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groupHouse sitters

Deirdre (De) & Alan

Grey Tones

Picture of House Sitter, House Minder and Pet Sitter at Kiwi House Sitters, New Zealand. User Grey Tones
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About us

groupCouple

74, French teacher (retired)

74, Retired pubisher

We are an active retired couple who love animals and nature.

favoriteWhy we love house sitting

We love meeting new people and animals.

Hello New Zealand
(2026) Update - we hope to embark on our third visit to NZ at the beginning of 2027 and are so looking forward to it (we loved our previous visits). So here we are again - keen and available for more housesits - a brilliant way of seeing the country.

(2018) After more than 20 years teaching French in Jamaica and the UK, and my husband's long career in publishing, we are finally retiring this year! Oh, bliss!!! And no better way to start this new life than spending 3 ... Read moreHello New Zealand
(2026) Update - we hope to embark on our third visit to NZ at the beginning of 2027 and are so looking forward to it (we loved our previous visits). So here we are again - keen and available for more housesits - a brilliant way of seeing the country.

(2018) After more than 20 years teaching French in Jamaica and the UK, and my husband's long career in publishing, we are finally retiring this year! Oh, bliss!!! And no better way to start this new life than spending 3 months in New Zealand where our youngest son has been living for the past year or so. He has nothing but good things to say about the country and the people. He and his fiancee are loving it.

We've been living in Jamaica for the past 23 years (it was meant to be a 2-year contract, but we fell in love with the country, the rest is history!), and plan to continue here after retirement, with as much travel as possible thrown in.

I (De) grew up on a dairy farm and we kept chickens, supplying the whole village with eggs, when I was a child. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats of our own (down from 5 and 3 respectively), and about a billion bees, residents of our middle son's flourishing apiary, so are very comfortable around animals - our animals are very much part of the family (the bees are of course expected to stay outside, though one or two may stray into the house from time to time).

Now and again we'll be staying with our son in Wellington (who is a regular housesitter) but also want to explore independently, and he recommended this way of seeing this beautiful country.

Looking forward to meeting our hosts and their animals, of course!

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Pet care

Our pet sitting has included dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, sheep, cattle, pony, fish.

petsWilling to care for these pets

DogsDogs
CatsCats
FishFish
BirdsBirds
Rabbits/Guinea PigsRabbits/Guinea Pigs
Chickens/Ducks/GeeseChickens/Ducks/Geese
Farm AnimalsFarm Animals

Trust

Gold member24 months
reviews5 star reviews
demographyCR check
diagnosisReferences

diagnosisAbout our references

You can contact any of the people we have housesat for in the past.

Availability

eventNext 12 months

Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
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Feb
Mar
Apr
May
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Jul

event_busyUnavailable

2026: 1 Aug - 31 Dec | 2027: 14 Apr - 31 Jul

Preferences

scheduleHouse sit duration

2 - 4 weeks

where_to_votePreferred locations

Anywhere in New Zealand

Reviews (12)

De and Alan were exceptional house sitters, I returned home to find the house clean and tidy the garden in good order with mowed lawns and most importantly a very happy dog who was groomed and happy. All in all, I can't rate these house sitters high enough. And to top it all they are wonderful people too. We all got on really well both at the start and end of the house sitting booking and it was my absolute pleasure to get to know them. De is a great communicator and stayed in touch before, ... MoreDe and Alan were exceptional house sitters, I returned home to find the house clean and tidy the garden in good order with mowed lawns and most importantly a very happy dog who was groomed and happy. All in all, I can't rate these house sitters high enough. And to top it all they are wonderful people too. We all got on really well both at the start and end of the house sitting booking and it was my absolute pleasure to get to know them. De is a great communicator and stayed in touch before, during and after the house sitting. They sent me photos of my dog during my absence and regular updates. They are the perfect sitters.

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Thanks so much for this glowing review!
We would highly recommend De and Alan to anyone who is looking for dog/ house sitters for either long or short term sits. They took great care of our home, 5.5 acre property and our two dogs, one of which can be particularly nervous with strangers and when being seperated from us. De and Alan's communication with us leading up to and during their stay was fantastic, we felt extremely comfortable and at ease knowing they were looking after our home and fur babies while we were out of the ... MoreWe would highly recommend De and Alan to anyone who is looking for dog/ house sitters for either long or short term sits. They took great care of our home, 5.5 acre property and our two dogs, one of which can be particularly nervous with strangers and when being seperated from us. De and Alan's communication with us leading up to and during their stay was fantastic, we felt extremely comfortable and at ease knowing they were looking after our home and fur babies while we were out of the country for just under 2 weeks We returned to a very clean and tidy home. Our dogs were well loved and cared for and we thank you both so much. Yvette & Steve

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Thank you for your glowing review! It was a pleasure to look after your home and pets.
Outstanding house sitters, such lovely people who toke great care of our home and Jade our German Shepard cross. Could not ask for more. We are so grateful. Thank you
A lovely , warm couple- would highly recommend them
De and Alan are a lovely couple who took wonderful care of our elderly high maintenance puss, along with our home, goldfish and pot plants. Would happily engage them again, and highly recommend to others.
De and Alan are a delightful couple. Our pets were well looked after and probably spoilt a little, in particular Galopin 😉. He seems to be expecting biscuits more than usual 🤣. The house was spotless when we returned from overseas. Communication was perfect. If they had a question related to the pets or the house, they would not hesitate to ask. We did not feel stressed at all and knew our furry friends were in good hands. I highly recommend De and Alan and would love to have them again as ... MoreDe and Alan are a delightful couple. Our pets were well looked after and probably spoilt a little, in particular Galopin 😉. He seems to be expecting biscuits more than usual 🤣. The house was spotless when we returned from overseas. Communication was perfect. If they had a question related to the pets or the house, they would not hesitate to ask. We did not feel stressed at all and knew our furry friends were in good hands. I highly recommend De and Alan and would love to have them again as house sitters.

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Thanks, Stephanie, totally forgot to mention, in my review that you were very welcoming and helpful.
We had absolutely no worries about leaving our pets and property after meeting this lovely couple. They took very good care of everything and left the place clean and spotless. They are welcome back at any time.
Thanks, you're welcome.
De and Al are lovely people. They looked after our house and our dog Daisy for 2 weeks. It was nice to know that we were leaving Daisy in such good company and they took great care of her. They left our home in an extremely clean and tidy state. We'd happily have them look after both our home and Daisy again.
happy to recommend
De and Alan are a pleasure to deal with, such lovely down to earth people. They took great care of our home and did more than I had expected of tidying up and cleaning before they left. Our dogs seemed so happy and well exercised when we got home. They went beyond our expectations to ensure they were well walked and cared for. Would highly recommend De & Alan.
De and Alan were wonderful housesitters- we came back to a clean and tidy home, and all of our animals were well looked after. They were extremely understanding of my stressed state as I was trying to clean up, get the car packed and manage my family all at once. Communication was clear from the get-go and even though they got offers for more exciting house sits they didn't let us down! Thanks again- I would gladly recommend them!
I highly recommend De and Alan as housesitters. They were very easy to contact and flexible about dates. They took excellent care of my dogs, cat, sheep and chickens. The house was left very clean and I felt I could totally trust them.
Peace of Mind

Happy you!

With a house sitter looking after your pets, house and garden - you can really relax. Happy days.

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