A few hours drive north of Sydney to Port Stephens and another 10-minute boat ride will take you to the private Garden Island, one of about 20 islands in the harbor. The property also boasts enough room to build a helipad to get there even faster.
The whole 4.1-acre island, which includes a two-bedroom main residence and a guest house, has a guidance price of A$4 million (US$3 million), meaning that the seller expects to fetch that price level. Interested buyers need to make an offer before May 7, according to the listing.
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"What differentiates this is the fact it’s only a short drive north of the biggest city in the country and is so easily accessible," said Adrian Culpin, sale agent of McGrath Terrigal.
"You can get away and become accustomed to your own solitude and carefree lifestyle one minute and then within a 10-minute boat ride, you can be grocery shopping or eating at some of the finest restaurants around," he said.
This is the second time the island has been for sale since it became privately owned in 1885. The current owner, Ken Derry, bought it in 2001 for A$480,000 "as a joke," according to a story published by Newcastle Herald after the purchase.
He told the paper that he joked to his wife Wendy at the time: "I might buy that island." But she did not take him seriously, and he ended up buying it at the auction.
They then commissioned designer Phillip Pratt to design the house, which is described as being in the style of Australian bush and Japanese architecture. The house was completed in 2003.
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The master bedroom has a walk-in closet and opens to a deck. There is also a wraparound veranda from which to watch dolphins swimming past. The island has jetties, a two-car garage and room to build a helipad.
Residents can live off-grid, with 24-battery-storage solar power, a mobile tower, 45,000-liter water tank storage and an ecomax wastewater system.
Since he started marketing the island last week, Mr. Culpin said he has received inquiries from within Australia as well as from the United States, Fiji and Hong Kong.