HAGGERSTONE ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

• POPULATION 2 (plus guests)
• SIZE Less than 1 square mile

If Swiss Family Robinson had made landfall in Australia, chances are their home would have resembled Haggerstone Island: a crumb of land on the Queensland Coast, and one of the most northerly pieces of Australian territory.

Now an eco-resort, it’s the private kingdom of latter-day castaway Roy ‘Gouger Turner, who whittled and sawed its treehouses and bungalows into shape after first arriving in 1985 (he acquired his nickname after rescuing someone from a crocodile attack by jumping on the croc and gouging its eyes). Less eventful days in his company might see guests reeling in fish from the seas or prizing fresh oysters from the rocks before banqueting as the sun sets beyond the island’s little timber pier.

• GETTINGTHERE Fly Scoot direct to Cairns from Singapore or on AirAsia and Jetstar from Kuala Lumpur. Take a combination of charter flight and boat trip to the island.