We have a cosy 2 bedroom home with a conservatory in Otaki Beach, just 2 blocks away from the ocean. The separate lounge has a fire place and a heat-pump (which doubles as an airconditioner in summer). There is a 50" flatscreen tv with a home 'theater system' (DVD and surround sound), We subscribe to Sky TV, including movies and sky sports. The kitchen and pantry is fully stocked with all sorts of gadgets, as we love cooking. Our second bedroom serves as an office and has a computer (wireless broadband) and pull out double sofa. There is a shower and spa bath tub with jets in the bathroom, the toilet is separate. The washing machine and dryer are in the double garage. We have a private backyard with a spa-pool and gas bbq. We are happy to let you use our car (a 1994 Honda Civic automatic, great runner), golf clubs, mountain bikes and a sea kajak (sit on type) and potentially camping gear.

Otaki is a very friendly and laid back community. We live in a quiet road, just 2 blocks from the beautiful beach.It is a town in the Kapiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 kilometres to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 kilometres to the northeast. There is a frequent train commuter service from Waikanae (about 20min by car) to Wellington and 1 service per day directly to Otaki. There is also a bus service to Waikanae, the bus station is very close. We have a very nice golf course and a super friendly RSA Club. There are heaps of tramping tracks in Otaki forks, as well as an outdoor adventure centre. We have two supermarkets and the main highway has a number of factory outlet stores. There is a swimming pool and a library and a new aquatic centre is going to open in Paraparaumu in 2013, which is about 25km away. Wellington is a comparably small city and most of the attractions can be reached on foot, or the $2 hop on bus. During summer our beach is patrolled by life guards. The biggest attraction to our district is Kapiti Island and well worth a visit (book early, there are limited numbers). We have several restaurants, 2 gyms and a local theatre.

Totally flexible about dates.

Open to any dates

We would love to travel down the Western coastline of Canada and the United States in 2014 starting around mid June.
We tentatively have an exchange in BC, Canada, Oregon and South Lake Tahoe.

We also want to travel the East Coast of the USA at some later time and would love to spend 2 weeks in Washington DC, as part of a longer trip.

Besides the USA we are currently also interested in exchanges with homes in:

South America
Soth East Asia
Everywhere after 2014

Europe definitely, but probably not before 2017...

We would also love to swap for any New Zealand destination for short terms.

Australia and the Pacific Islands would be great for a 1-2 weeks exchange.

We can do non simultaneous swaps, as we can stay with my mother or friends.

We will consider any and all destinations, as long as it isn't in a cold climate.

We are Stew and Stef and are new to home exchange and love the idea of it. Stew is 65, a telecommunications consultant, originally from Lethbridge, Alberta. I am 45, a remedial massage therapist (self employed) and was born and raised in Brannenburg, Bavaria, we are both New Zealand citizens. We have been living in New Zealand for 20 years.
We love to travel, play golf and snooker. We also have a passion for food and wine, like reading, movies, biking and walking. Stew is going to retire in late 2013, so we'll have plenty of time to travel. Neither of us enjoys winter, so we would be probably looking at a non simultaneous swap with the Northern hemisphere. My very fit, widowed mother, 72, lives 20km away and we would like to sometimes take her with us. There are some lovely people at our local clubs (Golf and RSA), who would be more than happy to make you feel welcome.
We are non smokers and don't have any pets (sadly we have lost our last 2 older cats last year) but love animals and are happy to look after yours.

English, Deutsch