When summer rain reaches Buccan, two dams fill, creek lines begin to run and the tropical edges of Rick and Nicole’s acreage come alive.
At 18–20 Alison Court, an 8024sq m property behind an electric gate at the end of a six-house cul-de-sac, the couple found something that sits between suburbia and a tranquil rainforest.
“You’re close to everything, but you feel like you’re miles away from anywhere,” Nicole said.
The ex-military couple bought the property in 2019 after years raising their family around Logan.
“It’s very tropical,” Nicole said.
“It makes it very private, which is lovely.”
For Rick, it became somewhere to settle after military life.
“This place is just so peaceful,” he said.
“It sort of gave me something to do after I left the military … just enjoy the outlook and the wildlife.”
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house has several living spaces, two master suites and six-car accommodation.
The couple converted its formal dining room into a fifth bedroom so each of their three children had their own space.
“We didn’t need a fourth entertaining area, so we changed it to a fifth bedroom,” Rick said.
The rest became a backdrop to the children growing up.
All three celebrated their 18ths there and two had their 21sts on the property, with tents scattered outside, friends and family around the fire and plenty of room for everyone to stay put for the night.
“They can play pool and table tennis, go for a swim in the spa, play darts, chuck the music up loud and no one’s going to care,” Rick said.
“It’s like having your own tavern here, really.”
During COVID, Nicole said the acreage felt like a “family resort holiday”.
“We had a pool table, we had a basketball court, we had open air,” she said.
Beyond the patio, palms, bromeliads and groundcovers form layers of green that the couple deliberately allowed to largely fend for themselves.
“Whatever lives, lives; whatever dies, dies,” Nicole said.
“It stays in its garden bed.”
One of the property’s most dramatic transformations arrives with the summer storms, when creek lines begin running and fresh water spills through the two dams.
Rick and Nicole said the house sits on the higher side of the property and has not flooded during their time there, while the water remains within the creek lines below.
“You can wake up to running water,” Nicole said.
“It’s kind of cool, really.”
Turtles sun themselves beside the dams, while cockatoos, rosellas, king parrots, kookaburras, ducks and a family of frogmouths share the property.
Now their children have left, Rick and Nicole are ready to downsize and begin a long-planned lap of Australia.
“We just want to simplify now … so that we can travel without an agenda,” Nicole said.
For whoever comes next, Rick’s description is simpler.
“It’s a good family home.”
Nicole agreed: “This is a family home — dogs, kids, whatever.”
Subscribe to stay up-to-date with news from across Logan. You’ll receive a link to our digital newspaper direct to your inbox each week. It’s free.
Follow MyCity Logan on Facebook and Instagram
