Feedback from WWOOFers and WWOOF Hosts

Hello,
We are very lucky WWOOFers as we've only had great experiences as WWOOFers. This time we chose to work and stay at Judy and Dean's place at American River in Kangaroo Island, SA. We hardly could believe what happened to us : great hosts (you would really feel as a member of the family) showing us around, beautiful house and farm with the best sunrises we've ever seen and not too hard job. We could not expect a better experience. We now wish to see Dean and Judy in France! We also visited Catherine Pullar-Ford's organic farm (on Kangaroo Island) which is a very interesting place for those willing to be involved in really organic work. We wish you all the same happiness as the one we had with our hosts! WWOOFers I06/9888 June 2006

Hello everyone, I have been WWOOFing quite a lot since I arrived in Australia 4 month ago and every single host was good but my last host Glenda (WWOOF Host VN132) was just amazing. She runs a wildlife shelter in Victoria and gets lots of injured wildlife. I helped feeding, showed the tiny kangaroos how to hop and took them on walks through the bush, took wombats on walks, cuddled the koala bears and just had lots of fun. Glenda lives in the middle of a forest (so she lives very natural) and releases the wildlife back into the forest once they are old enough. In the evening you see lots and lots of kangaroos, possums and wombats coming in to eat some oats and biscuits. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. There is always something to do and I never got bored. I wanted to stay for 4 days and ended up staying for almost 4 weeks.
The animals get fed every four hours and need to be taken on walks in between. Glenda manages all of this by herself and could really need some helpers that love and care about animals. So if you want to have a unique Australian experience give her a call and you won't regret it. I can't wait to get back in winter to see what happened to my favourite kangaroos. Ulrike WWOOFer 07/13963 March 2008

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Dear WWOOF, I wish to tell you of the best time of my life. In fact it has been life changing for me. I have been helping a lovely lady called Glenda (WWOOF Host VN132) with caring for injured wildlife. Every moment was a joy for me and I hope to return to Australia some day and work for wildlife. Anyone who cares about animals has a great deal to learn from Glenda who is a terrific teacher and totally devoted to her charges. Thanks for the opportunity. Eric, French WWOOFer I07/91351 See a newspaper clipping

We have been very fortunate to have two hard working and helpful WWOOFers from Germany. This is the first time that I have used the Bulletin Board to recommend WWOOFers.  They have both picked up nuts, sorted nuts, cut grass, and helped prepare and cook meals regularly. We are also building a house and both are competent in renovations and use of power tools, (nothing is broken). Such progress has been made since they arrived almost two weeks ago. This is a recommendation of the highest order. We live in Valla, which is on the Mid- North coast and Hanna and Johannes are travelling North. They only have 3 months left in Australia. WWOOF Hosts NM111 May 2006

I have been one year ago for 3 month in Australia (for WWOOFing) and I have to tell you, that you helped, supported me and gave me the chance to have the greatest time of my life!!! It really was my best experience - thanks a lot for everything and everybody who made it possible!!!! ,WWOOFer Helene 2007

Hi, I just wanted to say how very pleased I am to have won the long sleeved jumper (I think it was for being best looking Host?) Since I received the jumper I had a holiday to Russia, Iceland and Scandinavia I wore the jumper every day as living in North Queensland I do not own many long sleeve jumpers, every where I went people would ask about WWOOFer written on my shirt, and seemed very surprised to learn of WWOOFing in Australia. So don't be surprised if you get lots of new prospects from Iceland and Russia. I felt very smart in my jumper and found it of very good quality and smart looking. So thank you a lot. Host QU1O1 2007

In June I travelled up the East and visited Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise and Brisbane. Then I went to Mount Barner (100 kilometres south-west from Brisbane) and had an amazing time with my WWOOFing family.  The family is running a small business and I was able to use my marketing skills to help them with a business plan.  I really enjoyed my stay with these real Aussies! WWOOFer Jeroen September 2007

It has been a wonderful experience having all the lovely young people come and stay with us. Many staying a few days longer than intended and some even keeping in touch afterwards. It has been great, thank you so much for your Organisation that has enriched our lives. Host QR115 2007

