You may wonder what it's like to actually own and run an island: Is it all sunshine and lazy afternoons on the beach, iced tea in hand and a good book?

Or is it filled with challenge after challenge, pushing the owners to question whether they made the right decision, or if they should abandon ship?

In the early 2000s, Clem Newton-Brown and his family bought Picnic Island and used it for regular camping trips.

Based in Melbourne, they would fly to Tasmania, hire a car, drive two and half hours to Coles Bay on the east coast and then try to organise a lift out to the island or hire a tinny.

"When our family bought the island 15 years ago, we never thought we could do anything with it," he said.

"We knocked up a little shed to store camping gear and used to come down from Melbourne for wild camping trips with our young kids.

"They grew up appreciating the wild outdoors."

The Newton-Brownsthink it is, but they also admit it's hard work.

"Running an island is hard really hard, but we also love it. There is a lot that can go wrong and often does. You have to love the challenges, be self-sufficient and a little bit mad," Clem said.

"The environment is harsh, so there is always maintenance to do."

It took two years and dozens of boat trips to and from Tasmania to set up and build the current accommodation on the island.

"Having all the systems running for power and water is a real challenge, as we do not have [an] on-island manager however, we have set the place up such that most people can enjoy the island on their own and in comfort," he said.

The 5-bedroom retreat is now used for private bookingsof up to 10 people for$2,200 per night.

"We spent a lot of time working as labourers, carting materials out to the island by tinny," Clem said.

There are about 5,000 islands off Tasmania's coast and only nineare freehold.

One of them is Satellite Island, which a Melbourne-based couple, Kate and Will Alstergren, inherited 12 years ago from Will's uncle, Ian Alstergren, one of the founders of Tasmania's salmon-farming industry.

It's situated in the D'Entrecasteaux Channelin southern Tasmania, a five-minute boat trip from Bruny Island.

"It is hard to describe the magic of staying on your own private island," the couple has said on the island's website.

"Time seems to stand still. Satellite Island is about slowing life down and enjoying the simple things."

The owners are also sharing their island life with paying guests.

Their renovated summer housetakes private bookings, at $3,350 a night for two people.

Queensland investor Peter Huang saw an advertisement for Ninth Island off Tasmania's north-east coast in a Chinese newspaper in 2015, and called to make an offer shortly after.

He hadn't seen the island but said it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

Seven and a half years on, he said it was time to part ways.

"It's very sad the decision to sell was made clear for my family during COVID," he said.

Ninth Island is about 1.3km long, 550 metres wide and covers 16 hectares (40 acres). It's 11 kilometres from the Tasmanian coast.

It has been on and off the market for years.

"We had big plans for it, to build an eco-resort, but then the pandemic happened and we had to reconsider," Peter said.

In 2016, nearby Waterhouse Island sold to Singaporean businessman James Koh the owner of Fragrance Group for $5.5million.

Flinders Island deputy mayor, David Williams, said buying and running an island comes with a lot of responsibilities.

"There's a lot to it. You do need to have regard for the environment, otherwise it just destroys everything," he said.

"You need to be very eco-friendly and conscious."

For lots of reasons, it seems, life on aTasmanian island may not be for everybody.

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What's it like owning an island? These people can give you a heads up - ABC News