Description

Having finished a journalism degree and set off on a post-graduation gap year abroad, Simone Williams eventually indulged her Mum’s call to come back home to Australia and secure herself a job.

And that she did, although not as a reporter, but as a flight attendant for Australia’s beloved Qantas – a career she anticipated might last a year at best but that ultimately morphed into a 30 year stint that would prove one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

Yet despite the joys of constant travel, Simone had a yearning for a simpler life on a farm.

Newly married to now-husband Bruce, she spontaneously happened upon her dream property in Queensland’s Currumbin Valley while scrolling the web one day during a stopover in Frankfurt.

Little did she know that sometime later, she and Bruce would serendipitously drive past that exact same property, Hillview Dairy, and find it once again for sale. The duo scraped together every last cent they could find and fortuitously, managed to make it theirs.

Since then, Simone and Bruce have welcomed three sons and have raised them on the farm, all the while chipping away at restoring both the homestead and more recently, the dairy, with the aim of one day welcoming guests to stay.

That day eventually arrived in January, 2020 and Simone hasn’t looked back, having achieved an enviable 258 Airbnb reviews with an average score of 4.98, an expanse of press and a continuing 80-90% occupancy rate.

My recent chat with Simone about her journey to date and newly-hatched plans to restore the property’s stables was a real pleasure and I’m sure you’ll find this conversation equally insightful and entertaining. Please enjoy.

Show Notes

Hillview Dairy on Instagram