LOOKING FOR HOUSESITTERS IN NEW ZEALAND THAT YOU CAN TRUST?

Who are these Housesitters?

Hi, we are Steve and Julie a couple of animal-loving, non-smoking, English Kiwis who would love to take care of your home and pets.

We are a mature, friendly, professional, non-smoking couple. Originally from the UK, we have been living in New Zealand for the last 10+ years, hence the English Kiwi tag. We are an outdoor-loving couple who enjoy hiking, mountain biking, photography and sampling new cultures. We take a strong interest in animal welfare and the environment.

Before heading out on our travels, we both held senior management positions in multinational companies and have been responsible for running teams of people and managing multi-million dollar budgets.

We have both had dogs, chickens and rabbits as pets. Julie, volunteered for four years at the Auckland SPCA prior to our travels.

Recently we spent five months working at Lanta Animal Welfare on the Thai island of Koh Lanta. Here we supervised teams of volunteers, hosted guided tours and took care of over 40 dogs and 50 cats. Many of the animals were quite poorly and/or had behavioural issues when they first arrived​ at the centre.

We have owned our own homes and are a dab hand at gardening and general maintenance. We know how to handle a fork, mower, spanner and paintbrush. Hard work does not phase us.

If you are looking for a couple who are honest, trustworthy and with strong personal values to care for your home and pets, we would be love to hear from you.

Why we housesit?

We stepped out of the corporate world 5 years ago and have been travelling long-term. We feel that house sitting provides an excellent opportunity to share our experience and love of animals while allowing us the opportunity to experience new communities. We understand the emotional attachment of pet ownership and the challenges of finding the right sitter. You can feel confident that we will care for your pets and home as if they were our own.

There have been some wonderful experiences housesitting, and we have met some fantastic people. There’s the time when we woke to find a herd of elk in the garden while housesitting outside Portland, Oregon. Or the time we spent 2 months in Bali living in a local village taking care of 8 amazing rescue dogs. Or our first housesit in Italy, with million dollar views across to the Sibillini Mountains National Park.

We have had the odd not so good experience, like the time Julie was electrocuted several times from a gas hob (talk about unlucky). Or the time 3 Jack Russells decided to destroy everything they could get their paws on, including a pair of binoculars, a handbag and a set of headphones. But we wouldn’t swap any of these experiences for the world.

We have used several housesitting services over the years including, TrustedHousesitters, MindMyHouse, Kiwi Housesitters and HouseCarers. Most of our sits have come via TrustedHousesitters, an excellent well run website. For more details on these sites, please see our Housesitting Guide.

Our housesitting experience

Over the last 5 years, we have completed 47 housesits, spending 126 weeks (nearly two and half years) house sitting across 7 countries (New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA, Indonesia, Ireland, Thailand and Italy). We have taken care of 79 dogs of various shapes and sizes, 108 cats, 163 chickens, 25 ducks, 3 pigs, 2 rams, 3 guinea pigs, 22 sheep., 2 Dartmoor Ponies and 240 grape vines. (oops almost forgot the 1 jar of live yeast).

The right housesitters for you?

I guess the only thing to do now is to take a read of reviews below and then come back and contact us if you would like us to take care of your home and pets. Don’t have any pets, but would still like the comfort and security of somebody staying in your home, not a problem. Hit the contact button.

Our housesitting reviews (a small selection from our 47 sits)

All the reviews below have come directly from TrustedHousesitters website. They are totally unedited, I’ve added a location and date. The beauty with the TrustedHousesitters platform is that once a homeowner submits a review, these cannot be changed at all. Please feel confident that these words are the words directly from very grateful homeowners. If you would like to see the reviews on the TrustedHousesitters web site and are not a member, we can send you a login and password.

We also have several homeowners that have offered to be referees outside of any housesitting website. If you would like these details, we are happy to provide. Both Julie and I also have police checks from NZ Police, which again we can provide. In the meantime, please read on and meet some of the amazing charges we have been so lucky to take care of.

NOVEMBER 2019, GUILDFORD, UK - Poppy (labrador): Steve and Julie are the type of people who will give TrustedHousesitters a five star reputation. They are very experienced sitters who know what questions to ask before agreeing to sit for you. They were very easy to deal with. They maintained contact prior to their stay and arrived at the agreed time. They were easy company and felt like old friends from the moment we met. They looked after our dog as if she was their own. This included progressing her training and teaching her manners. We had regular updates and they were ready and packed for our return. The house was clean and our dog was looking glossy. They were not afraid to get stuck in and help with some outstanding tasks that was appreciated. I would recommend them unreservedly and am only sorry they can't do all our sits. - Karen

