palm trees. These we placed in the trailer and regularly made trips to the local refuse. Each day we had wild birds in the garden, particularly enjoying the water bird baths provided for them.
There was a ride on mower for mowing the majority of the lawns, and also a mower for doing the edges etc. Watering the lawns to maintain them green was a rotational task undertaken by Peter. Before too long the hedges and the edges needed clipping and tidied.
The home had its own water treatment plant so care was needed with the use of cleaning, soap and toilet products. This really didn't need any other care taken by us as the serviceman called to complete the three monthly check and we had his contact details should there have been issues. We were also provided with business cards for a plumber, electrician etc but these were not required. We cleared the mail and maintained regular contact with the homeowners providing them an update on mail received and information about things at home.
Like any home, a period of three months requires regular maintenance so the windows both inside and out were cleaned and the front path and verandah were water blasted with the Karcher.
During our time in Hervey Bay Gill was able to proceed with a necessary knee replacement operation. She received excellent care from the medical practitioners involved and at the Hervey Bay Surgical Hospital. It was no surprise to us to read in the local newspaper that the provision of medical services is a major income earner in the area and is close to or has taken over from tourism.
We enjoyed the local area and took the opportunity to go out on a full day whale watch excursion which was very enjoyable. Most days saw us at one of the beach areas enjoying lunch, either as a picnic or at one of the cafes, walking or biking along the extensive bicycle tracks.
We appreciated the friendship of the neighbours, and enjoyed their company socially on a number of occasions. We were also able to have friends from New Zealand stay for a few days and then relatives from Bundaberg were able to spend some time with us. We appreciated that the homeowners were in agreement with these arrangements.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Dundowran Beach and the three months went quite quickly. For us we were able to enjoy the winter months in warmer weather without the cold temperatures being experienced at our home in New Zealand.
Victoria Point, Queensland, Australia
9 September to 12 September 2014
We completed a very short four night house sit in Victoria Point near Brisbane. The homeowners in Dundowran were happy for us to have a few days away at a time as they had no animals and we accepted this short sit while the home owner was away for work. We cared for two dogs, Pru was the bigger one and Maddie the smaller. The dogs soon adapted to us and were happy to be in their own environment. They spent their days inside with us or outside in the covered verandah area when we went out and were always excited to see us. We were asked not to walk the dogs so we didn't but spent plenty of time playing ball etc with them. They slept in the homeowners bedroom.
Mentone, Victoria, Australia
5 November to 26 November 2014
We were the first house sitters the home owner had had and she was rather nervous to leave her beloved standard poodle and head off overseas for three weeks. However, Jaz very quickly adapted to us and continued her normal routine. The first night she was still uncertain so slept on the lounge in the family room, but from then on she accepted us and slept in her bed beside our bed. During the day she followed us around from room to room or outside. Jaz had a dog walker who came three times a week to exercise her for a couple of hours. Rob was very diligent in his task and always arrived at the appointed time and Jaz was always very happy to see him. On return she was exhausted, and slept! On the days she wasn't walked by Rob she enjoyed going for a walk with us.
The home was easy to maintain with tiled floor areas and a lovely outside entertainment area. We spent much of our time outside or in the family room with the doors wide open. We limited ourselves to the office area, kitchen and family room and the guest bedroom and ensuite. Jaz was a bit confused at first to find the doors to the other rooms closed off, but did not seem disturbed. She loved sitting on the sofa bed in the office while we were working on the computer. We emailed the homeowner regularly to give her assurance that Jaz was fine and all was well at home. Although the homeowner's daughter had come around to meet us on the first day there was never a need to call her for assistance.
There are a lot of trees in the garden and of course lots of leaves dropping. We tried to keep the area tidy by picking up the leaves and sweeping paths etc. With lots of pots of plants and a small vegetable garden daily watering was necessary. The contract lawn mowing person came while we were sitting to mow the lawns and whipper snip the edges.
The home was within walking distance of the Mentone Railway Station and shopping centre so most days we walked there. We were surprised at how often the trains came along, sounding their horn, but this did not disturb our sleep in any way.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Mentone in this lovely home. Although we have lived in Melbourne, and have lots of friends there, it is always great to have our independence and house sitting provides this. We enjoyed having a few friends around for a meal and being able to entertain them in such a beautiful surrounding.
There was some confusion about the return date of the homeowner - we thought it was one day later. However, an email to the homeowner put this right and although she was happy for us to stay on after her return we shifted out late in the day and this ensured that Jaz was not left at home alone too long.
It was a lovely house sit and from conversations with the homeowner on her return from holiday she seemed very happy with the arrangement.
Finding Assignments
Our Assignments
2011 - 2012 - 2013 - References - The Future
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