I would like to say thanks to you for helping me to have a fantastic time in Aus last year. I spent two weeks each with Ben and Lena (SA 144), Errol and Pamela (SA 186) and with Catherine (SA 067), over the months of September, October and November in South Australia - I'm sorry that this is such a late thank-you note! I would definitely recommend all three hosts to anybody; these people are very wise, thoughtful, intelligent, inspiring friends, as well as being hospitable and caring hosts. I was encouraged to think more about the environment and how it can be better respected and hope that my future will involve caring for it in some way. WWOOF is a wonderful scheme that really provides a unique opportunity to meet real people in real places and adds so much more depth to a general visit for tourism. Many thanks and best wishes for the future, WWOOFer Martin I05/55056 Feb 2006

Hello Friends... Haven't been in touch for a while so I thought I should update you. We had perhaps our most unusual WWOOFers a few weeks ago... An American family. William was 59, a retired vet, his wife Lisa aged 52, a retired biologist, and his remarkable Mum, Betty, who was 80! Now Betty looked 90 but worked like a wharf labourer and had an appetite to match! She was 4ft 10 and 42 kilos of pure energy! She had a great range of food allergies but we were able to work around those and she was great company... and really enjoyed a few glasses of sweet wine with her dinner. Host VM084 2007

After being wwoof hosts for what seems many, many years my family and I decided to follow our dreams and explore further this amazing country in which we live. We changed our wwoof membership from hosts to WWOOFers, setting out on an adventure which will stay in our hearts forever. During our travels with our four children we WWOOFed at many farms, one of which brings back beautiful memories - Goombaragin Host WN026 - coastal east in the Kimberly. For the next two weeks we witnessed and experienced respect, privacy, compassion, joy, teaching sharing and much, much more. These wonderful warm indigenous Australians nourished my soul to such an extent it has changed my life permanently. The children were appreciated and interacted with nurturing and kindness. Host VMO61 2007

WWOOFers have been a huge help to us with our cyclone recovery. It is a terrific organisation. Our WWOOFers have been hard workers, great company and most are now long term friends. We had 3 WWOOFers return, from Austria and Finland, to help us clean up. How great is that! Host QU153 2007

Hello, Just wanted to let everybody know that WWOOFing at Batchelor Butterfly farm NT018 has been a great experience for us. The owner Chris is a very funny and generous man. Work is interesting, food is great and the atmosphere really nice! We wish we could have stayed longer, but have now to go further...WWOOFers I06/9888 Liza and Gilles from France June 2006

We have nothing but praise for the WWOOFers who have stayed with us WWOOF Hosts NV174 September 2006

Had a great time at WN026, after being wwoof hosts for what seems like many, many years, my family and I decided to follow our dreams and explore further this amazing country in which we live. We changed our wwoof membership from hosts to WWOOFers, setting out on an adventure which will stay in our hearts forever. During our travels with our four children we wwoofed at many farms, one of which brings back beautiful memories - Goombaragin- coastal east in the Kimberly. The travel although only 150ks north of Broome was incredibly slow due to thick sand and much to our embarrassment we arrived well into the night. Humbly we approached the camp-fire full of apologies to be greeted with an incredibly warm welcome. For the next two weeks we witnessed and experienced respect, privacy, compassion, joy, teaching, sharing and much, much more. These wonderful warm indigenous Australians nourished my soul to such an extent it has changed my life permanently. The children were appreciated and interacted with nurturing and kindness. As we collected bait and fished, the children swam and played hermit crab races till their legs ached and their bellies laughed. Watching their freedom and uninhibited behaviour brought tears to my eyes and I silently gave thanks for the privilege of being witness to such happiness. We painted ourselves with pindan and watched the sea turn red as we washed ourselves clean again. Andrew took my husband Lawrie out fishing in his boat and a Whale surfaced and blew her spout like a giant blowhole spraying up out of the vast ocean. We watched schools of dolphins jumping completely out of the water and every morning we would sit on the edge of the cliff at sun rise to witness the whales with their calves swimming in the bay below camp. I caught my first fish and many more to follow. I shed tears of joy whilst we were there and tears of sadness when it was time to say farewell. There are so many happy memories which fill my mind about Goombaragin, that I felt compelled to share a snippet of those with other WWOOFers and wwoof hosts. I would also like to personally thank Andrew, Bella and Lynette for their kindness in allowing my family and I to share their lives and land for such a small time but such a big impact. We have arrived back to our luscious green farmlands of home and now looking forward to welcoming future WWOOFers into our lives again. WWOOFers and WWOOF Host VM061 Jenni & Family

