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Renovate a house with a our family in Newcastle, Australia
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
Australia
This was my first worldpackers experience and I really enjoyed it. Andrew and Liam were great company, the house was great to work on, and the area was really nice. Thank you for having me!
12 months ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
Germany
Andrew and his family were very welcoming and we felt part of his home from the first minute. We loved cooking together and spending the evenings. Andrew even taught me to juggle. As a couple we had a spatious room for ourselves and a very modern and clean shared bathroom. The fireplace was really cozy in the cold winter evenings. There is plenty of work to do. Andrew will definitely find something that suits your skills. We cut wood panels, insulated walls, filled a hole with concrete... Thanks for the perfect start and answering all of our questions. We highly recommend this place!
12 months ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
Brazil
Andrew, Anna, and Liam were very welcoming. I felt safe and at home away from home. The job is different every day, so you don't get bored. Andrew ensures to teach you safety protocols and makes you feel comfortable with the tasks. On my days off, I could use their bikes to cycle to some beaches, parks, and biking trails (30 minutes cycling to Newcastle Beach). I recommend this place to volunteer đ
about 1 year ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
France
Great experience at Andrew's home. He's very friendly and he was very patient with us in explaining the work to be done. The accommodation met our expectations with a private room, good food and lots of fun around a geography game during dinner every evening ! So funny !! We had bicycles available to visit the city during our days off. We recommend this host, it was a fantastic experience for us in Australia. Thank you Andrew ! đ
about 1 year ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
Malaysia
It was good and fun to be hosted by Andrew! He assigned tasks that suit me and all of us always doing things together including preparing dinner which was awesome. He is easy to talk, smart, fast (I named him the chop-chop man :D), hands on, great leadership, a lot to learn from him. I won't forget the memories that we had created. Thanks for everything, Andrew! x
about 1 year ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
Germany
I had two great weeks at Andrew's house. He is very nice and helps you with any questions.
over 1 year ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
United Kingdom
Andrew and his family weee lovely and it felt like I really was part of their family whilst being there, we sat and had dinner every night together which was also super nice after lots of travelling round! You have your own space and if you need days off as long as the hours are complete Andrew is happy to accommodate this for you!
over 1 year ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
United Kingdom
Great host and lovely family! Only gave me work I was comfortable with. Thank you đđ
over 1 year ago
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
United Kingdom
The bathroom was covered & caked in urine and public hairs. The host later apologised. I cannot give a FULL review as I chose to leave after 24h. Reasons being the extremely challenging dynamics of the house (host - patronising, adult daughter - in your face & obnoxiously loud). I would've chosen differently if I'd have known this ahead of time. I felt unsafe in some areas of the house - these concerns were dismissed and I felt uncomfortable w/ some of the responses I was given. Unusual family dynamic - no doubt will work for some volunteers and not others. I genuinely wish the family luck.
8 months ago
Andrew replied
Hi Jennifer,
Iâm sorry the place didnât match what you were expecting⊠and youâre totally right the bathroom was gross when you arrived â that was embarrassing :( ... I had put you in my teenage sonâs room at the last minute as he was away which isnât an excuse, I should have taken the time to check the ensuite it was clean, sorry!.
I think your advice about new photos is a good idea: I will take some new ones today.
Iâm sorry you found the dynamic with Anna and myself full on â I am aware it can be âbubbling with energyâ at times. Also if I came across as patronizing or dismissive I apologize, perhaps Iâve become too familiar with living around the renovation site to remember what itâs like coming into a new place. Iâll watch out for that, thanks for bringing it up.
Thanks also for the detailed feedback, I think it is important to hear and has things we can work on
Iâm really happy that you felt things parted on good terms.
Andrew
About the experience in: Newcastle City Council, Australia
Argentina
El voluntariado fue maravilloso. Andrew es un gran anfitrión. En todo momento fue muy respetuoso y se esforzó para que nos entendieramos (mi inglés es pobre a veces). Durante las cenas que él preparaba, buscaba juegos de cultura general para compartir. Andrew es muy recomendable. Gracias por esta hermosa experiencia compartida!!!!!
10 months ago