Diana & Brett
About Diana & Brett
Our 4th and youngest child had just left home to go to university, so with no ties in NZ, we embarked on a years housesitting adventures in Europe for 2015 - now we've increased to 2016 2017 and 2018 AS WELL...With no expectations, we are blown away by the wonderful times we have already had - the wonderful people we've met LIVING in new communi...
Our 4th and youngest child had just left home to go to university, so with no ties in NZ, we embarked on a years housesitting adventures in Europe for 2015 - now we've increased to 2016 2017 and 2018 AS WELL...With no expectations, we are blown away by the wonderful times we have already had - the wonderful people we've met LIVING in new communities, it is so different than the hectic European travels we've had in the past...Having grown up on a farm, we have always had pets, dogs, horses, lambs....The photos show us enjoying Taj Mahal, India, Brett landscaping in Leros Greece, the family homestead we sold in 2013 and Diana with our Canadian menagerie over their winter of Xmas 2015-6
Why we want to house sit
We really enjoy experiencing life in a new community, over an extended amount of time. With no pressing ties in NZ the time was right to have many adventures and we have already had 5 excellent housesits in France, maintained 2 hilly dry gardens in Lake Garda, landscaped a new Greek house while living on their boat for July, housesits in Switzerland, USA and Canada in 2015, and UAE, South Africa and Mallorca, Crete and USA in 2016.. In 2017, we rehousesat in South Africa, housesat in Mauritius, Budapest the French Alps, the Swiss Alps, London, Crete, then holidayed through India and Nepal, housesitting in Phuket before returning to NZ early Feb to be with family. Now in the Caribbean july/aug 2018, USA Aug then ready to housesit anywhere til Dec????
Our experience
We sold our family 5 bedroomed house in 2013 (see the photo, it had an acre of garden, a swimming pool and spa), after having 14 wonderful years of raising our family there and renovating and maintaining it ourselves. We still own a 100 hectare farm, which we rent out, so we understand what a houseowner expects from a housesitter!! My husband was NZ's champion sheepshearer in his 20s, still competes in multisport races so is very fit, we both play golf regularly and have excellent health. As a stay-at-home mum, I raised 4 high achieving children...as they have all left home for university we could then travel.We spent 2014 looking after one of Christchurch's grandest homes, whilst it awaited earthquake repairs, and during 2015, 2016 2017 and now 2018 we have housesat numerous animals and beautiful properties (many references available on this site, also by email and phone)
Reviews (26)
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Jenny & Daniel - Astoria, New York, United States
18 November - 23 November 2018
Diana and Brett were so helpful with our cat Buddy and with the whole house sitter process! Diana sent us pics of Buddy and was ALWAYS reachable via any method of communication that we preferred. They are such a sweet couple and I already feel like they are part of our family. Thank you Diana and...
Diana and Brett were so helpful with our cat Buddy and with the whole house sitter process! Diana sent us pics of Buddy and was ALWAYS reachable via any method of communication that we preferred. They are such a sweet couple and I already feel like they are part of our family. Thank you Diana and Brett for making our vacation easy and seamless! We highly recommend this wonderful couple.
- 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 Diana & Brett
Thank you, it was very good to be able to communicate with you so easily before and during our weeks stay... We enjoyed your undemanding cat, Buddy was very easy, so we were fortunate to get out and enjoy thanksgiving week in New York... the apartment was an easy walk to subway stations to go downtown, plus many food places in the area... thank you for this opportunity...
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Stuart & Theresa - Oberursel, Germany
11 November - 18 November 2018
Brett and Diana were wonderful housesitters. All communications before there arrival were good and we met early and I quickly became very comfortable with leaving them to look after our cat, Renoir.
During our time away we maintained daily communications and they shared updates and photos giving ...Brett and Diana were wonderful housesitters. All communications before there arrival were good and we met early and I quickly became very comfortable with leaving them to look after our cat, Renoir.
During our time away we maintained daily communications and they shared updates and photos giving us great comfort
When we arrived home a couple of hours after they needed to leave for onward travel we found everything left in a really good state and Renoir was in good condition.
We recommend Brett & Diana for any housesitting needs you may have.- 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 Diana & Brett
What a privilege to look after such a beautiful apartment and especially handsome Maine coon cat in the middle of Paris. thankyou for the wonderful opportunity and your very kind hosting when we met beforehand. Renoir was a sheer delight and adored to be brushed and brushed... we recommend this to anyone who is chosen...
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Melissa - Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, France
10 October - 28 October 2018
Diana and Brett were super housesitters. Wonderfully confident and competent! We were very happy to leave our house and animals in their care. We enjoyed our time with them and appreciated their kindness in cooking a meal for us the night we got back.
We are only now persuading our cats they a...Diana and Brett were super housesitters. Wonderfully confident and competent! We were very happy to leave our house and animals in their care. We enjoyed our time with them and appreciated their kindness in cooking a meal for us the night we got back.
