All language subtitles for Country.House.Hunters.S03E04.720p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN

- From its barren beauty

to lush landscapes,

the Australian countryside is as
beautiful as it is breath-taking.

Many Australians are discovering
rural life and making the move.

So I'm on the hunt to help everyday
Australians find their perfect
country house.

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We are off to the Victorian
goldfields, looking for
country homes in Bendigo,

with Jan and Noel, who are planning
their escape from Melbourne.

- Manchurian pears, that
beautiful amber colour.

- Yeah, those autumnal colours
just set the scene, really.
- Yeah.

- We have close to town convenience
with impeccable style, modern living
with serene surroundings

as well as a home that's not
quite finished just yet.

Top of your wish list was
modern and sustainable.
- Yes.

Well, we're so modern,
we're still finishing it off.

- So, let's head inland and see if
we can find Jan and Noel a keeper.

Bendigo is the prettiest of country
towns, built off the back of a
gold boom in the 1800s.

It's now experiencing another boom,
but in more ways than one.

It's no wonder that today's couple
Jan and Noel would love to more here.

On top of their wish list, a modern
sustainable home in the realm of
around 1.2 to 1.5 million dollars.

And one more thing that Jan would
love ― to be a part of a country
community.

Well, she couldn't have picked
a better place.

All right, let's meet Jan and Noel
and learn a little bit about what
they're looking for.

- We actually originally started
out working in the hospital
environment, in pathology.

I was a biochemist, and Jan
was in at the reception area.

And ultimately, probably 20 years
ago, we transitioned into a family
business,

where we were building homes.

- That building know-how is
going to prove very useful,

as Jan and Noel are after something
that is quite specific.

- We're looking for a minimum of
three bedroom homes. We would like
it to be a modern home.

We enjoy that style and look.
- Yeah, and for it to contain
a level of sustainability,

so in design, orientation

and just good energy-efficient
factors

to...

make the house work as
energy efficiently as possible.

- I'd really like to settle
somewhere and start up a
vegetable garden with Noel.

He has a passion for growing his own
vegetables, so it's something we can
enjoy together.

You could really have the best of
both worlds moving to Bendigo.
- Yeah.

- Because you'll have the
entertainment side, the cinemas.

- It has all of the benefits of a
large regional town, but you can
live in a rural environment,

which really appeals to us.

- Bendigo is a two-hour drive north
of Melbourne.

These gentle hills have served
Bendigonians very well,

delivering world-famous pottery. It's
a UNESCO creative city of gastronomy,

and of course, the discovery of gold
in 1851 sparked a mass migration and
economic boom,

which financed many of the town's
glorious buildings,

so let's see if we can find today's
couple their very own glorious home
in Bendigo.

The first home on our tour is this
beautiful modern townhouse,

so let's bring in Jan and Noel to see
if this could work for them.

I'm really curious about your wish
list, cos I know that your budget
is around 1.5, is that right?

- Yes.
- However, you would like a modern
sustainable home. Why is that?

Because you're in an historic town,
but you want modern sustainable?

- Basically, love the idea of period
homes. They look beautiful.
- Hmm. Hmm.

And I love looking at them.

- But I'm not interested in
maintaining one.
- I get it. I get it.

- The concept of the clean lines of
a contemporary design really appeal,

and with those sorts of homes comes
all of the energy efficiency
benefits.

- Yes. And what about you?
What are you looking for?

- Yes. I'd love a wooden fire.

- Yes.
- I do like the...

aspect of serenity and ambience.
- Yes.

- We've had that busy life in our
previous chapter of our life
and living in the city.

And I think it's time now for us to
sit back a little bit and enjoy the
next chapter.

- Enjoy the birdsong?
- And the birds.
- And the birdsong. OK.

This property ― sustainable living
to the max.

Are you excited to go inside?
- Very excited.

- Lead the way!
- Thank you.

- You were saying your instinct
was everything. How―
- Yes.

- How does the gut, the instinct,
react to this space?

- Yes, it's a very beautiful home.

- What do you call yourself,
a gutometer?

- Yes, I do.
- She's my gutometer.

- I'm Noel's gutometer.

- OK, so you're the gutometer, and
for you, you love those sustainable
aspects?

- Oh yeah, I'm the facts and figures
man. I'm the boring one.

- You're not boring in my world,
let me assure you.

The owner of this property
specifically bought it for
the north-facing aspect.

The sun streams in at all times.
- Yes.

- Even in winter, you can open all of
this up, so your electricity bills
are so low.

And what do you think about
the design? It is on point.
- Yes.

- It is. It's lovely.
- Yes. Definitely.

- Would you like to have a look at
the bedrooms and the downstairs area?
- Yes, we'd loveto.

Wow.
- The downstairs area was initially
designed for grandchildren,

but it's actually become a fantastic
part of the entertaining space of the
home.

