With 25 acres of peaceful natural beauty, views to Saddleback Mountain at Kiama, native forest, a little hidden valley, a spring-fed creek and waterlily dam, this property is rural bliss, yet only four kilometres drive into Berry for caf society, shopping and fine dining.
It will be very hard to leave here, say the current owners, who have lived here for the past 38 years. There hasn’t been anything we haven’t loved about living here.
The owners moved to the hatchet-shaped block after their children left home in 1978 and lived in a two-bedroom fibro shed while they built the three-bedroom house.
When we moved here, it was a vacant block, says one of the owners. We pushed all the blackberry and lantana down with an old work vehicle and put up a shed then built the house in stages as we had the money. A builder friend helped with the hardwood frame in return for my help on another job and I laid every brick.
The owners designed the house facing north-east, with large windows to take advantage of the wonderful views to Foxground and Saddleback Mountain.
While the house is in its original condition from the 1970s, there are beautiful cypress floorboards under the shag pile carpet that would be the perfect beginning to modernising the home.
The large open plan living, dining and kitchen area features high cathedral ceilings, a wood-fired slow combustion stove, air-conditioning and those floor-to-ceiling windows to enjoy the stunning outlook.
Entry is via a wide hallway and there are three bedrooms with built-in robes, a spacious main bathroom which also faces the views and a laundry with separate lavatory.
Both the front and rear entry are tiled to act as mud rooms, there is vinyl flooring in the kitchen and all bedrooms and living areas are carpeted.
A full-length verandah runs at the rear of the house, with outdoor blinds for sun protection in summer. The bedrooms and bathroom also have roll-down aluminium blinds on the exterior, operated from indoors.
The original shed has been extended to include a four-car garage with two five-metre doorways. There is also a shadehouse with automatic sprinkler system and a 90,000 litre water tank. Last year, the 300-metre driveway from the road to the house was laid with bitumen.
There are also mature Bowen mango trees and a citrus orchard.
The current owners will not only miss the beautiful forest, the waterlilies in bloom on the dam and the tranquillity, but also the other inhabitants of the property.
We feed the magpies by hand and there’s also a butcher bird who sits on our lap to be fed. The kookaburras come close enough to let us stroke them on the breast and there are kangaroos, wombats and echidnas.
Features at a glance:
andbull; 25 acres, approximately half natural forest and wildlife corridor
andbull; Three bedrooms, one bathroom house
andbull; Slow combustion stove
andbull; Air-conditioning
andbull; Four car garage/shed
andbull; Spring-fed creek
andbull; Dam
andbull; Shadehouse
andbull; Paved private driveway
andbull; 90,000 litre water tank