Latest NewsYour Own Private Island for a Bargain $500,000Saturday, 04 March 2017

They used to be the exclusive playgrounds of the rich and famous - and still are.

But owning a private island on Tasmania's rugged east coast may be within reach for the price equivalent of a holiday house in Kiama.

The idyllic Picnic Island - nestled in the shadow of Freycinet National Park's Hazard Range in the middle of the crystal blue waters of Coles Bay - is for sale by expression of interest.

You can't really value it as a normal block of land because it's so unique. The island is expected to sell for between $500,000 and $1 million, It has permits for a 10-person eco-lodge.

The island's rugged sandstone rocks accommodate a large colony of little penguins and a nesting ground for short-tailed shearwaters. 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.

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 $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 shearwaters nesting near your campsite.

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