But that is exactly the proposition New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty Queenstown is marketing.
Sales associate Russell Reddell has listed the 20.8ha freehold Dart River Island for sale. The asking price is $3.25 million.
The island has been in the same family since the early 1900s, has views of the Dart River Valley, Southern Alps and Humboldt Mountains, and is home to established beech, kowhai, walnut and fruit trees, along with an abundance of native birdlife.
It is accessible by 4WD, provided the river is not in flood.
Mr Reddell said there was no building platform on the island, on which once sat a homestead as part of a larger station, and a future owner might struggle to get one approved.
"It’s highly-sensitive land, it’s outstanding natural landscape, it has a waahi tapu on it as well [a site with special cultural and spiritual significance to tangata whenua], so iwi needs to be consulted.
"If someone was to do anything, it would have to be very much on an eco basis and small scale."
"It’s a very beautiful piece of freehold land, ... it’s pretty special."
