House Sitting in Townsville

Townsville is a cosmopolitan city, in the heart of the tropics with the Great Barrier Reef on its doorstep.

Often called the “Garden City” due to the many gardens and parks that can be found in the city, Townsville is the largest city in northern Queensland and certainly a perfect destination for House Sitting. Surrounded by fields of sugar cane, the city itself has a Mediterranean flair and is the home of the Marine Research Institute in Australia.

Townsville offers its visitors limitless holiday flair. The streets are lined with palm trees and bushes and the clean city centre invite you to stroll. The beach promenade, lures with large green areas, water features for the young and old and the free barbecue areas.

There’s certainly a lot to do whilst house sitting in Townsville! Townsville’s beach is manageable and well-kept, but swimmers should avoid the water during the summer months of November through May to avoid dangerous jellyfish. As an alternative, The Tobruk Pool and the Rock Pool (an artificial seawater pool), are a good place to swim on hot and humid days.

A popular destination for tourists and Australians is the nearby island of Magnetic Island, accessible by ferry. Half of the island is national park land and home to many species of wallabies, birds and bats.

The highest waterfall in all of Australia (over 300 meters in depth) is located in Girringun National Park, which is also home to rare animal species such as the platypus and the cassowary. Among other things, they share their habitat in the park with water dragons, tree snakes (black and green), colourful monitor lizards and turtles. The continent’s largest constrictor, the Amethystine Phyton, is also found here.

Near the mainland is Hinchinbrook Island. Here you’ll find the Thorsborne Trail, which is about 32 kilometers long, with the island itself being just 30 kilometers long and 8 kilometers wide. The landscape of the island looks primeval. There are over 30 species of reptiles, 150 species of birds, turtles, saltwater crocodiles and manatees. The highest point on the island is Mount Bowen.

Applying for a House Sitting Job in Townsville

Getting started is simple. Just head over to our membership page. You will then be directed to registration and the membership fee payment page (we often run promotions as well, so you may score yourself free membership, or a discounted membership!). We use PayPal as the checkout method, so you can pay via card or directly through your PayPal account. We use PayPal’s secure online payment gateway. You don’t need to be registered with PayPal or need to be a PayPal member to be able to pay.
If payment goes through, your membership is a success! You will see a notice to activate your account once you have logged in. It’s important that you do this as this will activate your membership. Once that’s done you can go ahead and create your house sitter profile.

Why House Sit in Townsville?

House sitting in Townsville offers up a world of opportunity, not only to save money on rent, but also to get to know other people and new places.

What is expected of me as a House Sitter?

As a house sitter, you will be expected to perform agreed tasks that involve caring for a home owners property and pets. This includes taking care of all the usual daily tasks involved with running and maintaining a home such as house cleaning, garden maintenance, pool maintenance, general house security, forwarding or collecting mail, caring for pets and the occasional odd job. House sitters are expected to bring their own food and some may prefer to bring their own linen and cooking utensils. All this needs to be discussed prior to acceptance of the house sitting position.

Do I need References and Experience in House Sitting?

References are a major advantage and are therefore we say it’s a must for all house sitters. Obviously the best type of reference would be from someone you have house sat for, however even a character reference/s from people that have known you for a reasonable amount of time are acceptable. These may include your landlord (if you have rented in the past), your employer, friends or people you know with an advanced standing in the community. Your reference/s can be written and or verbal, with the referrer agreeing that you can provide their phone number to home owners.

How do I find a good house sitting job in Townsville?

Patience is the key!

Write up your profile carefully!
When setting up your profile, make owners feel like they’d like to get to know you. Give details and describe who you are, your experiences (including pet care) what you do for a living e.g.
Make sure to upload nice clear photos that catch home owners attention.
If responding to a house sitting position, explain what you like about the home owner’s proposal and why you’d be the right person. Don’t hesitate to provide a link to some references and other relevant documents (such as a police check) uploaded to a third party such as eg.Dropbox, OneDrive, CloudMe.

Request a FREE account verification
Requesting a free account verification will display a tick on your profile, and helps establish more trust between you and the home owner. To find out more about the free account verification, please visit the FAQ’s and scroll down to the section labelled “FREE ID Verification”.

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