UNCONVENTIONAL WORLD RECORDS

UPDATE 6th May 2009

The Job went to Ben Southall, 34 of Great Britain. The man from Hampshire defeated 34,000 other hopefuls.

Asked why he thought he won, he said:

I have, over the last six to 10 years, done quite a lot of different things. I haven’t stuck at a single career. I’ve been an event manager. I’ve gone out there and organised my own expedition. I’ve raised lots of money for charity. I do a heck of a lot of things involving fitness, in swimming, in running and I think I’ve just got a broad spectrum of things that appealed to the panel of judges.

I really put myself out as the individual that I am. I’ve been honest as much as I can and I think they like the person they came across. I’m extremely happy. I’m extremely thankful they’ve chosen me because I now get a chance to lap up what Queensland and the [Great] Barrier Reef have got to offer over the next six months.

Before this, Southall had worked as a tour guide in South Africa, charity fundrasier. His application video showed images of him riding an ostrich, scuba diving, running a marathon and kissing a giraffe.

There were 16 finalists, who all spent 4 days on the island for the final leg of the selection process, in which they had to:
(i) snorkel
(ii) participate in a barbecue party
(iii) spend time at a spa
(iv) demonstrate their blogging abilities
(v) take swimming tests
(vi) sit through in-person interviews.

He starts work on 1st July 2009, and won’t be alone since he plans to bring his Canadian girlfriend along.

Some scandals to hit the contest since its announcement in January 2009:

(i) many applicants were angry because they could not submit their videos due to the contest website crumbling under the weight of too many visitors.
(ii) The tourism department had to admit that it created a video “application” that showed a woman being tattooed expressing her love of the Great Barrier Reef.
(iii) A finalist was kicked out when it was found out that she had connections to the adult entertainment industry.
(iv) Someone claiming to be Osama bin Laden submitted an application via a video on youtube.

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This has been described as the best job in the world, and it’s open for applications.

Tourism officials in Australia want somebody to work as “caretaker” on Hamilton Island, a tropical island, the largest inhabited island among the Whitsunday Islands, located just off the Queensland Coast, part of the world-famous Great Barrier Reef.

Why is it the best job in the world?

For starters, it’s a beauty, with good weather all year round: blue skies, crystal water and pure sands.

Then look at these requirements:

Formal qualifications: none, but must be “willing to swim, snorkel, dive and sail.”

Salary: A$150,000 (USD103,000) for 6 months.

Working hours: 12 hours a month.

Duties: fish feeding, being the island’s postman, island exploring and photographing/videoing and running a blog with of course the many photos and videos to attract visitors to the island.

Accomodation: three-bedroom villa, complete with pool, rent-free.

Anthony Hayes, Chief Executive of Tourism Queensland said: “We need a special person. They are going to be pretty busy having a good time.”

Deadline for application: 22nd February 2009. Applications are open to everybody anywhere in the world. The successful candidate will start 1st July.

Interested? Go for it!!!

Source
The BBC, 12 Jan 2009

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