Carol & Gerry
Carol & Gerry
An active Australian couple interested in travel and living like a local.
About Carol & Gerry
Hello! We are a newly retired, trustworthy, non-smoking, couple living in Sydney, Australia. We have two grown-up children, one still studying at a local University, the other working in Cooma, NSW. We have dual Australian citizenship (UK and NZ) with extended family in England and New Zealand but have lived in Sydney for the last 27 years. ...
Hello! We are a newly retired, trustworthy, non-smoking, couple living in Sydney, Australia. We have two grown-up children, one still studying at a local University, the other working in Cooma, NSW. We have dual Australian citizenship (UK and NZ) with extended family in England and New Zealand but have lived in Sydney for the last 27 years. We started house-sitting a couple of years ago in Australia to get the hang of it, but have just completed an extended tour of Europe with sits in, the UK, France, and Italy. Now we have the freedom and flexibility to travel more, we are looking to house-sit on a more regular basis.
Why we want to house sit
Ever since we arrived in Australia we have had cats around our home. They have always been an integral part of the family and we miss them when we are away. We understand how important it is to have someone you can trust to look after and care for your pets and give them the attention they often crave (that's a lot in the case of our oldest cat!). Now that we have more time to travel, housesitting seems like an exciting opportunity. Enabling us to visit places we may not have considered and live like locals, where the neighbourhood barista knows your order – two espresso macchiatos please! At the same time, there's the pleasure that comes from enjoying the company of other peoples furry (and not so furry) members of the family.
Our experience
We live in a renovated Californian bungalow on the leafy lower north shore of Sydney with a large garden to look after. I'm interested in plants while my husband is obsessed with his lawn. We are extremely house proud and conscientious and will treat your home as our own, keeping it in tip-top condition while you're away. We have always had pets so understand how hard it is to leave them and how important it is to select someone who will care for them as much as you do. We have travelled extensively with the children and always had friends cat/house sitting so we're completely comfortable with the idea. We have also looked after pets and property for friends and neighbours. Gerry says he doesn't like walking but if there's a dog involved suddenly it's a different story. We have cared for a wide range of pets, over the last two years and have fond memories of our time with them. On our second sit, we looked after four horses, four dogs, two donkeys, two ducks and too many chickens to count, so we're game for anything! We've since added alpacas to our repertoire.
Reviews (13)
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Wainoni - Toronto, New South Wales, Australia
04 September - 10 September 2018
Carol and Gerry are AWESOME!
Not only did we come home to very happy pets, but our home was even cleaner than when we left it. (And by the way, thank you for the wild flowers that you picked and left on the table Carol) We loved receiving messages and photo updates and all in all this lovely ...Carol and Gerry are AWESOME!
Not only did we come home to very happy pets, but our home was even cleaner than when we left it. (And by the way, thank you for the wild flowers that you picked and left on the table Carol) We loved receiving messages and photo updates and all in all this lovely couple get a 10 out of 10 for being the perfect house sitters. We hope that they can come back again some time.- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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Response from Carol & Gerry
Hi Wainoni,
Thank you for the great review. It was a real pleasure looking after Louie, Bluey (when we finally saw him) and the beautiful Rainman. You certainly have a great location there. So peacefully yet not too far from a city like Newcastle (which we also enjoyed exploring). Good luck with your renovations. We're living on a cul-de-sac with five houses being renovated, so understand what you're going through. I'm sure it will be even more fantastic when it's all finished.
Cheers
Carol & Gerry -
Judith - Musselburgh, United Kingdom
22 July - 01 August 2018
Carol and Gerry are excellent housesitters and really I would say they should be ambassadors for the TrustedHousesitter concept as they embody everything that you look for in the scheme.
They communicated clearly and promptly in the run up to the sit, were very flexible and accommodating when i...Carol and Gerry are excellent housesitters and really I would say they should be ambassadors for the TrustedHousesitter concept as they embody everything that you look for in the scheme.
They communicated clearly and promptly in the run up to the sit, were very flexible and accommodating when in fact we had to leave the house for our holiday before they arrived and they sent us lovely WhatsApp updates while we were away so we could see Smoky was fine.
Thanks are due to this couple for looking after our home and our cat Smoky so well while we were away this summer. We came back to a lovely tidy house, with flowers on the table and such a kind gift of beautiful photos of Smoky, the best pics we have of our cat.
Smoky was very happy and settled and had clearly enjoyed being cared for by Gerry and Carol. It was great to have the peace of mind that somebody was here while we were away. Hope you can come again if you're ever back in the UK.
We would thoroughly recommend Carol and Gerry to anyone looking for the perfect house and pet sitter.- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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Response from Carol & Gerry
Our house sit for Judith in Musselburgh was the last one on our extended European trip and a great location to wind down before returning to Australia. Smoky was the easiest of cats to look after. Initially very shy, she would disappear for the whole day, returning home late at night when she was hungry like a naughty teenager. Gradually she got used to us and by the end of our sit we were seeing a lot more of her. The house is in a beautiful rural location, one of a small group of converted farm houses. Judith generously provided us with access to a car, which was much appreciated as the nearest shops are a few kilometres away. Edinburgh is only a 20 minute drive away (depending on the time of day and the traffic) and there is a park and ride train service close by, with a 10 minute train trip into the centre of Edinburgh. Although we didn’t get to meet Judith in person, communication wasn’t an issue. We chatted on the phone and were able to keep in touch on WhatsApp. We did meet Judith’s father however, who kindly showed us around the cottage and gave us some useful tips on what to see and do around Edinburgh and East Lothian. We definitely recommend this sit and would like to thank Judith and her family for giving us the opportunity to stay in such a lovely location.
