Hong Kong high rise to rural Australian retreat<\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s never too late to completely rethink where you live, how you spend your day, or what might make you happy.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Married couple Antony Spanbrook and Chris Yeo lived in Hong Kong, one working in high profile events management, the other a medical professional. A visit to the Southern Highlands in Australia with their three children, led to them falling in love with a rural bush property \u2013 and a spur of the moment decision opened up a unique opportunity for them to completely change the lives of their whole family.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nAntony Spanbrook (left) and Chris Yeo (right)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
It is possible to think of two more different places to live than congested, super-frenetic Hong Kong and a big old rolling farm in rural southern Australia. But not easy. One is for late nights, bright lights and stress, the other is for early mornings, sunset and yoga. One is commuting to work on the ultra-modern Metro system in a city of 7.5 million people squeezed into just 426 square miles, the other is making breakfast for the kids and listening to the roosters crow. One is life in the fast lane, the other is arriving at a favourite destination with your favourite song on the radio and a smile playing on your face.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This much Antony and Chris knew before they decided to swap one for the other. Antony used to run his own successful high profile events business in Hong Kong before deciding to sell up and come home to Australia. His partner Chris bought into the dream. Sort of. \u201cIn fact, we didn\u2019t really know we wanted to go and live in the country at all,\u201d smiles Antony. \u201cBut we knew Sydney was four speeds slower than Hong Kong and then decided to slow it down even more by moving to the Southern Highlands, equidistant between Sydney and Canberra where, in comparison to Hong Kong, everything moves at a snail\u2019s pace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Antony had initially been attracted to life in Hong Kong after the events company that employed him opened an office in the territory to work on the \u2018handover\u2019 ceremonies in 1997. He moved there full time in 2000, met Chris in 2002 (\u201cIt was by chance and then we figured out that we\u2019d been at a number of places and events at the same time and never met\u201d) with whom he shared a \u2018commitment ceremony\u2019 in 2006 \u2013 gay marriage not being recognised in Hong Kong \u2013 all while starting his own company and building it up to survive first the SARS epidemic and then the global financial crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris, a doctor, had moved to Hong Kong in 1998 for different reasons. \u201cI left Singapore because I was gay and I didn\u2019t feel right living in a country where I wasn\u2019t allowed to be gay,\u201d he explains. \u201cMy brother, who is also gay, was already in Hong Kong. I lined up one interview with a medical practice and was hired on the spot because I spoke multiple languages.\u201d As driven young professionals, the \u201cfast-paced, ludicrous\u201d city and the lifestyle went hand-in-hand. \u201cWe had a great social life, a great travel life, we ate out a lot,\u201d says Antony. \u201cIt was high-life urban living I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The flip side of that, however, is that it has to be paid for. \u201cI\u2019ve never worked harder,\u201d admits Antony. \u201cWe would get up at 5:30, hit the gym and be at our desks pretty much from 7:30 in the morning till 7:30 at night. That was a standard day. My company would do over 200 major shows a year, all round Asia, so I was probably on a plane every second week. Chris became a medical aviation specialist with Cathay Pacific [airline] so we travelled a lot, but that meant the time we spent at home together was super important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Skyscraper living in Hong Kong where high rise homes can be small<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris & Antony’s apartment in Hong Kong<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n The couple rented in Hong Kong until they could save up to buy an apartment, and bought right in the centre, in West Mid-Levels. \u201cIt is a pretty swanky district,\u201d says Antony. \u201cAnd the apartment was quite big for Hong Kong, but it was derelict and gross when Chris found it and insisted we buy it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI always wanted to buy the most square feet our money could afford,\u201d explains Chris, \u201cso instead of having a nice view and a small apartment, we decided to forego the view and look out over other buildings from the 14th floor, and have a bigger apartment \u2013 and that\u2019s how we ended up with the big one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe loved living there, and spent time and money to make it just right,\u201d says Antony. \u201cIt was all about the details. I mean, because of his job when Chris flew over to