Congratulations for the wwoof creation, it is fantastic and will remain the best things we did among all our travels! WWOOFers IO6/70790 Zabukovec Stephane and Cahn Alexandra

Dear WWOOF Team, I decided to send you some pictures of a WWOOFer called Dao. She was a good example of excellence and companionship in my opinion. I would vote her my choice for the year (have hosted 15 WWOOFers during 2006). Thank you for the good work. Keep it up. Regards, Atika, WWOOF Host TN037

Lovely experience and extra help after Hurricane Larry. Two months ago me and my boyfriend stayed at WWOOF host QU209 (page 224 of the Jan 06 book). We had a amazing experience, the family is lovely!! Each day we ate food which we picked ourselves in the garden and we were showed all the nice places in the surroundings. The work in the garden was both very educative and great for your spirit. They were great hosts! Unfortunately Hurricane Larry hit the garden and a lot of their beautiful paradise got destroyed. Fortunately, the family is all ok and the house is still standing. So WWOOFers are still more than welcome (and can still stay in the house). So if you want to combine a great experience, together with some hard needed help after the Hurricane please call them! You won't regret it! Kind regards, WWOOFers Giulietta & Floris May 2006

Just a note to say very much thank you for the basic itinerancy/ies of the WWOOF guide membership subscription. It has unfolded gradually and delivers a horizon of sweet aspirations regularly. I mention it to many people on my travels and there are many interested and a vast majority who have not ever heard of it to date...here...between sort of Griffith, Colly, Corowa...South NSW area, much grainage afarmin'.... I saw some brolgas near Berrigan...no-one believes me. I have been at Tranquil Hills farm (WWOOF Host VN072) at Cobram this week and especially being a new place, I thought I'd deliver a glowing report of a delightful, inspired, studious and meaningful time spent on the 'tranquil hills' the farm happens to be. Noel and Bev are developing more serious interests in projects ahead and finding more time themselves to enjoy the farm and develop their careers a bit closer to home. I can see very good things for the niche of massage healing and orange picking by the Murray for the future and it has been a pleasure to help them envisage the potentials of the WWOOFing experience. The room they have is LUSH, even to the extent that I felt better in my tent the first night, but I succumbed eventually, meditation music and study desk and all...They have many good camping places and seem more inspired to use these through the warmer months....,I can recommend the best and lest of very sweet oranges, the incredible bird watching and walk through the forest to the river, the bounty of Bev's rich herb garden, Noel's wisdoms and walk tours and good friendly wholesome food and company, I even rode Precious, the pig, tho not very far....I return there to help with a couple of bus tours later this week and then head north Coleambally way....Is there anything else I should be thinking about, or other ways I can potentially help out??... I am hoping to establish some more contacts in region before telling all my friends....Mostly enjoying learning.. thanks again. WWOOFer Sasha September 2006

WWOOFers who change plans, PLEASE Notify hosts!

