A British mum-of-two is on a mission to build the "most luxurious cave imaginable" by digging a hole for a home all by herself in the sweltering Australian desert - complete with chandeliers, a sauna and a gym. Jennifer Ayres, 50, a water engineer from Darlington, Durham, is building the 2,400 square metre recess in the town of Coober Pedy - which is a nine-hour drive from her family.
Jennifer moved to Australia 15 years ago for work with her husband Julian, 51, and her two sons, Arthur, 17, and Charlie, 26 – who are still living in the family home in Adelaide, South Australia. She started the project last year, first living in a tent for three months and then a caravan as she dug her new home under the guidance of a local cave-building expert.
The aim is for it to eventually become a two-bedroom house and one-bedroom 'granny flat' that she can rent out - being built on a plot of land which cost 20,000 Australian dollars – just £11,400.
