A House on a Hill

We started our search for a place to move to in the country back in early 2019. Like most idyl dreams, it started with some vague notion of what would be the perfect property, where it would be placed geographically, and what features the property would have. If you’ve ever shared this dream you’ve probably discovered that a vague notion of what you aspire to is not a great starting point.

Our initial thoughts were not much more specific than, somewhere in NSW, no more than half an hour from the coast, but not on the coast. The coast represented fishing opportunities for me (a lifetime avid fisherman of most fishing persuasions). Not on the coast, meant not having to pay seachange prices for a view of the water.

Well NSW is a big state and that initial brief was far too broad to be useful. We started with some basic exploratory trips to places like the Southern Highlands and Nelson Bay and were largely disappointed with what we saw. The normal disappointments emerged, what we liked was way above our budget, many places were already too built up with city weekenders, and anything we could afford was well below our expectations.

So then we got serious! We sat down and put on paper what would constitute our dream property with some specific requirements. We called the document:

A house on a hill

This is what the document described:

The Ideal Property

  • 5 – 10 hectares

  • Some remnant woodland

  • A river, creek, or dam

  • Cleared area for some fruit trees or existing fruit trees

  • Large area for vegetable garden

  • A large shed with storage for a boat, a caravan, and room for a large workshop

  • House on an elevated position back from the main road with a view of a valley or water

  • A 10-minute drive to convenience shopping and fuel

  • A 20-minute drive to supermarkets and specialty stores

  • A 30-minute drive to surf beaches, estuary, boat ramps, sea access

  • Decent internet coverage

  • A 30-minute drive to a rail station

  • Water Security

  • Fire Security

The House

  • Single story preferable

  • Minimum 2 bedrooms

  • Large study/library

  • Open-plan kitchen/dining area

  • Lounge room with fireplace

  • 2 bathrooms – one with bath

  • Laundry

  • Covered verandah

  • Some air-conditioning

  • Overhead fans

  • Utility room for extra food refrigeration

  • Solar Power and Hot Water

  • 40,000-liter freshwater tanks

  • Greywater management system

Second Villa

  • 2 bedrooms

  • kitchen

  • bathroom

  • small verandah

  • living room

The document described what we were ideally looking for, but in truth, we both thought it was probably a pipe dream and that we would have to settle for something like a 50% compromise.

That was until Meredith found a property up near Bulladelah that was about a 50% fit but had the potential to be developed to bring it closer to our aspirations.

Having traveled through Bulledelah many times it was not on my radar as an ideal location, and in the end, the property was never going to work for us due to some planning issues with the local council. However, undeterred, Meredith started exploring the agent’s website and discovered a magnificent property in an unheard-of place called Bucca Wauka.

We fell in love with the property the moment we arrived for our first inspection. Greeted at the front gate by a small group of Crimson Honeyeaters, I immediately knew that this property was going to be special. As you’ll see from the site, it not only met most of our requirements but exceeded all of our dreams. We now call it Bunyah Creek Farm.

When you come to visit us, you’ll get to experience how beautiful this country retreat is, but in the meantime, we hope that the words and the images on this site will give you some sense of the beauty and tranquility of Bunyah Creek Farm.

Welcome

Wayne and Meredith