The Sanctuary, Warkworth

The description of The Sanctuary in the wwoof book said that the house was 4000 square feet, so we knew that we were headed for an atypical wwoofing farm. It wasn't exactly a farm anyway, more of an organic homestead. Shawn showed us the wwoofing wing of the house (including our own private porch), the room for viewing large-projection DVDs, and introduced us to their lovely cats and dogs when we arrived. Did I mention the outdoor spa? It was organic too.
Shawn and Michael built their eco-home two years ago on land that they are using to give shelter to rescued animals (including birds, chickens, a turkey, donkeys, pigs, and a few ducks), restore native bush, and plant a few vegetables. We met Beth, Sebastian, and Bartholomew, the Jerusalem donkeys, on our first day there. (Sadly, The Foundation for Donkey Welfare, where the three donkeys came from, is no longer in existence.) I had no idea that donkeys could be so personable. Kristin and I got to know these fellows quite intimately, as on most days we spent 30 minutes picking up their poo ("black gold," according to Shawn) for compost; this involved donning plastic gloves and wielding an old dust pan so that somehow the poo was collected into an old potato sack and then dumped in a big pile so it could cure. After at least four months of curing, the poo is tilled with regular soil in the vegetable beds, which is also what Kristin and I spent most of our days doing. It was good work, with a beautiful view as we rolled the wheelbarrow up and down the hill.
The big project that Brian, Kristin and I worked on was constructing a 3'x7'x9'x7.5' raised vegetable bed. Brian even taught me how to use a circular saw, and I will be so proud as to mention that my cuts were nice and smooth. We even got to fill in the finished creation with dirt and donkey poo and plant new strawberry plants in it before we left.
Shawn and Michael were delightful hosts and spent lots of time with us playing dominoes and cooking. They are both business people who have spent years and years working toward building this dream that they have: an animal sanctuary, eco-house, and vegetable garden. They are both phasing out work from their other jobs (accounting and management consulting) so that eventually they will work very little away from home.
Highlights for me (besides the organic feijoa wine on our last night there) were digging up old bean and mint and chive plants (remember it is autumn here now) and taking them down to the worm bin; picking off the soft mint bunches from the plants that had gone to seed as a treat to give the donkeys; getting up to watch the sun rise on the porch outside my room and staying awake (yes I really did!) to face the new sun with a few sun salutions; listening to the wind whistling in the trees.