You've got a kitchen down here.
- Yes, yes.

- It leads out here perfectly.
- Conceptually, it's very similar
to the house we've come from.

- Is it a good thing or a bad thing
that it's similar to your current
home?

- Oh, well, it's for me a...

Whether this...

period of our life equates
to this style of house

is something we're gonna have
to seriously think about.
- Yes.

- OK. Well, I'll let you have a look
at all of the home, and I'll see you
outside when you'reready.

- Sure thing.
- OK.
- Thanks, Catriona.

What do you think of the
house so far?

- Very, very nice.

Tastefully done.
- Yeah, it's a great start,

and the fact that the current owner
is an interior design just shines
through. It's...

Makes me very envious, really.

- To have that beautiful talent.
- Yeah.

What did you think of
that main bedroom?
- Peacefulness.

- As soon as I walked in there,
saw those pillows, I thought,
'Ah, that's Jan.'

And that lovely courtyard
really adds to the whole...

- Very nice.
- ...serenity of the view.
- Gorgeous outlook.

- Yeah.
- Gorgeous.

- Come and join me.
Isn't this beautiful?
- Isn't it stunning. All of it.

- Fine couch grass. Low maintenance.

Low maintenance.

And something that I'm a little bit
excited to share with you is that
this block of land

is actually like a piece of cake,
so even though it ends around
about here,

it feels as though all of this
borrowed land is yours.

There's a natural stream that flows
through. It leads down to wonderful
walking tracks.

- We live close to the water,
and one of the...

things that I was concerned about
moving up here was losing our
water aspect

and be able to access the water,

and so to have a natural creek
with a bit of water...
- Creek, yes.

- ...I've still got my water view,
so it's a good compromise.
- Yes. A-plus.

- OK, considering Ms Gutometer, we're
an A-plus, let's take it to the next
level.

What do you think this home
is on the market for?

- I would say...

1.4 to...

1.425.

- You're pretty much spot on.
It's around 1.5.

- Oh.
- So open to offers
around about that.

- Yeah.
- Because as you can see,
hot to trot.

- I'm not surprised by the price.

I think the price of the house
reflects the quality of the house.

- Still to come, we tour this country
stunner, which comes with a special
treat for the grandkids.

And later on, we're off to a newly
built home on a whopping 20 acres.

I am in Bendigo,

helping Noel and Jan transition from
Melbourne city living to country life
in Victoria's goldfields.

Now, we first toured a beautifully
styled townhouse,

but now for something quite
different, a more modest property
that is on a lot more land,

so let's see what our couple
make of this one.

Well, welcome to Owl House in
Sedgwick. It's a little different
to the last place. We're on land.

Not too much. We're on about
15 acres.

- Very excited. When we turned into
the driveway and came up through the
Manchurian pears,

that beautiful amber colour,
they were so inviting.

- Yeah, those autumnal colours
just set the scene, really.
- Yeah.

- Let's see what you think of the
inside. Just head on through.

How tall are you, Noel?
You're quite tall.

- In the old measure, 6'3".
- OK. That leads me to ask, how do
you like the cathedral ceilings here?

Well, certainly no need to duck
my head walking through doors.

- I like the look of it, and it
creates, sort of, a spacious area.

- On that sustainable checklist ―
of course, north-facing windows.

You've got the sunlight pouring
in here.
- Yeah.

- We have your little fireplace here
that heats the whole home, but we do
also have double-glazedwindows.

There's ducted heating right
throughout the house.

Something that I know was also on the
wish list but I'm not sure why.

You wanted to make sure the house
was built on a concrete slab.
Why is that?

- It creates thermal mass within the
house. The northerly sun hits the
slab, heats up duringthe day,

and then it emits that heat during
the night. So helps with the heating
and the cooling of the house.

- So, we've got the concrete slab,
but did you also notice the
beautiful timber floorboards?

- I believe this is solid timber
spotted gum, which Noel was
insistent we had the same

when we first originally built
our home in Williamstown.
- In Williamstown.

Why is that? What's the deal
with spotted gum?
- So, here it is.

- Well...
- Following us.

- I just love the colour variation
in spotted gum,

and it's a really hard wood, so
it's really hardwearing, so the
stilettos.

- This floor can handle
the stilettos?
- It can.

- And you like to entertain.
- Yes.
- How do you feel about the kitchen?

- It's a very different kitchen
to what we first looked at.
- It is.

- I dunno whether it'd call it
upmarket, but it's just...

A different concept.
- Yes.

- But I don't think we'll have any
problems working in a kitchen like
this.

- OK.
- I notice there's a split system
in this room.

Never been a huge fan
of split systems.
- Why?

- Oh, just the...
- Cost?

- Aesthetics.
- Strike that.

- I know a plumber.
- You know... Fantastic.

