This is ingenious marketing -- you might even say The Best Marketing I've Ever Seen. The other day, our friend Michael suggested that we enter a contest, of sorts, for The Best Job in the World. Often, when I hear words like best or greatest used, I start trying to think of things that would be better. A sign for the best pizza is discounted immediately, because I've had the best pizza in the world and it wasn't at that place. "Best In Show" isn't necessarily the best dog to curl up with on the couch. Best is really an opinion and often a group opinion at that, Best Picture -- sometimes. Best Man -- often not.
So, back to The Best Marketing I've Ever Seen. Here's the Island Caretaker job description from the website:
Explore and report back
There’s so much to see and do, so you’ll have plenty to write about in your weekly blog. And with so much life above and below the water, you’re sure to capture some entertaining moments for your video diary and photo gallery. To keep you busy, Tourism Queensland will organise a schedule of travel and events on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Your schedule could include sampling a new luxury spa treatment at qualia on Hamilton Island, trying out new snorkelling gear on Heron Island, or bushwalking on Hinchinbrook Island.
Feed the fish
There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry – you won’t need to feed them all.
Clean the pool
The pool has an automatic filter, but if you happen to see a stray leaf floating on the surface it’s a great excuse to dive in and enjoy a few laps.
Collect the mail
You’ll have some time on your hands, so why not join the aerial postal service for a day? It’s a great opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of the reef and islands.
The job is really to live on and explore the Great Barrier Reef, enjoy the holy hell out of the place, and blog about it for the rest of the world. I'm in! Maybe it's where I am in my life, but this really does look like the Best Job in the World. Don't tell the Australian Tourism Board, but I'd do it for free.