In 2019, Andrew Bousie and Peter Egglestone were living in an apartment in Sydney, but with Peter having recently been offered a job in South Australia with Journey Beyond, they were ready to move to greener pastures.

“We were looking for a place down by the beach, but discovered that the Adelaide Hills is only 20 minutes from the city, which we were blown away by because you could live on land – which we had never done before – but be in the city in less than half an hour,” Andrew says.

“Our first home in South Australia was a 10-acre property in Mount George where we lived for two years.”

The couple lived on that property with their eight alpacas (the first two of which Peter bought for Andrew as a Christmas present four years prior) until realising they needed more land.

“Our 10-acre property became a bit small at this point, so, we found a property only 500 metres away that sits on the very top of the hill overlooking Stirling Golf Club and Piccadilly Valley with 360-degree views of the Adelaide Hills and ranges,” Andrew says.

Andrew, Peter and their alpacas moved up the hill to an acreage double the size at 289 Rangeview Drive, Mount George where they spent the next two years transforming the five-bedroom, three-bathroom manor into a luxury country estate.

“It is an incredibly well-built, double brick home,” Andrew says. “We had an architect and a builder look at it and they both commented on the original build, saying that it was quite phenomenal and done to a very high standard – we had a great base to work with.”

The couple hired a stonemason to render and stone the exterior while they got to work renovating the interior.

The home has two wings – one for the master suite and the other for additional bedrooms – on opposite sides, separated by a large family room encompassing the living, dining and kitchen.

“There was a central area made up of three or four rooms, so we demolished all the walls and turned it into an incredible 190-square-metre central family room,” Andrew says.

“We fitted out the kitchen and butler’s pantry extensively with European appliances and marble benchtops.”

The couple also landscaped the property to enhance the surrounding views and built a large firepit overhanging the hillside ideal for making the most of summer nights.

“One of the most beautiful features is how you can open up the back doors that lead onto the paved area with the pergola and the swimming pool,” Andrew says.

“The lifestyle aspect of the home is its number one feature. It is a very luxurious home that we have been able to modernise, but it is still very comfortable and welcoming,” Andrew says.

“You can really tell that you’re surrounded by luxury, but you’re also more than happy to enjoy it in a pair of track pants.”

Andrew says the home is an entertainer’s dream and ideal for hosting garden parties where guests can flow between the home’s interior and exterior while kids run amok on the lawns and splash in the swimming pool.

“Coming here from interstate, we have had a lot of friends and family coming to stay with us and the house is ideally set up for guests as the house is large, there are plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms, and everybody has their own space,” he says.

“In addition to the family room, there are two further living rooms – one is more formal and the other is nice and casual – and they all have fireplaces which are lovely to light and snuggle up to read beside on a cold day.

“I can honestly say that, having lived in four different states, neither of us has ever lived somewhere that could replace this.”

With Peter starting a new role as CEO of Zenith Payments, the couple – and their alpacas – are returning to New South Wales.

“As sad as we are to leave this property, we know there will be someone who will walk in and know that this is the place they need to be,” Andrew says. “We are really proud of what we are leaving behind – our legacy will be a beautiful Adelaide Hills home.

“We did renovate the property to stay here and enjoy it for longer than we have done – we knew we would move back to New South Wales at some point, it has just come around a lot sooner than we anticipated.”

The sale is being handled by Dee-Anne Hunt of Williams Real Estate.