Known as Whipbird Gully, this property in Australia includes multiple dwellings, paddocks and fruit orchards nestled among pristine riverfront bushland. The owners have lived there for 46 years and they have dedicated much of that time rewilding the sprawling property, which now serves as a valuable wildlife corridor and a haven for threatened plants and animals.
The couple, who met when studying and working in architecture and interior design in Sydney, were drawn to the property through their passion for the environment and conservation. “It had been logged many times, and was an ex-banana and cattle property,” Adrienne said.
They soon got to work building their first home – an open-plan circular house, made from recycled materials and stone and timber gathered from the land.
Resembling an enchanted cottage straight out of a fairytale, the one-of-a-kind home known as the River House is surrounded by ferns and palms and features an enormous stone hearth, soaring ceilings and a loft space tucked up in the natural rafters.
It became their home for 10 years while they planned a larger dwelling on the property, which also served as a model for architecture students studying passive solar design. 
They lived in that home for the next 35 years, which included raising two children who carried on their passion for ecology – their daughter who went on to become an environmental scientist, and their son who is now a botanist. The off-grid home sadly burnt down in a fire caused by the lithium batteries that powered the house, and the couple relocated back to the River House.
The property also includes a mudbrick studio with huge glass windows framing bushland views that serves as a secondary dwelling or retreat.
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