Farm Stay Program in New Zealand

The Farm stay Program has been designed for those interested in learning about New Zealand’s farm life and the farm community. The Farm stay Program provides a unique travel opportunity to gain a new perspective on life. Whether you are passionate about the farming industry or wanting a once in a lifetime cultural experience, you will learn and experience life during your farm stay placement that you wouldn’t experience in your familiar surroundings.

Duration

Depending on the level of experience applicants can choose to take a 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 or 24 week program.

THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE 4 – 12 weeks

If you have no previous farm experience and/or no experience with horses and you are looking to participate for a cultural experience, 12 weeks is the maximum placement period.

THE MORE EXPERIENCED FARM STAYER 4 – 24 weeks

For applicants with previous experience on the farm and/or experience with horses can choose a placement period of up to24 weeks. 

Farm Interns may extend their stay if the family agrees. Just remember to inform us with at least 6 weeks notice.

Farm Interns looking to experience life on more than one farm can book multiple farm stay placements – discounts provided for additional bookings!

What will I do?

Farm duties

Feeding the horses, milking the cows, feeding scraps to the pigs, filling the motorbike with petrol, mowing the lawns, digging holes and maintaining the grounds, painting and general maintenance, opening and closing the farm gates each day -­ these are some of the many farm duties. There will always be something to do on the farm and something new to learn. Help out as much as you can and don’t be scared to get your hands dirty!

Helping the family

On some occasions depending on your interests and how busy the farm is, your host family may ask you to help out with the children. This may include helping the children to get ready for school, preparing meals, and playing games with the children after school. When farm interns do not have a lot of farm experience your time may be spent with the children to allow the mother more time to work on the farm. When looking after children there is no strict number of hours or demands like on an Au-­Pair program. 

Farm Interns will also help with the general running of the house as they would at their home. This will include helping in the kitchen, cleaning and any other jobs that are required. All interns are expected to be able to get up early, keep their bedrooms and living areas clean and ensure they have good personal hygiene.

All Farm Interns will contribute to daily chores and the general running of the farm & in return the family
will offer you free, comfortable accommodation and food, including family meals! The Family will also
include you in their personal activities such as going to the market, local festivals, church& local sporting!

The farms

Typical placements are made on smaller, more remote family run farms and the more flexibility in your choice of farm, the better chance we have of finding your farm placement!

Depending on personal interest, your background, the season & your intended program duration, you will have the choice of placement on the following farms :

• Dairy Farms : These are great as there are always cows to be milked!

• Sheep and Beef Farms: These animals are quite self-sufficient so Interns may also help with dairy or other animal care. During spring docking and tailing is a common task for farm stayers.

• Horse Breeding and Training Farms : Applicants must have excellent skills and experience to apply for horse farms.

• Equestrian Farms : This is where people are training and riding equestrian horses. Equestrian season runs from September to late March. Applicants must have good horse skills.

• Any type of farm : Often we have farms with all kinds of animals and sometimes hobby horses. In some cases, given enough time, horses may be ridden.

• Guest Ranches : Mostly placed in the summer months and limited availabilities. Horse trekking farms and general farmstays are available where Interns will help with making beds and helping around the household. Applicants must have experience with horses and customer service skills.

• Mixed Farms : Most farms are mixed to a certain degree.

Inclusions : 

Accommodation

Most Farm Interns will have a bedroomin the main family house. If a spare bedroom is not available Interns may berequired to share a room. In some cases lodging may be in temporary, detached structures such as  trailer or outhouse. Several horse related farms have a spare cottage/apartment on the property and the  family may like you to spend some time and share meals with other farm Interns/workers. In this case food will be supplied for the cottage. This time also gives you and the family some time to yourselves. Often when your living with a family and spending time together every day on the farmthe both of you will enjoy some time apart.

Option : 2 or 4 night arrival Package

• Arrival packages include: 
• Transfer – Auckland airport todowntown hostel
• 2 or 4 nights accommodation(you can ask for more) in 4 bed dorm - “female only” rooms available
• Arrival Orientation
• Hostel membership
• Breakfast daily at the hostel
• 1 free night hostel accommodation

Requirements

• Have an intermediate level of English and ability to effectively communicate with the farmer their family
• Complete all application forms and submit required documents in English
• Provide other documents that will help us learn more about you. This could include references and otherrelevant documents
• Be available for a Skype interview with a Supervisor AND possibly the farm owner (although not that common)
• Be flexible about the placement location and type of farm
• Show  enthusiasm and initiative and be willing to learn what life is like on a farm 
• Not treat this like a guest farm, you are here to help out just as any other member of the family  
• Extensive horse experience means you should be able to ride at a very high level on a full size horse an  be able to jump at least 1 metre easily. You will preferably have some experience in competition and have extensive stable experience and confidence with young horses.
• Be able to obtain a valid New Zealand Working Holiday Permit, usually valid for 12 months 

Payment : 

 

• Candidates are required to pay the application fee at the time application is submitted.
• Before we will begin working on a candidates file, the remaining payment must be paid in full.
• Practicum opportunities will be offered within 12 weeks of the proposed start date if payment has been made.

Cancellation : 

• After application: application fee
• After consultation arranged: application fee + 25% of remaining program fees.
• After consultation completed: application fee + 50% of remaining program fees.
• After host interview arranged: application fee + 75% of remaining program fees.
• After practicum opportunity offered: No refund

• If a candidate misses two scheduled host interviews without a valid reason (i.e. doctor’s note or 48 hours notice).
• A candidate cancels their program without a valid reason after they have started their placement.
• A placement is cancelled by the host for cause or due to candidate misconduct.
• A candidate misrepresents themselves, breaks any laws or harms the reputation of INTERNeX or the host

Our Organization is built around people. People who want to explore new places and experience what the world has to offer. To truly understand what it means to live in today’s world, we believe that you need to gain real, practical experience in a foreign country and not just see through the eyes of a tourist. This has been the philosophy of our organization since we began in 1998 and is still what drives us today. Our mission is to promote personal success at all levels and facilitate the achievement of our participants, host organizations and staff through experiential programs fostering a cross-cultural understanding of a multi-cultural global community.