Helped by HelpXchange

Steve and I were wondering how many backpackers we had hosted through HelpXchange (HelpX) so I did the math. Our first Helpers were Baptiste and Eduard, French guys, living in Canada. They stayed ten days with us and we still keep occasional contact. Baptiste is about to submit his PhD. They arrived in February 2009.  So, to the best of my counting ability and memory, we have hosted 53 helpers from 14 countries. How fabulous is that!  24 of the 53 have been French, followed by 7 Germans, 4 Spanish, 3 from Taiwan, 2 from the States, Singapore, Italy, Austria and Iceland, and the remainder from Belgium, Netherlands, Latvia and UK. Each and every one of our Helpers has enriched our lives in some way: through the sharing of their adventures, their perspectives on life, their recipes, their laughs, sometimes their sadnesses. They have lugged tonnes of mulch, pulled out kilos of weeds, looked  after our animals, mowed, planted, cut back, built, demolished, painted, cleaned and washed. Larnook would not be what it is today without their combined energy and efforts.  If you are a HelpXer and you are reading this, we thank you for helping to make Larnook what it is today.