London he\u2019d buy fancy Christmas decorations. Everything had to be just right\u2026 We both loved turning it into our perfect home. However, when the kids came along we knew that eventually we would both want something else for them. When it came to selling, it was with tears in our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The kids \u2013 Archer and the twins, Charlotte and Andrea \u2013 arrived via surrogacy in the US in 2011 and 2012. Chris and Antony also legally married in the US in 2011, with another ceremony at the Sydney Opera House after same-sex marriages were recognised in Australia in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antony and Chris and their three children on the steps of the Sydney Opera House for their wedding ceremony in 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe kids put a completely different spin on life in Hong Kong,\u201d recalls Antony. \u201cAnd on what we needed from a home,\u201d adds Chris. \u201cWhen you live in an apartment in New York or Hong Kong your outdoor area might be a paved park or a basketball court, but kids need space to learn, explore and just be kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As family life took over and the couple debated their next move, Chris decided he wanted to pursue the \u2018Australian dream\u2019. \u201cBut,\u201d he recalls, \u201cwe couldn\u2019t make the figures work.\u201d When his mother passed away, however, she left him enough money to make it happen. \u201cWe thought we would buy a house to remember her by,\u201d is how he puts it. \u201cTo honour her memory.\u201d It became something much more substantial than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was almost by accident that they \u201cstumbled across\u201d 70 acres of land when they were visiting the Australian Southern Highlands on holiday \u2013 and it was love at first sight. They bought it on the spur of the moment. \u201cYou feel like you\u2019re in the middle of nowhere,\u201d gushes Antony. \u201cThe main house part was an operating sheep farm, and they also grew vegetables and had an egg business as well as other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we looked at it, we thought we could probably continue the sheep business, and the land has traditionally been full of fruit trees so that was nice. We back on to forest and we\u2019ve got two waterways, so it\u2019s a pretty special place with beautiful views. But it was when I saw the bush area, I just suddenly thought, \u2018Oh, my god, can you imagine having a little bungalow here?\u2019 And I just got carried away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antony sold his event business \u2013 which, due to Covid, was \u201cnot exactly pumping\u201d \u2013 to focus on their new home and new career\u2026 \u201cThe land was called Rosalind Park when we bought it,\u201d he says. \u201cWhich I thought sounded like a retirement village, so we rechristened it Aruna which means \u2018Moon Love\u2019 in Japanese and \u2018Dawn\u2019 or \u2018New Day\u2019 in Thai. And so now we have the Aruna Estate with four villas and two cabins for guests to rent out plus sheep, chickens and horses which, of course, the kids love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Relaxing on the meditation deck with a sundowner<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n The couple threw themselves into building their retreat \u2013 and farming. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know a thing about it,\u201d laughs Antony. \u201cBut let me tell you there\u2019s nothing more liberating than being out of your comfort zone in your 50s. I grew up playing with Barbie dolls, and now I drive tractors. We even cleared the rocks by hand, but it\u2019s been so much fun. You don\u2019t have to be the best at everything straight away, so I just tootle along and do my thing. Everything I\u2019ve done I\u2019ve learnt on YouTube videos and tutorials. And country people are very generous with their knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been a steep learning curve, but comes with a huge sense of accomplishment. \u201cThe Aruna Estate is a complete escape,\u201d Antony enthuses. \u201cIt\u2019s all about proximity to nature. Our cabins are on wheels, nestled among the trees and completely off-grid. The interiors are simple, and filled with sunlight during the day. They\u2019ve each got outdoor wood-fired bathtubs too, and nature trails that lead down to the river where we\u2019ve built meditation decks. The villas are posher (with full-length glass walls and polished oak floors) and are really for people who want a farm stay with creature comforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antony & Chris have thrown themselves into the outdoor lifestyle<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cabins are completely off-grid, with birdsong and the bush the only sounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clever use of space maximises the light, the views and comfort<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while the guests now want for nothing, it is time for the family to concentrate more on their own space. \u201cWe live in the main farm building, the cottage, and