About Ben

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From Islands Caretaker to Global Queensland Tourism Ambassador

From 2010, Ben began on a new chapter in his role to promote Queensland on the world stage. He embarked on a global sales mission as a Queensland Tourism Ambassador, giving the world a first-hand account of his experiences in Queensland.

Kicking off the year with a tour across the US and Canada including a special guest appearance at Australia Week’s G’day USA. Following his American tour, Ben has continued his sales campaign in a number of international markets including Japan, New Zealand, UK, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Middle East. Activities include media interviews, presentations to executives and tourism trade and guest appearances at major consumer and trade events.

Check out Ben’s activities from his World Tour.

Ben’s Top Highlights as Islands Caretaker

Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Lizard Island & Torres Strait
  • Has to be Hamilton Island! If you want to cram loads into a short holiday then there’s everything on offer there from sailing to bushwalking, from diving to relaxing in the spa.
  • Lizard Island offers an awesome unique luxury holiday in some of the most dramatic surroundings on the GBR; it’s a beautiful place with extensive underwater gardens full of coral, giant clams and some of the best diving on the reef.
  • The Outback and especially Longreach offer a different view of QLD with vast open spaces of grazing land, the occasional town or village with pockets of life and some real characters. Plus you can visit the Qantas museum and walk on a Boeing 747 wings!
  • The islands of the Torres Straits offer a taste of culture and tribal history very different to that of the Aborigines. The islands have a Pacific feel to them and the sense of community is fantastic. Laughter and floral clothing is the order of the day here! If you like the ocean then this is what its all about…fishing, snorkelling and exploring some of the smallest islands on the reef.
  • The Gold Coast is one of those places full of life and high energy living with something going on all of the time, be it theme parks, surfing or the outrageous nightlife. Sleep is for the weak here.
  • Great Keppel Island has the largest number of beaches of any island I’ve been to with 18 different sandy locations. Solitude and nature surround and without the major resort open at present there’s no better time to find a piece of paradise that’s all to yourself.
  • Lady Elliot Island is an example to the rest of the world and what all of the other islands should be doing. It generates all of its own power in an environmentally sensitive way, handles and recycles its own waste and a discrete resort tucked out of the eye line of the beach. The diving to me was the best on the entire Great Barrier reef.
  • Bedarra Island is the ultimate in luxury with individual villas making it one of the most special and romantic places in QLD. Forget all about the rest of the world and loose yourself on this tropical island paradise.
  • Daydream Island is family fun all over! From touch-pools full of reef life and fishes, to a nineteen hole golf course (for the kids of course) and water sports galore. If I had tell my sister and her three children somewhere to go on holiday it would definitely be here.
  • The Daintree Rainforest in Tropical North Queensland is another unique location in Australia. It’s where the rainforest touches the reef and being 150 million years old has the complete history about the aboriginal way of life.
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