Ben Southall, winner of the Queensland Tourism ‘Best Job in the World’ has started work.

The winner of the ‘Best Job in the World’, 34 year old Ben Southall, started work on Wednesday 1 July after beating more than 34,000 applicants for the Hamilton Island job.

He will spend six months on the Australian island, having won the job to promote Hamilton Island along with the surrounding isles that make up the Great Barrier Reef. As part of his role, he will be keeping an online blog to report on his activities and findings.

Ben was announced as the winner in May – with the official job title of Tourism Queensland’s Islands Caretaker – having sailed through the selection process and the interview tasks set for the remaining 16 candidates over a three-day period.

In his most recent blog, Ben spoke of the excitement surrounding his new role: “I’ve spent the last two days with my new family at the offices of Tourism Queensland in Brisbane going through my induction, working out how to use all of the equipment I need and learning the ropes of what will no doubt prove to be the most exciting role I’ve ever been employed for.

“If things continue as they’ve started I’ll be the happiest man on the planet, the most tired man on the planet and maybe even the fattest man on the planet!”

The itinerary for the first two weeks of the six-month contract includes scenic flights to neighbouring islands, a trip to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park to find out more about the indigenous culture, and a surprise visit to a Queensland region.

A one-hour programme charting Ben’s journey, from the conception of the idea to the announcement of the winner, will be aired on BBC1 tonight (Thursday 02 July) at 9pm. It can also be viewed online after its airing at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Visit: http://www.islandreefjob.com.au/ to keep updated with Ben’s work.