PROPERTY
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When you sit on the verandah of Joadja Creek Farm and look out over the valley, "everything you see you own", says owner Ivan Haege.
And you can see quite a bit. Joadja Creek Farm stretches across 389.1 hectares of land, much of it nestled in what is known as Carter's Valley.
"Our valley is such a private oasis; it's such a beautiful place," Mr Haege said.
"When Bill Crews came down to do our daughter's wedding, we had the marquee on the lawn and he stood there and said 'This is like being in God's cathedral'."
Mr Haege, a Sydney solicitor, and his wife, Antonia, bought the land in 1994 for $575,000. And then they set to work.
"It was totally undeveloped," Mr Haege said.
"There was no electricity. We had to make some roads. We had to create some dams. We built stockyards. We built a 110,000-litre elevated concrete tank from which we pump from the permanent creek.
"The creek's fantastic; it's never run short of water. It joins the Wingecarribee River quite close to our property, so we pump out of that for our garden and domestic water."
The architect-designed open-plan house features cathedral ceilings, four bedrooms, a games room, underfloor heating, an orchard and a computerised lawn-watering system.
"It's our country house; it's our weekend retreat," Mr Haege said.
"It's just a beautiful place to go. You just chill right out. We've had families and kids down there. We've had a lot of house parties, people coming down. We've had golf days and all sorts of things - weddings, 21sts."
One of the special features of the property is the two-kilometre creek, which is home to an array of wildlife.
And it provides a perfect escape on hot days.
"We go down there for late summer afternoons and drinks around the creek," Mr Haege said.
"Take a little hamper and a nice bottle of chilled chardonnay and go and have a drink down there.
"You can take a lilo in there on a hot day and there's another spot further down where you can sit in it and water cascades over you."
Mr Haege has decided to sell the home, and it will be auctioned by Carl Hilder Real Estate on October 31.
"The family has grown up. We want to do a few other things with our lives, like travel a bit," he said.
"We're getting on and it's time to get on to the next project."
Which doesn't mean it will be easy to leave.
"We love going down there. We love doing everything down there," Mr Haege said.
"It's just a different activity and it's one that you get away from the normal humdrum of life."
