- Host festivals like Burning Man, except, you know, without the open fires. Or do them in winter, or something. Basically, what you want to aim for is giant temporary festival city, full of alcohol & drugs, with lots of entertainment, & the ability to skim some profit off of everyone. So sub-leases for market stalls, or sell amenities like electricity, running water, toilets, glamping, etc etc.
- Drone range. Australia has some quite strict drone laws, but way out there you should be good. Set up some glamping tents in the middle and take people on drone tours(where they fly their own drone as part of a pack) of the beautiful nature.
- Make a website & sublease a bunch of the areas for like $10 and basically try tricking people like yourself into doing what you did, just with worse economics.
- set up a solar farm, but like, moveable. when the lease is up, you can lease elsewhere and move the solar panels, somewhere else, ideally with a longer lease?
Well, it means that you lose the capital improvements after five years. So don't make any capital improvements that won't pay back in that amount of time. (And, probably check with the owner even for improvements that will pay back in that time...)
I had to look up "peppercorn lease". It's a lease for a trivial amount - an amount that is trivial for both parties. It's still a legally valid lease, though.
Personally, I think what he gets is the pride of saying that he leases 85,000 hectares. Is that worth $5? I won't say it's not...
But the size of it (328sqmi, or a square 18.11mi a side) actually isn't as impressive as renting any place for 8.33¢/month.
I'd establish a fresh water source, if not a well than at least a watertank that can be filled, install a septic, drop a tiny home or used trailer, throw up enough solar and small wind turbines to run the small home, cultivate a small garden for whatever fruit and vegetables could possibly be grown and irrigated, have other foods and whatever other needs shipped in once a month or so, get a Starlink subscription and equipment, live there, and work there remotely.
But that sounds like a lot of work, so probably much easier and more lucrative to parcel it 1312 times and sublease every square quarter mile (160 acres) for $10/month, which should generate about $13K/month.
the best idea looks like a shooting range. I don't know what the gun rights are in Australia, but there aren't many places you can set up targets and then drive around shooting a machine gun.
Profitable Ideas(Maybe):
- Host festivals like Burning Man, except, you know, without the open fires. Or do them in winter, or something. Basically, what you want to aim for is giant temporary festival city, full of alcohol & drugs, with lots of entertainment, & the ability to skim some profit off of everyone. So sub-leases for market stalls, or sell amenities like electricity, running water, toilets, glamping, etc etc.
- Drone range. Australia has some quite strict drone laws, but way out there you should be good. Set up some glamping tents in the middle and take people on drone tours(where they fly their own drone as part of a pack) of the beautiful nature.
- Make a website & sublease a bunch of the areas for like $10 and basically try tricking people like yourself into doing what you did, just with worse economics.
- set up a solar farm, but like, moveable. when the lease is up, you can lease elsewhere and move the solar panels, somewhere else, ideally with a longer lease?
Fun ideas:
- Live off the grid for a few months at a time.
- quad-biking
- family & friends camping/hiking trip