we\u2019re in the process of making that feel like home. But there has just been so much to do in the 15 months since buying the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe kids chase about on their bikes and are totally at home,\u201d laughs Antony. \u201cThere is the occasional push back \u2013 \u2018I want to play on my device\u2019 and things like that \u2013 but that\u2019s fine because we\u2019re incredibly happy with how it\u2019s gone. And honestly, we\u2019re only just starting to scratch the surface, I think, of what it brings to our lives day-to-day, the relaxation, and the calm we feel. The absolute sense of belonging. It\u2019s almost medicinal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being at Aruna has also allowed Chris to reconnect with an old hobby. \u201cI used to garden in Singapore,\u201d he says. \u201cBut that had to stop in Hong Kong as only the super-rich have gardens. But now I have been able to start again and grow roses, peonies, daffodils, bluebells and dahlias around the cottage\u2026 the rest of the property is home to only native grasses and plants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antony nods in agreement. \u201cWhen we lived in Hong Kong, it was always go, go, go, go, go \u2013 and we loved it. My whole career moved at a million miles an hour, I always had 50 million things in my head and I enjoyed being able to act on them quickly. But I don\u2019t think you realise what you\u2019re missing out on until you start living differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris cooking in the cottage kitchen at Aruna<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nestled among the trees, the cabins and villas are designed to bring the outside in<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt Aruna we have a big yoga deck beneath a 30m high scribbly gum tree and I try to have a negroni sundowner in a different location every day. On one occasion we counted 14 different bird calls. That is a big change from the constant hum of traffic and the noises of a crazy-alive international city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But does it feel like home yet? \u201cAbsolutely. We are still working on the cottage to get it exactly how we want it, but it is still a working farm so whereas our place in West Mid-Levels could be a perfect place to entertain our friends, this property has other duties to fulfil \u2013 as well as being a comfortable home for the kids. It has our touch, but we\u2019re not finished yet. The \u2018feel\u2019 is there for us though. It already feels right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe old phrase for a dramatic change of circumstances was \u2018sea change\u2019, now the buzzword is \u2018tree change\u2019 where people are leaving cities behind and \u2018going country\u2019. We just took that notion a whole step further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enjoying being in nature: including a soak in the outdoor, fire-powered bathtub (top left)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Magical views from the villa take in the creek, down over the valley and into the forest beyond<\/p>\n\n\n\n To book into one of Chris and Antony\u2019s beautiful cabins, click here: ARUNA Estate<\/a> or to see more on Instagram: ARUNA Estate (@arunaestate_penrose)<\/a><\/em> Married couple Antony Spanbrook and Chris Yeo lived in Hong Kong, one working in high profile events management, the other a medical professional. A visit to the Southern Highlands in Australia with their three children, led to them falling in love with a rural bush property \u2013 and a spur of the moment decision opened up a unique opportunity for them to completely change the lives of their whole family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-11723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-feature-people"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.site.ingka.com\/lifeathome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/iStock-1432594832-scaled_688x516_661ebe8bfcc284120252422b12d88df3.avif\")
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cHonestly, we\u2019re only just starting to scratch the surface of what it brings to our lives day-to-day, the relaxation, and the calm we feel. The absolute sense of belonging. It\u2019s almost medicinal.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div> \n\n <\/skapa-carousel>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more liberating than being out of your comfort zone in your 50s. I grew up playing with Barbie dolls, and now I drive tractors.\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe old phrase for a dramatic change of circumstances was<\/strong>
\u2018sea change\u2019, now the buzzword is \u2018tree change\u2019, where people are leaving cities behind and \u2018going country\u2019.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.site.ingka.com\/lifeathome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Aruna-Estate-1084-scaled_332x385_ca0a79bddf6f59ad4fc78ded0c57cef7.avif\")
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Interview: Bill Borrows<\/em>
Photography: Good Thanks Media<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"