Winner of The Best Job in the World competition Ben Southall and his girlfriend Breanna Watkins seem pleased enough...Credit: Reuters
The Briton who won a competition for the "Best Job in the World" arrived on Australia's idyllic Hamilton Island on Wednesday to begin his leisurely six-month posting in the tropical paradise.
Ben Southall, 34, started by sending a video blog from Brisbane airport departure lounge where he filmed himself alongside his girlfriend, Breanna Watkins.
"This is the bit I've been waiting for, to start the job on Hamilton Island," he said.
"When we get there we're going to explore our house, and it's the first chance to drive the golf buggy as well, which is one of the massive perks of the job."
The outgoing charity fundraiser beat off thousands of competitors for the job in a hugely successful marketing campaign which captured the world's imagination and earned international awards for its creators.
His brief as "caretaker" is to snorkel, swim and sail around the balmy Whitsunday Islands and send daily blogs and video blogs with the aim of promoting the destination for Tourism Queensland.
Southall, who is travelling with an entourage of about 20, will be treated to a welcome dinner later followed by his first full day of exploration on Thursday.
His movements will be recorded in exhaustive detail on two websites, www.islandreefjob.com.au and www.bestjobben.com, as well as social networking site Twitter.
Southall earlier courted controversy when he admitted he would miss Britain's long summer days and traditional roast dinners, prompting newspapers to accuse him of being a "whingeing pom."
"So when asked about the things I?d miss about the UK it appears I have to play my cards close to my chest for fear of reprisal by the tabloid newspapers both here and in Australia!" he said in a posting this month.
However, he later complained he had been placed in economy class for the long journey from Britain to Australia.
"Can you believe it....I'm in economy!! Oh well can't change the habit of a lifetime," he tweeted.
Tourism Queensland chief Anthony Hayes insisted Southall would have to work hard and said the 'best job' stunt would help keep the industry afloat in the global downturn.
"Today is the beginning," he said. "All the publicity's been great but now it's about communicating with people who really will want to come to Queensland for a holiday.
"The whole point of the exercise is to protect as many jobs as we possibly can in the tourism industry during a tough time."
A government report this month warned Australia's tourism industry was at risk of losing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in income after its share of global tourism dropped 14 percent between 1995 and 2008.
AAP
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