Time to slow down and laugh more

About this sitter

Time to slow down and laugh more.

John and I have decided that this is our time, and we would take a few ‘grey gap years’ after both having worked long hours for many years. We were looking to spend quality time together, slowing down to have a cup of tea together and laugh a little more. So in September 2019, we sold up everything, and left New Zealand with everything we owned in 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons.

We had already done some international travelling when Covid raised its head, so instead of heading back to New Zealand, we opted to do some housesitting in Queensland, Australia. That was almost 3 years ago.

We are South African born New Zealand citizens. We left South Africa in 2001 to live and work in the USA, Bangkok and China with John teaching Science in International Schools. We eventually settled in New Zealand. John retired from education (deputy principal of a boys' school) and I was an EMT with St John ambulance service in New Zealand.

We are very private people and not social butterflies, preferring to live quiet lives. Having lived in many big cities, we don’t mind being isolated. For now we are both healthy and triple vaccinated. Other than that, we are pretty much boring people, keeping to ourselves, and are not the “touristy/outdoor/shopping” type. What this means for you as a pet owner, is that we will be spending most of our time at home with your pets. If we are fortunate enough to secure a long housesit, John will go out and do some relief teaching in the area, while Sandy will stay at home. We are very adaptable to our surroundings, very house proud, and respect the responsibility and trust that goes with being invited into a home.

I hope that this introduction gives you some insight into who we are. Please feel free to ask any questions.

John and Sandy

Why they want to house sit

We love house sitting as it gives us the opportunity to have a "home base" with some pets to love, giving us a sense of normality and structure to our travels. House sitting is a wonderful chance for us to settle in and relax for a moment.

Their experience

We are registered on numerous house-sitting websites and have official references through all of them, and are more than happy to share these with you.

What can they bring to the assignment

We have both grown up with a variety of pets, and both our sons are managing dairy farms with dogs of their own which we periodically have looked after. We have also both helped them out on the farms, from driving tractors to calf rearing.

Having lived in different countries and "set up house" a number of times, plus being homeowners/renters ourselves, we have a good understanding of what can go wrong in a home, and how to fix it. We like to live in a clean and tidy environment, and don't do well in a cluttered one. We always attend to routine household tasks and maintenance, including, for example, mowing lawns, watering plants and pool maintenance. John likes to potter around in the garden and do things, while I like to work on our DNA family tree.