After 12.5 years of retirement and getting a healthy start of fulfilling our love of travel we have reached a milestone in house sitting. June 1st, 2026 will be the start of our 100th house sit and we are pretty pumped.
Who knew when we took our first sit in Puntarenas, Costa Rica looking after Odie that it would turn into a lifestyle we truly love. And honestly, we are pretty good at.
What we discovered is that house sitting provides the perfect vehicle for us, for exploring and discovering new places and experiences across the globe.
Whether it is stepping out the back door in Australia and watching the Fire Service battling wildfires…Or going for a walk into Edinburgh along the towpaths from your house on the outskirts of the city. House sitting puts you in places where the actual residents of those locales live.Don’t get me wrong, we still do the touristy stuff. But there is something fun about taking a bicycle from your house sit and filling its basket with wine as you cycle around Martinborough, New Zealand.
Karen was reviewing our stats on our house sits and came up with some pretty cool numbers.
Having had house sits in 22 countries, we have been able to see the Ionian Islands in Greece…Sunrise over the Thames River in Chertsey, England….And sunset across Penang, Malaysia.
Our 169 flights have taken us all over the globe and allowed us to make an effort to integrate into the many different communities we have found ourselves in.
We managed to join a running club in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. I got to enjoy fantastic local trails at the weekly runs while Karen volunteered to do the timing and organizing at the finish lines. It also enabled her to meet and get to know some of the wonderful locals.We signed up to plant some trees on National Tree Day in Perth Australia.Karen was able to help out with the mass release of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos near Quinn’s Rock in Western Australia from a rehabilitation centre.Karen also got back into donating blood during our time in Australia.We even built a lovely teak table on the beach in Matapalo, Costa Rica. We got great use out of it and hopefully the locals got use out of it as well.
Looking at all that, you might start to believe that it is a wonderful care free life. However once in a while the wheels do come off the rails. This is where I think we shine and continue to enjoy our life. We adapt and roll with the challenges. For me it is truly some of the most enjoyable times.
At first we thought we were in for a relaxing stay in St. Vincent in the Caribbean.Until a category 3 hurricane rolled through. It obliterated a couple of the islands in the Gernadines, We just had to endure 3 days of no power and internet. Not to mention several days of cleanup.Keeping access to the emergency generator during power outages on Prince Edward Island, Canada during an east coast winter storm is still one of my favourite memories.The minor challenges of freezing while to trying have a Christmas Eve sunset toast atop Ithaca, Greece just make us smile now.
Though some travellers feel that having to look after pets while you are travelling simply is not something they wish to do, we love it. Whether the sit is 2 days or 18 months in length it allows us to explore new neighborhoods and the dogs are great ice breakers when it comes to introducing ourselves to the local population.
Having looked after 121 dogs, it has allowed Karen get her fix of snuggles wherever we happen to be. All these malamutes wanted in Melbourne, Australia was love.Not to forget the fun of learning to keep our furry friends safe from several different varieties of hazards. Apparently letting your dog get bitten by a monitor lizard in Bangkok, Thailand is a bad idea.I ended up going full native while looking after these lovable Rottweilers in Fiji. They adored us once they learned we were the source of fresh coconut and bananas.This is one of the 46 birds we have looked after over the years. I learned quickly to give them the nuts they want as their beaks hurt when you aren’t quick enough.It took a while to warm up to Gus. Of the 52 cats we have looked after he was certainly the gnarliest, but in the end, as long as I kept the fire burning and the house warm on Ithaca he was happy to snuggle and enjoy his senior years with us.Sometimes the animals we encountered were the wild ones that just happen to build their nests on the property we were looking after. Documenting the birth of these baby birds in South Australia was a privilege.Or photographing two sets of 3 baby Great Horned Owls during our longest house sit of 18 months in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.But honestly the joy of watching happy, joyful animals playing in their home environment is what clicks with us when it comes to house sitting.Even if the happy is simply a 20 minute slow stroll then enjoying a lay on the grass for this 13 year old beauty on Jeju Island, South Korea. We find it good for our hearts.
The other thing is we get the privilege of seeing some amazing sights right on the properties we are caring for.
New Years Eve fireworks in Abu Dhabi.An evening paddle off the east coast of Vancouver Island.An absolute winter wonderland around our 800 year old house in Maidstone, England.Or a sunset over the rice paddies on Langkawi, Malaysia.
The enjoyment of unique experiences.
I mean honestly how often do you get to harvest your own bananas?Hold one of the original Melbourne cup in Australia, All because we have met people at our sits.As well we have learned things about ourselves. We do enjoy exploring our own country and being able to see places like Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia.We don’t particularly enjoy broiling in the summer heat far away from any water to cool off in, as we learned in Chiang Mai, Thailand.We love socializing with friends anywhere in the world.
But when it comes to house sitting it comes down to the animals. We get to indulge our love of travelling the world and still get our fix of pet love.
We get to relax in pools in Albury, Australia.Play fetch in comfort in Koh Samui, Thailand.But most of all, we get to spend quality time with cuties like Doug. How can you not love that face.
We appreciate all that house sitting has provided us and it gives us satisfaction to think of the amazing variety of creatures we have been able to keep comfortable in their own homes while their owners were off living their best lives.
