Media are camping out the front, but the home where Amber Heard, Johnny Depp and their fur children, Pistol and Boo, are bunkered down is said to be notoriously impenetrable for paparazzi.
Owned by motorcycle Grand Prix world champion Mick Doohan, the Coomera, Queensland mansion is now at the centre of an “illegal animal importation” case with the Australian authorities that has taken social media by storm.
Depp had been staying in the three-storey home since earlier this year, living it up for the filming of the latest instalment of Pirates of the Carribean, however in March he flew back to the United States with an injured hand. In April he returned.
It seems he may have brought the Yorkshire terriers back on his return journey, on a private jet. As a result, they are now quarantined at Doohan’s home on more than 16 hectares looking out towards South Stradbroke Island.
Although it’s said to be hard for media to get access, that certainly didn’t deter the Department of Agriculture, which sent a biosecurity officer on Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce then issued Depp 50 hours to take the dogs back to the United States or they would be killed.
Until they leave the country, they can settle into a home that suits a star of Depp’s calibre, with the main bedroom featuring an inbuilt cinema system with a drop-down screen.
The Queensland house has a striking timber staircase, polished marble floors and makes liberal use of limestone and sandstone.
It can be accessed by helicopter, with a chopper hangar on site, and features a jetty, pool, entertainment-sized outdoor kitchen and tennis courts. It also features a guest house.
Celebrity duo Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie also used the palatial home as their nest while Jolie filmed Unbroken in late-2013.
Pop star Pink and husband Carey Hart, a retired motocross and motorcycle racer, have also reportedly been in residence.
A Better Homes and Gardens tour of the home explained that Doohan had been involved with the creation of the home “From the first draw to the last brick” to create “Something that reflects Queensland a little bit … a little Carribean”.
It also revealed go-karts, dirt bikes and a bar area in the hangar, as well as a separate trophy room, where the five bikes with which he won the championships are displayed, along with medical equipment from his injuries.