NOVEMBER 2019, TUSCANY, ITALY - Max & Mia (border terrier and king charles spaniel): We have previously had wonderful TrustedHousesitters and thought they couldn't get better, but we were wrong. Steve & Julie were crystal clear about their arrival plans, a good beginning. They turned up precisely on time and immediately won us over with their relaxed charm and interest in both our dogs. They were sharply attentive on our orientation tour asking relevant questions (which they followed up by email when our written notes contradicted what we'd said!). Their depth of housesitting experience has given them a confidence totally lacking arrogance. After an enjoyable lunch together, we left absolutely certain Mac and Mia would be in excellent hands. And indeed we came home to happy dogs and the house and garden in more than good order. It was quite late, so after a fun update they thoughtfully left us to our devices. We were sad to see them go next morning but have a great souvenir - the professional quality photos that had accompanied their emails while we were away. - Christine

AUGUST 2019, LYME REGIS, UK - Barley (labrador): Thank you so much to Steve and Julie for looking after our home and our dog so well for six weeks over the summer! We felt totally reassured leaving everything in their hands while we were in another continent, as they were very organised, professional and thoughtful from the outset. They communicated well with us in the run up to our departure and then kept us up to date with everything going on at home while we were away. They dealt with a few annoying maintenance issues in our absence which was great. And most importantly they took fantastic care of Barley, which meant the world to us. Happy travels to you both and come and please come back and see us if you're ever nearby! :) - Marisa

JULY 2019, ENNIS, IRELAND - SCAMP (Cocker Spaniel) & Pandora and Tiger (Cats): WOW. We’ve had amazing house sitters from Trustedhousesitters in the past but Steve and Julie have really raised the bar. We cannot praise them enough. Communications were excellent before and during the holiday period. We were away for 7weeks. Our biggest concern was leaving our almost 12 year old golden cocker Scamp. Steve and Julie came the day before we went away to familiarise themselves with routines etc. We knew immediately they would look after the animals, (dog plus two outdoor cats), with the greatest care and attention. We spent a very enjoyable evening in their company. They are both very interesting and humorous folk. While away they sent us frequent updates including photos and videos. On arrival home we found the pets in great form and the house way cleaner than ever. All household linen freshly laundered. The garden and flowers were excellent. We were greeted with flowers and homemade scones. Wonderful experience. Thanks so much Steve and Julie. We can’t recommend you highly enough. - Colette & Brendan

APRIL 2019, TADCASTER, UK - Muddy & Botty (Welsh Terriers) & 40 chickens: This was our first experience with trusted house sitters , Steve and Julie certainly set the bar higher than we could have wished for! They are a wonderful couple who went above and beyond any expectations we had. They took wonderful care of our two dogs and 40 chickens.. giving them plenty of attention and going out of there way to ensure that they were all happy and well looked after. communication was amazing with regular texts and photos of their trips out with the dogs and even a music video of our chickens !! Our house was left immaculate.. cleaner than we left it for them! clean bedding was put on which was a lovely surprise... so great to be able to jump straight into bed when you arrive home at 3am ;) we would love to have them as our personal house sitters if that was an option, unfortunately it isn't.... hope you too are lucky enough to have them stay while you are away xx - Angela

MARCH 2015, WANAKA, NZ (our first official housesit)- Hettie & Molly (2 Springer Spaniels) and Toby (cat): Julie & Steve are perfect pet & house sitters. They have a great affinity with animals, We have 2 lively springer spaniels & an elderly cat. On first meeting the dogs were relaxed asking for attention & enjoying cuddles. We had photos & emails updating us daily whilst we were away. In fact their communication skills before, during & after the sit were exceptional. Our home was clean & very tidy when we returned, with a kind note & milk in the fridge. If Julie & Steve apply to housesit for you do not hesitate. We will certainly keep in touch. - Maggie

APRIL 2018, WAIHEKE ISLAND, NZ - Gracie (staffy cross): Steve and Julie stayed with Gracie, my rather busy 9 month old puppy for 6 weeks. They were so fantastic with her. I returned to a happy healthy dog, and a tidy and well cared for home. My local friend was charged with keeping an eye on things and was constantly telling me how lucky I was to have such amazing sitters! This was backed up by consistent and easy communication, including photos, that constantly set my mind at ease. I really can’t thank them enough for there care and love for Gracie. - Vicki

ILMINSTER FEB 2019, UK - CHARLIE (flatcoat retriever) & RUBY (labrador) & KITTY (cat) & 14 chickens: I cannot thank Steve and Julie enough for their care of our ‘gang’ while we were away this time. Recovering from a broken leg Charlie needed extra care and a couple of trips to the vet for check ups and Steve and Julie handled everything perfectly for us. From the moment they arrived my anxiety eased and I knew everything would be okay. With snow and high winds to also contend with, nothing was going to phase them. All the animals were happy and relaxed when we returned and the house (and hen house!) clean and tidy. We thoroughly enjoyed their company during the 24 hrs before we left and wish them every happiness and luck during their ongoing travels and adventures. A really special couple who we high recommend to others. - Pauline