We are only now persuading our cats they are not going to get 'red-dotted' every night!- 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 Diana & Brett
We absolutely loved our fortnight in your picturesque French Alp ‘end of the world’ valley, and thank you for being so welcoming when we arrived. It was great to meet your friends and stay in your comfortable spacious chalet. Because your cats were easycare and your 4 chickens roamed free during the day, we were able to hike all of the trails you recommended, spectacular views of Mont Blanc were especially memorable. We’d love to come back, Diana and Brett
About Diana & Brett
Our 4th and youngest child had just left home to go to university, so with no ties in NZ, we embarked on a years housesitting adventures in Europe for 2015 - now we've increased to 2016 2017 and 2018 AS WELL...With no expectations, we are blown away by the wonderful times we have already had - the wonderful people we've met LIVING in new communities, it is so different than the hectic European travels we've had in the past...Having grown up on a farm, we have always had pets, dogs, horses, lambs....The photos show us enjoying Taj Mahal, India, Brett landscaping in Leros Greece, the family homestead we sold in 2013 and Diana with our Canadian menagerie over their winter of Xmas 2015-6
Our 4th and youngest child had just left home to go to university, so with no ties in NZ, we embarked on a years housesitting adventures in Europe for 2015 - now we've increased to 2016 2017 and 2018 AS WELL...With no expectations, we are blown away by the wonderful times we have already had - the wonderful people we've met LIVING in new communities, it is so different than the hectic European travels we've had in the past...Having grown up on a farm, we have always had pets, dogs, horses, lambs....The photos show us enjoying Taj Mahal, India, Brett landscaping in Leros Greece, the family homestead we sold in 2013 and Diana with our Canadian menagerie over their winter of Xmas 2015-6
Why we want to house sit
We really enjoy experiencing life in a new community, over an extended amount of time. With no pressing ties in NZ the time was right to have many adventures and we have already had 5 excellent housesits in France, maintained 2 hilly dry gardens in Lake Garda, landscaped a new Greek house while living on their boat for July, housesits in Switzerland, USA and Canada in 2015, and UAE, South Africa and Mallorca, Crete and USA in 2016.. In 2017, we rehousesat in South Africa, housesat in Mauritius, Budapest the French Alps, the Swiss Alps, London, Crete, then holidayed through India and Nepal, housesitting in Phuket before returning to NZ early Feb to be with family. Now in the Caribbean july/aug 2018, USA Aug then ready to housesit anywhere til Dec????
Our experience
We sold our family 5 bedroomed house in 2013 (see the photo, it had an acre of garden, a swimming pool and spa), after having 14 wonderful years of raising our family there and renovating and maintaining it ourselves. We still own a 100 hectare farm, which we rent out, so we understand what a houseowner expects from a housesitter!! My husband was NZ's champion sheepshearer in his 20s, still competes in multisport races so is very fit, we both play golf regularly and have excellent health. As a stay-at-home mum, I raised 4 high achieving children...as they have all left home for university we could then travel.We spent 2014 looking after one of Christchurch's grandest homes, whilst it awaited earthquake repairs, and during 2015, 2016 2017 and now 2018 we have housesat numerous animals and beautiful properties (many references available on this site, also by email and phone)
Verifications
Verification level
Standard level
Email Address, Phone Number, External references (2), Identity & Document Check
All Standard Verification checks are carried out by a specialist 3rd Party
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
- Brazil
- New Zealand
- Algeria
- Angola
- Argentina
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- India
- Ivory Coast
- Japan
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Peru
- Republic of the Congo
- Reunion
- Rwanda
- Saint Helena
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Vietnam
- Western Sahara
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits
Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Diana and Brett have done 31 house sits since 2014
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AstoriaUnited StatesNov 2018 -
OberurselGermanyNov 2018 -
DeiàSpainNov 2018 -
Sixt-Fer-à-ChevalFranceOct 2018 -
FarnhamUnited KingdomSep - Oct 2018 -
FriscoUnited StatesSep 2018 -
Colorado SpringsUnited StatesAug - Sep 2018 -
BridgetownBarbadosJul - Aug 2018 -
WanganuiNew ZealandMay - Jun 2018 -
VensSwitzerlandSep - Oct 2017 -
FarnhamUnited KingdomSep 2017 -
BudapestHungaryJul - Aug 2017 -
MotuekaNew ZealandMar - Apr 2017 -
ChristchurchNew ZealandFeb 2017 -
ChristchurchNew ZealandFeb - Mar 2017
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WaipuNew ZealandJan 2017 -
RotoruaNew ZealandDec 2016 - Jan 2017 -
BrooklynUnited StatesNov 2016 -
BrooklynUnited StatesOct - Nov 2016 -
IerápetraGreeceOct 2016 -
San Miguel de SalinasSpainSep 2016 -
BunyolaSpainAug 2016 -
Simon's TownSouth AfricaMay 2016 -
MagugnanoItalyFeb 2016 -
KerikeriNew ZealandFeb - Mar 2016 -
OkotoksCanadaJan 2016 -
OliverCanadaJan 2016 -
IrákleionGreeceSep 2015 -
BordeauxFranceSep 2015
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ChristchurchNew ZealandNov 2014
