The family are building their dream life on a farm!

Childhood sweethearts Karstan and Maxine Smith who Australia fell in love with all those years ago on The Block: Glasshouse are covered in mud, living rough and facing an uncertain future with no place to call home.

Yet Karstan and Maxine couldn’t be happier.

“We’re completely winging it, trying best to make the dream come true,” Maxine, 36, tells Woman’s Day after the couple splashed out $1.2m for a weed-infested, muddy block of rural land in the Byron Bay hinterland.

“This is the biggest project we’ve ever done, and I think it’s going to be a pretty, long journey. We’re renovators, not farmers! We have a vision, but there’s a lot of work to be done and it’s really quite scary!
The Block stars Karstan and Maxine have sold up everything to buy a $1.2 million block of land in the Byron Hinterland. (Image: @karstanandmaxine)

From The Block to the farm!

The vacant five-acre block of land on which they’ve pinned their dreams of a forever home for their two daughters, five-year-old Zuri and two-year-old Zena, has never been built on and comes with enough challenges to even test Scotty Cam.

“The reality has sunk in,” laughs Karstan, 38, revealing that he estimates they will have to spend $100,000 just to clear the land of lantana and other weeds, level some of the block and build a driveway.

“The first time we camped here, we came just two days after it had rained and when we drove down what looked like a path, we just slid all the way down the hill. But it’s a cracker spot with greenery all around and views to the ranges.”

Fans will remember the heartache Max and Karstan experienced on The Block in 2014 when the red-hot favourites walked away with just $40,000 after their series was won by brothers Shannon and Simon Vos who took home a whopping $435,000.
Reality bites! The couple will have to spend $100,000 just to clear the land of lantana and other weeds. (Image: @karstanandmaxine)
Bathtubs look a little different in the bush but Zuri and Zena don’t mind! (Image: @karstanandmaxine)

Adventures in a Kombi!

But they refused to let the shock loss overcome them and went on to renovate two properties in their hometown of Newcastle, making more than a million in profit, which funded their dream of traveling the world in a mobile home.

It was when their travels ground to a halt during Covid lockdowns that they rediscovered the beauty of the Byron Bay district and decided if the opportunity came along, they would try and secure their own slice of paradise.

But Karstan and Maxine had all but given up on finding a property they could afford. “We had a look at this one and walked away thinking it would be way too expensive,” Maxine says, admitting that they decided to blow up their initial $800,000 budget.
Living off the land! The couple plan to build a forever home and a second home to generate some income. (Image: @karstanandmaxine)
“We just knew this sort of opportunity wouldn’t come up again,” says Karstan, who has bought a tractor and hired an excavator to start bringing their dream alive, while they camp on the property.

The couple plan to build their forever home and a second home to generate some income to allow them to continue with their dream of travelling the world in either their beloved Kombi or the OKA expedition truck they bought two years ago.

“We love the idea of the girls picking their own fruit and vegetables, but we are not going to be here fulltime,” Karstan says. “It’s still our plan to drive from England to Australia. We just wanted to have something here to come back to.”

And even with a huge task ahead of them both Maxine and Karstan still think competing on The Block was probably an even tougher challenge. “But in saying that this is our money, so it hurts a little more,” Maxine says.
The pair’s beloved Kombi and their travels in it has become the focus of a feature film called One Shot which has been entered in The Film Invitational. (Image: @karstanandmaxine)

“Our second chance at winning a $100,000 prize!”

They missed out on first prize on The Block, but Karstan and Maxine have got another chance at winning big, only this time it has nothing to do with building, but rather their adventurous lifestyle.

The couple have turned their hand to film making with the help of award-winning cinematographer Stuart McKay and produced their own film called One Shot featuring their beloved and battered old Kombi.

Their 20-minute film is now competing with nine other real life adventurer films in The Film Invitational, which is billed as the “Ultimate Film Showdown” and comes with a $100,000 prize for the winner.

To make the film with Stuart, Max and Karstan spent three months in Cape York with Zuri and Zena driving the legendary old Telegraph track and taking on a three and a half metre vertical drop called Gun Shot in the Kombi.
The couple and their kids drove the legendary old Telegraph track and met locals on the way. (Image: @karstanandmaxine)
“The Kombi inspires a lot of people because of how old it is and what it looks like,” explains Karstan, who together with Maxine have built a huge following on social media posting their adventures and travels.

“I think the Kombi symbolizes that you can do anything. It’s sort of proving that you don’t need the biggest and the best to go and explore and have fun with your family. You can still do it in a Kombi and have a good time.”