Once again the organization which promotes Australia, Tourism Australia, is advertising the best job in the world. But this year, they have six jobs going, all for six months, with a great salary and extra spending money. If you think one of these is your dream job, you have to make a 30-second video explaining why you are the best person for the role. But – be warned. Thousands of people will be competing for each post. The job of 'outback adventurer' is for someone with a passion for outdoor life, and in the Northern Territory there are plenty of wide-open spaces. The job is for someone to find out the best adventures and jobs for young people on working holidays. You’d be getting close to wildlife, sleeping under the stars in a bush camp and flying over stunningly beautiful landscape in a hot air balloon. Your duties will include getting to know about aboriginal culture and eating traditional bushfoods, maybe including the famous witchetty grubs – insect larva.
Like the idea of 200 days of sunshine every year? Job number two is a park ranger in tropical Queensland. It’s a wonderful state with ancient rainforests, the world’s largest sand island and the awesome Great Barrier Reef. Here your duties would include protecting and promoting native plants and animals, spectacular waterfalls, dinosaur fossils, untouched beaches and indigenous culture. You’d get paid to patrol the beaches of Lizard Island and live a life most people can only dream about.
Another island job is as 'wildlife caretaker' on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. If you love all kinds of animals, this is the job for you. The advert says you’ll be able to talk to wallabies (a kind of small kangaroo), play with dolphins, cuddle koalas and sunbathe with seals on the unspoilt beach at Seal Bay. You would get about the island on foot, by bicycle, kayak or boat, taking photos and leaving only footprints. There is one potential drawback, though. You’d need to be pretty brave since you might come face to face with great white sharks.
Maybe you are not quite so keen on the great outdoors and your talents are more journalistic. If you fancy feature writing, photography and making videos, you can apply for the position of lifestyle photojournalist for Time Out in Melbourne. You would be required to photograph and write about the city's coolest cafés and musical events. But you’d also cover tourist activities in the whole state of Victoria, including surfing on the Great Ocean Road, skiing at Mount Hotham or watching the little penguins at Phillip Island.
Are you a foodie? Do you know about food, as well as love eating it? If the answer's yes, you can apply for the role of 'taste master' in Western Australia. Your job would be to promote the best restaurants, pubs, wineries and breweries. You’d also catch fresh seafood off the beautiful coast and learn all about making wine and beer.
Finally, a fantastic job in Sydney. We’ve all seen those amazing firework displays in Sydney Harbour. Well, you could be one of the people making that happen next year. New South Wales is looking for a 'chief funster', who would be based in Sydney while travelling around the state and tweeting about the coolest things going on. This job would appeal to someone interested in everything: sports, the arts, entertainment, food. You’d also be involved in making the Sydney Festival, Mardi Gras and Vivid Festival as spectacular, and as fun, as possible.