Owning a private island on Tasmania's east cost may be affordable for many affluent people in Australia costing equivalent of a house worth USD 500,000.
The Picnic Island - resting in Freycinet National Park's Hazard Range in the middle of Coles Bay - is up for sale by expression of interest, according to 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
"You can't really value it as a normal block of land because it's so unique," Paul Whytcross, from Roberts Real Estate in Coles Bay said.
The island in southeastern state of Australia, is expected to sell for between USD 500,000 and USD 1 million. It has permits for a 10-person eco-lodge.
"If someone came along with a plan for a long-term lease to develop the eco-tourism side of things, that would be an option," Whytcross said.
The island's rugged sandstone rocks accommodate a large colony of little penguins and a nesting ground for short-tailed shear waters.
There are abalone, oysters and mussels, too. Despite being within 500 metres of the Tasmanian shoreline, it remains relatively untouched.
"The key thing is the conservation and preservation of the sea bird colony and that limits what you can do with it," Whytcross said.
Picnic Island is within sight of the upmarket Saffire resort and has a convict history.
The original landowner of the Coles Bay area forced his convicts to quarry sandstone on the island during downturns in the whaling season.
The vendor, a Queensland property developer, bought the island for USD 65,000 in 2005.
A planning application stipulates that the only development allowed is basic camping-style accommodation.
However, it has the unique selling feature of penguins and shear waters nesting near your campsite.