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Jeremy And Katie - Duras, France
16 June - 26 June 2018
Carol and Gerry came to housesit for us in May 2018. They are a warm and friendly couple, who are also excellent housesitters! They looked after our four pets (2 dogs and 2 cats) wonderfully, giving them plenty of love and attention and walking the dogs every day. They sent us some great photos a...
Carol and Gerry came to housesit for us in May 2018. They are a warm and friendly couple, who are also excellent housesitters! They looked after our four pets (2 dogs and 2 cats) wonderfully, giving them plenty of love and attention and walking the dogs every day. They sent us some great photos and regular updates. One of our dogs needed extra special care and a trip to the vet, and we trusted them implicitly to look after him and to keep us in the loop. They looked after my houseplants and veg garden brilliantly, and the house was spotless when we returned home. If they come back to Europe we'll book them again in a flash!
- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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Response from Carol & Gerry
Kate and Jeremy have been hosting house sitters for over eight years, and certainly know how to make you feel at home. Having collected us from the station they welcomed us with a lovely lunch and then treated us to an Indian ‘take away’ in the evening. A rare treat in France! They also stocked our fridge with some essential items to get us started.
Even though they were busy preparing for their trip back to the UK with their two young children, Kate and Jeremy spent the next couple of days taking us through the ins and outs of their beautiful home and grounds, briefing us on our responsibilities and of course introducing us to their gorgeous and loving pets.
And what a charismatic crew they are. The dogs, Byron and Bijou were beautifully behaved and a joy to look after. While the cats were always up for a cuddle. Bramble even joined us on our daily jaunts through the surrounding forest and vineyard, much to our amusement.
The house and grounds are stunning, right out of the pages of Vogue Living. Kate and Jeremy have obviously invested a lot of time, energy and care into renovating and modernising what was originally an old stone farmhouse. Our accommodation was absolutely five star. There is certainly a lot to look after, maintaining such a beautiful home but we were ably assisted by the regular cleaners, who came in most days, as well as a gardener and a handyman to mow the extensive lawn.
Kate and Jeremy also provided us with access to a car, which is needed as the nearest shops are a few kilometres away. While we did do some exploring, we couldn’t wait to get back to the property to spend time relaxing in the garden, usually with the loveable Byron at your feet! And with the temperature nudging 30 degrees, we took full advantage of the 20 metre, infinity edge pool. We thoroughly recommend this sit and would like to thank Katie and Jeremy for giving us the opportunity to get to know their loving pets and enjoy their stunning home. It’s a unique experience we will certainly remember for a long time.
About Carol & Gerry
Hello! We are a newly retired, trustworthy, non-smoking, couple living in Sydney, Australia. We have two grown-up children, one still studying at a local University, the other working in Cooma, NSW. We have dual Australian citizenship (UK and NZ) with extended family in England and New Zealand but have lived in Sydney for the last 27 years. We started house-sitting a couple of years ago in Australia to get the hang of it, but have just completed an extended tour of Europe with sits in, the UK, France, and Italy. Now we have the freedom and flexibility to travel more, we are looking to house-sit on a more regular basis.
Hello! We are a newly retired, trustworthy, non-smoking, couple living in Sydney, Australia. We have two grown-up children, one still studying at a local University, the other working in Cooma, NSW. We have dual Australian citizenship (UK and NZ) with extended family in England and New Zealand but have lived in Sydney for the last 27 years. We started house-sitting a couple of years ago in Australia to get the hang of it, but have just completed an extended tour of Europe with sits in, the UK, France, and Italy. Now we have the freedom and flexibility to travel more, we are looking to house-sit on a more regular basis.
Why we want to house sit
Ever since we arrived in Australia we have had cats around our home. They have always been an integral part of the family and we miss them when we are away. We understand how important it is to have someone you can trust to look after and care for your pets and give them the attention they often crave (that's a lot in the case of our oldest cat!). Now that we have more time to travel, housesitting seems like an exciting opportunity. Enabling us to visit places we may not have considered and live like locals, where the neighbourhood barista knows your order – two espresso macchiatos please! At the same time, there's the pleasure that comes from enjoying the company of other peoples furry (and not so furry) members of the family.
Our experience
We live in a renovated Californian bungalow on the leafy lower north shore of Sydney with a large garden to look after. I'm interested in plants while my husband is obsessed with his lawn. We are extremely house proud and conscientious and will treat your home as our own, keeping it in tip-top condition while you're away. We have always had pets so understand how hard it is to leave them and how important it is to select someone who will care for them as much as you do. We have travelled extensively with the children and always had friends cat/house sitting so we're completely comfortable with the idea. We have also looked after pets and property for friends and neighbours. Gerry says he doesn't like walking but if there's a dog involved suddenly it's a different story. We have cared for a wide range of pets, over the last two years and have fond memories of our time with them. On our second sit, we looked after four horses, four dogs, two donkeys, two ducks and too many chickens to count, so we're game for anything! We've since added alpacas to our repertoire.
Verifications
Email Address, Phone Number
Animal Care Experience
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Dogs
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Cats
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Horses
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Fish
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Poultry
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Farm animals
Availability
Preferred Countries
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits
Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Carol and Gerry have done 13 house sits since 2016
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TorontoAustraliaSep 2018 -
MusselburghUnited KingdomJul - Aug 2018 -
LlandaffUnited KingdomJul 2018 -
San GinesioItalyJul 2018 -
DurasFranceJun 2018 -
ArgelersFranceMay 2018 -
LondonUnited KingdomMay 2018 -
OrangeAustraliaMar - Apr 2018 -
Avoca BeachAustraliaFeb 2018 -
OrangeAustraliaDec 2017 - Jan 2018 -
ThirroulAustraliaSep 2017 -
Pheasants NestAustraliaDec 2016 -
SydneyAustraliaMar 2016