All right, well, I will let
you take a look around.

When you're ready,
I will meet you outside.

Wow.

- This room's amazing.
- I can tell you like
it straightaway.

Have a look at what you get
to see out your window.

- Oh, the outside coming in.
I love it.
- Yeah, no, it is nice.

Not so sure about the kitchen. It's
certainly a bit more basic compared
to what we've comefrom,

and certainly the first house was
pretty spectacular, so I guess, we
just have to, sort of, reconcile

as to whether that's a limiting
factor in the house or not, but...
- Yes.

- Boy, so far...
- It's pretty...

- Pretty magnificent.
- Yeah, it's impressive.
- Yeah.

- And I think it's lovely just
having nature around you as well.

- Voila.

- How good is this?
- How good is this?

- What do you think of the cherry
on top ― the pool out back?
- What an amazing surprise.

- Do you think your grandchildren
will like it?

- Oh, that will be a magnet for them
to come to visit, I'm sure.

Don't worry, darling,
I'll buy you a noodle.

- You can have a― Gosh, you're sweet.
You're so sweet.

What do you―
- He's always thoughtful.
- So thoughtful.

You'll give her a noodle.
That's very kind. Very kind.
- Yeah. Yeah.

- Would you maybe like chooks and
a veggie garden or anything?
- Oh, yes. Yes.

- You could have that here.
- Yes, we love chooks.

Yes, Noel's always keen to
have a crop of corn or...
- Yeah, nothing like fresh corn.

- Fresh corn.
- You've got the space.
- Yep.

- You absolutely have the space.
- Yeah.

- What do you think it's
on the market for?

- Probably the 1.3, 1.35,
thereabouts.

- It's on the market for 1.375.

I will be honest with you, there's
around 30 people looking at it...
- Oh.

...at the moment, so that
is a fluid price point.
- OK.

Yeah.
- But it is still under budget,

so that's a positive, and you could
easily buy a chook and some noodles.

- Get the chooks. Get the veggie
garden. I could almost see a couple
of sheep floating around here

to help the mow the lawn, rather
than me sitting on the lawnmower.
- That's right.

- Up next ― I swing by the
world-famous Bendigo Art Gallery.

And then we're off to even more
land as Jan and Noel explore our
final Bendigo property.

The Bendigo Art Gallery is a major
drawcard for all sorts of tourists,

so I caught up with Jess to talk me
through the gallery's history.

Does it feel amazing to be working
within a space, within a gallery
that has the reputation

of changing the entire fortune of
a single town? It's a big call,
but it's true, isn't it?

- It is a big call to say that
the gallery is, you know,

somewhat responsible for the
transformation of Bendigo,

but as someone who's grown up here,
I mean, I spent, you know, my early
years coming to thegallery

when it was a tiny little,
sort of, bricked room.

And to see the cultural
transformation of the gallery

and then in turn the city of
Bendigo has been remarkable.

The number-one reason that people
visit Bendigo is to experience
culture,

and we're so lucky that we have such
an incredibly rich culture to share.

- That culture that you refer to,
we've now got a thriving food scene,
music scene.

- Any weekend on Bendigo, you can go
out and see live music. You can go
to a beautiful restaurant.

We have amazing local producers
here. There's wineries.
There's fantastic accommodation.

And a lot of work being done locally
with the traditional owners as well
to revegetate

a lot of the natural areas around
Bendigo, so it is an incredibly
rich place to be,

and certainly there's always
something to do and
experience and see.

Bendigo does offer, you know, so
much lifestyle opportunities as
well.

There are incredible bike paths and
sporting facilities, acres and acres
of incredible heritage-listed park

that you can wander through at any
time. It really does have the best
of both worlds

in terms of culture and vibrancy but
also spaces to relax, reflect and
unwind.

- So, let's check out our
third Bendigo home.

Now, I am thinking that this may
appeal to Noel and Jan for its
landscaping opportunities,

so let's see what they think
of this one.

Well, how'd you feel as
you came up this drive?

Well, it's a long way
to bring the bins in.

- Absolutely is.

So, we are really in a big paddock.
- Hmm.

- This is 20 acres.
- We are.

- Just slightly larger
than our last home.

And the house has only just been
completed, and very soon it will
be completely off grid.

Which is music to your ears,
isn't it?
- Yes.

- The opportunity to...

To go fully off grid would be a
challenge, but it would be an
interesting challenge.

It's just stepping out of our
comfort zone a little bit more,
and that's not such a bad thing.

Though, the weatherboards on it are
actually concrete weatherboards.
- How'd you pick up that?!

You're so quick.
- Well...

- Wow.
- Low maintenance there.
- So that's...

That's virtually a low or
no-maintenance product, so,
yeah, very happy with that.

- All right, well, you keep referring
to the house, so let's get on in
there. Let's go and havea look.

