Back in 2018, the town of Tanunda, located in the heart of South Australia's beautiful Barossa Valley, had no idea that two passionate Melburnians, Max Niggl and Neale Gerlach, were about to make it a central part of their life story.

With surprisingly similar personal backgrounds, Neale originally from South Australia and Max from Victoria, this enterprising couple met in 2013 in Melbourne, forging a life partnership where respect for history, the environment, the concept of place and for our diverse culture is central to their lives.

Max and Neale set out with the original goal of purchasing a simple set-and-forget investment property, however after further discussion decided that they actually wanted to be able to enjoy a second property from time to time, with a view of transitioning to rural life in the future.

This ultimately led them to the Barossa - a place that they shared a love of and one in which they fortuitously stumbled across and went on to buy a characterful circa 1900 house, a firm fixer-upper with a rich history.

Over the next three years, the duo planned and painstakingly restored the property with careful attention to detail, melding their own personal style with that dictated by its heritage. They subsequently named it Basedow Haus, in a nod to both the couple's and the area's German origins.

Max and Neale are people fervently dedicated to living with respect, compassion, grace and empathy, something that shines through in everything they do. It was an absolute pleasure chatting with them about their hosting journey to date and I'm sure you'll get a lot out of our chat today. Please enjoy.