Hey all, Just thought I would share my experience of WWOOFing at Cheryl's permaculture farm near Maldon, Victoria (WWOOF Host VG049). For me, it is the perfect WWOOFing experience. Starting with a friendly welcome and fun/crazy family atmosphere, this place gives WWOOFers a real taste of self-sufficiency and healthy lifestyle. Cheryl gladly imparts her amazing knowledge of permaculture and nutrition to everyone who works here - I learned A LOT from being here. WWOOFer Demain

Greetings from host VM031-Bruce and Alice- Thanks for newsletter- Have been keeping a book now since the beginning in Jan '98, over two hundred and fifty from 28 countries- no major hassles at all! Absolute win-win, but have heard some interesting stories about conditions at some host farms!!! WWOOF Hosts VM031 Bruce and Alice September 2006

I had a really good experience in a family in Burringbar NSW (WWOOF Host NV135). I have been there for 4 months! I had to stay 2 weeks but finally I stayed there for 4 months! They became like a family! I made the washing, looked after the kids, took care about the horses, worked in the vegie garden, fixed the chicken pen... I had a really great time there! It was really good to live with an Australian family and live a different life style! I read your WWOOFing report (you send to the hosts) and I was a bit disappointed because it was not really positive! People complaining about sheets, internet... I think some host miss a point! WWOOFers are most of the time travellers, they are here in Australia to have a good time and not to be free labour! For my point of view, WWOOFers do WWOOFing to share an experience, Australian culture, meet people... and not to be servants! I think Hosts would take a few minutes to think about it before registration and think about being a WWOOFer in another country and speak an other language! I know some WWOOFers are too lazy and take piss of everything and I am against it too! I think hosts and WWOOFers have to take 10 minutes at the beginning to talk about their expectations. I would advise the hosts to do a realistic list of the tasks and submit it to the WWOOFer. I think it s the best things to do. I think the WWOOFing it s a great experience it s a shame that people are sometimes to close and not enough flexible... to share this experience! Regards, WWOOFer I06/71773 Stephanie Hennen October 2006

Dear WWOOF International, Dear Family Cains, After several months of travelling through the s.e. Asia and Australia I decided to save up some money that my further travel can become a better way to see the world. The first time I heard form WWOOFing was during my travels in s.e. Asia by a Australian traveller. Arrived in Australia I decided to buy a wwoof-book. I red several announcements on my way up from Brisbane to Cairns. I called up a place and I didn't have luck , because the place was already booked for a while. So that I decided to call them later again, but it wasn't the thing I liked. Spontaneous as I am, I called up WWOOF-Host QT096 in El Arish. Their announcement sounded very interesting. My first call was a success and I could start the next day. What I did. My idea was to wwoof about 3 or 4 weeks. For this time I'd like to give you my personal feedback: When I arrived in Tully my Host Scott pick me up on the bus station. Already in the car we talked about travelling and i found out that this couple has also travelled in some part of these world. I visited their homepage before calling them up , so I had a idea what expected me. I like the rainforest and its vegetation and wildlife. And I knew that my host has to be some kind of farmer or agriculture. When we arrived on their property in El Arish I was firstly astonished, because their house was a small one in the middle of the rainforest. Scott told me on our way to El Arish that they have 2 children and 2 dogs. Hit by cyclone Larry, there was a lot of damage on their property. My first impression was that these people have a very simple lifestyle, which I appreciated in s.e. Asia. I knew that I have to work if I want something in return. I also had a slight idea of which kind of work will await me the next weeks, but I was really not sure how long I was going to stay in this hidden paradise. And I doubted that it isn't going to be the time I told them on the phone. But now after nearby one month of working and enjoying Australian family life I am really proud to say, that for me, WWOOFing was very important  experience, which I wouldn't have miss during my year of travelling. And a big part of it was due to my host. I worked 4.5 h per day in very human conditions. I had a few time sore in my back from weeding which isn't very interesting but it has to be done. I could even change from weeding when I felt too much pain. But after 3 days of weeding i nearby finished all the plants and then I got a lot of different kind of work. A bit of mulching, potting, planting, landscaping and so on, gave me the chance to fit up my body and to think about a lot of things in my life. The afternoon was my free time so I could explore the surrounding creeks and waterfalls or even a  bushwalk down mission beach. And I was mostly not alone, than the kids wanted to spend their holidays with me. It was fantastic what kind of activities I could do during my stay here, which I would never have done by myself or just by a tour operator. I had free access to internet and television. And my life become like everyday life at least for a while. The wildlife out here is fantastic and I could learn a lot about it and about tropical plants. Even I have been bitten by 20 march flies a day, this could never stop me from going on until to the end. And today two days before I will leave I can only thanks family Cains to every thing they've done and learned me. I cooked for them and they cooked for me and it was delicious. They even brought me to a marriage. When I wanted to relax I always found a corner to be for myself. I made my own bamboo didgeridoo. I will hopefully never forget this time here in the wet  tropics. I like to express my thank to Family Cains, which are fantastic, warm people in the way of their thinking and open-mindedness. There was always place for a joke or to laugh. I think it is a great opportunity to wwoof by people and in a country which is not your home and at least to become the feeling of being at home. It is not usual in modern world to share your private life with other people, but I am convinced that if there are more people which offer strangers to stay and work with them, our world become to a better place. I endlessly enjoyed my stay here.
With all my respect and love: Thank you ! Best Regards WWOOFer Markus October 2006

