Best Job in the World on Great Barrier Reef : Kathika Travel Website

By Amanda Kendle

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Travel-lovers around the world have no doubt seen stories about the Best Job in the World in the last few weeks. The vacant position is to be the “caretaker” of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland in Australia, undeniably one of the most beautiful areas on the world – and the six month job comes with a A$100,000 salary and not too many strenuous duties. Of course, it’s all a marketing promotion put on by Tourism Queensland, but the “job” itself is genuine and so it is no surprise that the whole campaign has aroused a lot of interest.

How People Applied for the Best Job in the World

Applications for the position just closed on Sunday, and until then, the method of application was to submit a one-minute video as your application for the position. The requirements were relatively simple – some experience in tourism or traveling would be well-regarded, but most important were that you would be willing to do plenty of swimming and snorkeling and keep a blog and video log of your experience on Hamilton Island and the surrounding islands, during the various escapades planned for you during the six months by Tourism Queensland.

The application process was not without its controversies. One video application showing a woman who got a tattoo of the Great Barrier Reef turned out to be a “fake” video, or at least an example put together by Tourism Queensland and only acknowledged as such later. This week, when applications were due to close, the Tourism Queensland server crashed under the load of thousands of people trying to upload their video applications and many people were unable to submit their application by the deadline. They ended up with 34,000 applications but immediately rejected 4,000 of them for technical reasons, such as video applications being longer than the minute allowed.

What Happens Next?

So, sadly, if you wanted to apply for this job, you’re too late – all you can do now is observe the rest of the process. On March 2, a shortlist of 50 applicants will be announced – although how they will so quickly whittle over thirty thousand down to fifty is a bit of a mystery. Eventually, eleven candidates will be flown to Queensland for interviews and then a public voting process will decide the eventual winner.

With the whole process intended to bring publicity to the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland, it seems safe to say that it’s already been a great success – and it will be interesting to see the blog and other publications of the winner over the rest of the year.