- Thank you.

- I love that big picture window.

How do you feel about this space?
- I love all the large windows.

Once again, the outside
comes into the home.

- And all the tones
are really neutral,

so you could, sort of,
make it your own pretty easily.
- Hmm.

- And it's interesting too, because
top of your wish list was modern and
sustainable.

- Yes.
- Well, we're so modern, we're
still finishing it off.

But I'll let you take a wander and
have a look, and I'm just gonna see
what this beautiful light

is leading me to outside. So,
I'll meet you outside, OK?

- All right.
- Doing it.

- So, what do you
think of this space?

- Well, it's a lovely window
to start with, and lots of light
to come in.

The land is a blank canvas for us.
I think it's a great space.

- What do you think of the inside?
- It is very new.
- Yes.

- Being six months old.
- Hmm.

- But, no, a lovely family home,
definitely.

- Could you see yourself building
what you require for your needs

and possibly settling
into an area like this?

- Yeah, look, the house almost
presents a bit as a blank canvas.

- Yeah, yeah.
- Even though it's finished― you
know, finished quite nicely inside,

but the outdoor area, I'm a keen
project person, so I could see us
really being able to develop this.

- You've just left a busy life.
This is going to be a whole new
life for you, and you're keen for it.

- Oh, there's nothing wrong
with being busy in your life.
- No.

- It's just where you chan― put
your focus, and I guess we're
just changing our focus

from work related to lifestyle
related, I suppose.
- Yep.

- So, what do you think
it is on the market for?

- Well, given it's, sort of,
slightly more land than the
second house we looked at...

- Oh yeah.

- Maybe around the 1.4 to 1.5.

- Good one. Very good. Very good.

- When you consider...

the lack of landscaping is probably
a bit higher than the other two
houses,

but I don't see the price as
a downside. I see what can be
done as a fair positive.

- I am surprised by how well today
has gone. When I first heard that
our couple wanted to find amodern,

sustainable home in a rural area,
I thought that would be quite
challenging.

But I think we've done well. The
first house, that had the wow factor.

The second one opened their mind
to living on more land.

And the third house, well,
that's all about the projects.

So let's find out soon if they
would like to make a decision.
Fingers crossed.

Well, we have toured three Bendigo
properties with Jan and Noel,

and now that they've had some time
to really think through the homes
that we've explored,

let's touch base and see if
they've been able to pick one.

- Good morning, Catriona.
- Good morning.
- Morning.

- Great coffee here. Thank you
so much for bringing me here to
Pepper Green Farm.

- Yes, yes.
- And it's just so glorious here.
- Yes.

- But I'll be honest with you,

I can't tell which way the Gutometer
is swaying with the three homes that
we showed you.

I think house number one,
styled to perfection,

I think was a standout for you.
How did you feel about that one?

- Well, I adored the layout
of the kitchen, pantry.

That really stood out in my mind.

Yeah, those north-facing
balconies got me in.

- It really was a great example of
what you were after with the
sustainability, wasn't it?

- Yeah, it was.
- Yeah, energy efficient.
- Yeah, it was.

- And what about with house number
two. You didn't seem to be too
scared about the extra land.

- We were quite taken by house
number two. Solid timber floors.

- Yeah.
- You did.

- Even the vaulted ceiling in that
living area just created a great,
sort of, level of spaciousness,

and those picture windows at the end
of the living space just gave a
glorious view.

And I got my water view of the dam
at least.

- And you got the water view too.
It's interesting that you mention
the ceiling,

because I did notice when we went
into house three, your height is so
much closer to that lowerceiling.

And it does come into play,
doesn't it?
- Yes.

- It does. I mean,

house number three was
a bit outside the envelope.

Great potential in the house
with the, sort of, unfinished
landscaping.

And that, sort of, gave us some
serious thought last night

as to, you know, would
we be prepared to take on

such a big project like that?
- Yeah. Hmm.

- You know, house number two
was a similar concept,
but the landscaping was done.

- Done.
- Yes.

- Which, sort of, would free us up
to do other projects that we were
interested in doing.

- So, are you leaning towards
house number two? What do you
think you'll do?

- Well, after lots of chitchat...

we've decided with our hearts and
our heads,

we're going to go house number two.

The Owl House.

- The Owl House could be our house.
- And I'm so excited.

- I'm thrilled for you. I brought a
little gift from my house to you.

I brought some honey from our farm.
- Oh, beautiful.
- Oh my goodness.

- Cos I know you like your tea.
- Yes.

- So, I've brought that for you.
- Thank you, Catriona.

- And I'm so grateful that you
brought me to this community
here in Bendigo.

Oh, you've chosen well.

Jan and Noel put in an offer
on the Owl House,

and, yes, we are thrilled to say
their offer was accepted.

We wish you all the very best for
your new life in glorious Bendigo.

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