Malte came to stay with us for 2 weeks in October 2005. He was 19 & dreamed of being a dive instructor. He hunted around & found somewhere that would give him the hours to get the qualification, but it also meant working long hours out at sea for not much money four days per week. He then needed a home in Cairns the other three days, & that would cost more than he earned. We wanted to give him the chance to achieve his dream, so said he could leave his stuff here when he was out at sea, & be our WWOOFer when home. It all worked; Malte got his instructor's ticket - & then liked it so much here that he didn't really want to move on. He was here for nearly six months, & his total time in Australia was one year.

We spent all day preparing for Cyclone Larry; we had plenty of warning that it was going to be severe. Our main living area is the back veranda, we had to move everything inside. We had cars and animals to secure, shade cloth to take down, groceries to stock up on, a generator to move and fuel...it was a busy day and an early night. We were woken at 4am by rattling windows, & it got worse...by 7:30 we had lost power, & Larry was raging. Malte slept through the lot. The noise stopped at about 9:45, then the sleepy-head emerged! He was amazed by what had happened in our yard, & we are on the south side of Cairns, 75km from Innisfail.

First of all I would like to thank you for making it possible to get to know the Aussie way of life from such a close point of view. I have just returned from one amazing year in Australia and had the time of my life backpacking, working and WWOOFing there.. Steve's country is also a naturist retreat, a place where naturists can happily follow their lifestyle. One of the best things here were the Happy Hours once a week to which Steve and I went down to the camping area of the 'nudist people' with homebrew beer. Some of the stories that were told there I will never forget and I'm still in stitches when I think of them now, e.g. about Horny, the Billy goat. Just wanted to tell you that WWOOFing was a lot of fun and I would do it again anytime. Cheers!" WWOOFer Anja - Germany.

"Here is a pic of Rika, a wonderful WWOOFer from Japan who has been with us for nearly 2 months and managed our property for us while we went away! - she's the BEST! - thank you! keep up the great work" WWOOF host VB120 Rachel

A Mature WWOOFer in Oz

On a dull January day in England it is tempting to fantasize about being in Australia, where the skies can usually be relied upon to be blue, at least for part of the day. Sacrificing an English summer, I spent a few happy winter months there last year. Getting up early to a mist and even a slight frost is no hardship when one knows it will burn off soon enough. For me these early bits of the day are the most precious. Sitting with a drink and watching birds swoop with a small lake in the middle distance was such a delight. Staring out of the kitchen window at a frosty white field with a couple of wallabies feeding more or less in the same place every day was another such pleasure. And in the Northern Territory the sight of a brilliant bougainvillea at my window helped me to wake more willingly to a hot day

"Couldn't do what I do without wwoof help! Have also had 2 trips this year - both to WWOOFers I had here more than 5 years ago. One to Japan the other to an isolated area in California. Memorable experiences!! WWOOF Host QN014 Heather Worth November 2006

"Hi, I am just wanting to inform you that I am staying with a Wwoof Host QU214 at the moment and I just want to tell you what a pleasure it is to be staying with this young man. He is very generous, obliging and very well mannered. David has a lovely clean separate room in his house and very comfortable indeed. He is at Ravenshoe in Queensland on the Tablelands. He is the best. WWOOFer Denise 106/85017 October 2007