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Hans was born in Utrecht, Holland. He spent his youth pursuing a passion for sailing and spent many hours tacking across nearby lakes and rivers. It was this early adventurous spirit that would take him on worldwide travels for the majority of his adult life.
During early years having moved with his family to Sydney in 1955, Hans established various restaurants in Sydney's northern suburbs. In 1963 he joined Qantas Airlines and spent 35 years flying the world, ‘catering' for discerning 1st class guests. Part of his time with Qantas was based in Tahiti, with many tales of Bora Bora in the early years. He was personally selected to care for Queen Elizabeth on two occasions and is on first name basis with many of the world's celebrity and business community.
Hans moved to tropical Far North Queensland with his wife Wendy in 1989. They spent many years flying the world together and decided the tropical region north of Port Douglas is the best kept secret, paradise destination. Owning beachfront properties at Four Mile Beach and Newell Beach enabled Hans & Wendy to develop their passion for interior design, with a unique approach to tropical architecture. Working alongside award winning architect Chris Vandyke, together Hans & Wendy created ‘The Art of Tropical Living'. This has subsequently culminated in the design and development of what is fast becoming one of Australia's most exclusive holiday retreats – Bali Hai…
Today Hans lives with Wendy and their four-legged best friend Kazan at Newell Beach. Even today he continues his passion for sailing from the shores of their Executive Retreats Boat House.
Wendy Van Der Wolf
Wendy was born in New South Wales on a country property. Her dream was to become an architect but started her career as a school teacher. When technical drawing was strictly a masculine pursuit, Wendy turned to languages and studied linguistics at University. This was to be a stepping stone to her own world travels.
In the early 1970's Wendy joined Pan Am Airlines and experienced the culture shock between Murrurundi and living in Miami…Wendy later joined Qantas Airlines in 1977. Wendy continued to study design and architecture with a particular focus on international styles and trends. While at University, Wendy also studied Asian Studies and specialised in Indonesia. This, in part, explains her inspiration and insight behind developing Bali Hai & Shangri-La.
Meeting Hans, and working together over the years, they share similar ideals from design, architecture and tropical lifestyle perspective. Since 1992, they have been carefully developing private luxury accommodation, which has culminated in their own unique concept, ‘The Art of tropical Living'.
