Englishman wins 'Best job in the world' as caretaker of tropical island

Briton Ben Southall wins 'best job in the world' A luxurious beach villa overlooking the picturesque islands of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a far cry from the English countryside of Hampshire, but for Briton Ben Southall that will be his new home after winning “the best job in the world”. The charity fundraiser, from Petersfield, Hampshire, was today named the new caretaker of an Australian tropical island after a global search by Tourism Queensland for which 34,000 people applied. (link via timesonline.co.uk) Congratulations Ben! Well done and I look forward to reading your blog during your six months on Hamilton Island. And congratulations, Tourism Queensland for running such a clever and popular advertising campaign! The Best Job In The World Related post from my blog: Australian advert for 'best job in the world'

"Sam" the koala rescued by firefighter in Australia

If you missed seeing the news about this sweet incident when a firefighter rescued a koala from Australian wildfires, it's on YouTube. Thirsty koala becomes YouTube star A thirsty koala rescued from the Australian wildfires has become a star on YouTube, providing much-needed relief from the disaster that has killed more than 180 people. Firefighter Dave Tree stumbled across the female marsupial, nicknamed Sam, as he was battling blazes in Victoria state and was amazed when the parched animal guzzled down water from a bottle as he held her scorched paw. The clip has attracted more than 30,000 hits on YouTube and Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper is selling photographs of the extraordinary encounter, with proceeds going to volunteer firefighting organisations. (link via RTE News) Sam the Koala Gets a Drink After Fire This incident just gets to me. The poor little thing looks so bewildered and so sweet and I love the way the firefighter is holding her front paw. It's just such a heartwarming story out of all the horror of the wildfires there.

Australian advert for 'best job in the world'

It's not surprising really that after all the publicity surrounding the clever Australian advert for the position with Tourism Queensland for the "best job in the world" drew so many applications from around the world - a quarter of them British - that the website crashed. The job as Island Caretaker is a newly created position located on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. The Best Job In The World Edited to update: Four Brits in shortlist for 'best job in the world' Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Four lucky Britons have made it past 34,000 applicants to get onto the 50-strong shortlist for "the best job in the world". (link via metro.co.uk)

Australia: the most obese nation in the world?!

Australia beats US to title of most obese nation, report finds (link via timesonline) I find this report really difficult to believe, and rather sad if it's true. I've never been to Australia but I always thought Australians were incredibly fit and healthy because they spend so much time participating in outdoor activities such as swimming and biking. What the heck happened?