Original subtitles

- 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.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able

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.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able