HAMILTON ISLAND, AUSTRALIA: Tourism Queensland have had a great result today with a PR stunt to bring attention to the region. They have announced that they are looking to recruit an "island caretaker" willing to spend six months exploring the land and waters around the Great Barrier Reef for £70,000. The post, billed as "the best job in the world" would involve the successful applicant moving to a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool, on Hamilton Island.
The island caretaker would have to write a weekly blog, photo diary and video updates to attract visitors to the reef's 900 islands. Applicants for the job, which includes travel expenses and a 150,000 Australian dollar (£70,000) salary, will need a year's "relevant" experience, excellent communication skills and "a willingness to try new things".
Below the water, the Great Barrier Reef stretches for 1,600 miles across 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands and is the world's largest coral reef system with "an abundance of wildlife", a spokesman for Tourism Queensland said.
Hamilton Island, where the temperature is warm all year round, is the largest inhabited island in the region and is located just off the coast of Queensland with blue skies, crystal water and pure sands forming "the backdrop to an ideal island life".
The job advertisement read: "It's a live-in position with flexible working hours and key responsibilities include exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef to discover what the area has to offer."
The "unique opportunity to help promote the wondrous Islands of the Great Barrier Reef" could also include feeding some of the more than 1,500 species of fish or joining the aerial postal service for a day.
Candidates for the newly-created position have until February 22 to submit a video application to the website
http://www.islandreefjob.com/ (source: PA)
