Today I got out on the water with my good friend Eddie Safarik, one of the most brilliant photographers I know and conveniently the President of Queensland Sea Kayaking Club. He’s got a fleet of kayaks and very kindly is letting me test them on the water. Today we headed down to Manly, just south of Brisbane.

The weather was pretty perfect when we left the harbour, sun shining, no breeze and warm temperatures. The paddle across the bay to Green Island was easy enough, then we turned north and headed towards St Helena Island skirting around the reef systems which flank the islands. The occasional turtle popped its head up to see what the splashing was all about, the odd mullet jumped in front of us and everything felt good – not a bad way to spend the morning really.

We pulled up on to the beach at St Helena Island for a bit to eat, it’s tiring stuff this paddling you know. The island has rather a full and jaded history as for 60 years from 1867 it was home to hundreds of society’s outcasts, as on the land stood colonial Queensland’s foremost maximum security prison for men. The Island is rich in history and has a fascinating and colourful past. Eddie and I had a wander around the island noting the big information board which detailed the history and even as much as the names of the undesirables who were imprisoned here.

After careful examination I couldn’t believe my eyes – THERE USED TO BE A SOUTHALL HERE!!! Jonas Southall was one of the inmates on the island charged with the offence of Larceny (or theft to you and I) and sentenced to 8 months hard labour. I’m not exactly sure that I AM related to Jonas but my Mum is looking into our family tree to see if there is a link. As I find out more I’ll let you know.

With the wind starting to pick up we decided to make for home and headed down to the kayaks to ready ourselves. The passage across the bay was pretty tough, the headwind was blasting through at 15 knots and it took some concerted effort to get the hour crossing completed – I suppose I’d better get used to it, the next project for me involves ALOT of paddling. The reward for our efforts was pretty special – three dolphins rose out of the water just in front of our bows and dived below us – it’s moments like these that I live for!

St Helena Island is really worth a visit, the old buildings are a blast back into the past and make you totally aware of the circumstances under which the early prisoners lived, there is a daily cruise across from Manly to the island and tours can be taken to give you a better understanding of the islands history.

Since then I have emailed the Queensland Prison and Penal Historical Association for more information and they have been brilliant at supplying me with the information they have on the prisoner and it’s fascinating:

Prisoner No 583. Jonas Southall. Tried by the Chief Justice, Brisbane 18th May 1874. Crime: Larceny, Sentenced to 8 months hard labour. Build: Medium. Height: 5′ 6″, Complexion: Sallow, Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown. Age. 32.
Arrived St. Helena Island, Moreton Bay 16th June, 1874. Released 13th January, 1875. Native of: London. Left arm disabled, Religion: Church of England, Could read and write. Occupation : Miner.
Arrived on the ship ‘ SHACKAMAXON’

Who knows….I may have a family with a jaded past. Oh well we had to get to Australia somehow didn’t we!

Ben

Where on earth do I start this blog? It’s been such a busy weekend down here on the Gold Coast and it’s all because of one of Queensland’s most popular sporting events is happening here – the Gold Coast Marathon.

Last year I entered the half marathon but this year I thought I’d step up a level to the full 42km marathon on Sunday. Having just come back from South Africa where I ran the 89km Comrades I knew I could do the distance but I thought I’d try and beat my personal best time of 3:47 set back in 2006 at the London Marathon.

I left Brisbane on Friday morning and drove down the coast ready for another energetic full-on weekend of activities; first appointment being the Gold Coast Marathon Gala Dinner. As a Tourism Ambassador I’ve been promoting this weekend’s running festival in different countries to try and attract as many people here as possible and the dinner acts as the official start to the weekend.

It’s a source of great motivation too with inspirational images, movies and talks from some of Australia’s best known runners and is attended by the likes of Pat Carroll and Rob de Castella (two famous Australian 2:10 marathon runners in case you didn’t recognise them!). Lee Troop is one of the speakers, has attended the last two Olympics and hopes to get to the next one. I feel full of drive and optimism now for my own race on Sunday!

Today Show

The alarm clock thunders through my head the next morning at 5am and I wonder what on earth the fuss is all about…oh yes I’m doing a live broadcast as part of Channel Nine’s coverage of the weekend! Emma, Beth and Mary from TQ have arranged for me to go on-air with Emma Freedman during her weather crosses on the show and it all takes place down at Sea World. We’re joined there by the characters from Sesame Street and have loads of fun watching jetboats and helicopters race around!

Q1 & QDeck

Whilst I’m down here I thought I’d try and fit in some of the must-do’s too and Q1 was high on that list as it’s the highest residential building in the world. It’s the tallest building by far on the Gold Coast towering above everything around it at 322 metres high and perched at the 230m mark is QDeck where there’s a restaurant and bar…plus of course cracking views both up and down the coast. Even the lift is pretty amazing as it whisks you up 77 floors in just 43 seconds…so fast that my ears popped on the way!

My evening is a much more relaxed affair in preparation for the big race tomorrow, I’m staying at the Marriot hotel and decide to order a fat pasta meal and a movie to fall asleep to. I always struggle to fall asleep the night before a big race and finally doze off hours after I intended to…

Gold Coast Marathon

I whip open the curtains my first look is up to the heavens – yes the stars are out which means when the sun finally comes up it’s going to be a clear day! I had visions of wind and rain which help no-one on a day like this. If records are going to tumble then conditions need to be good.

Just after 5:15am we arrive at the corporate section of the race start area; I have a job to do before the big one and that’s an interview with the local radio station, Sea FM. Once that’s out of the way I go through my pre-race preparations – vaseline between my toes and taping up my nipples!

The start area is alive with people, the Japanese contingent is big this year with over a thousand people having made the trip from their little island all the way here. The countdown starts and then just as the sun injects some light and warmth into the chill morning air we’re off….I’m running again and I love it! I’ve trained and run in a few different countries throughout my life but I can honestly say that the view across the beach to the ocean this morning is one of the most beautiful and motivating I’ve been lucky enough to witness. It certainly beats training for the London Marathon back home during winter!

I’d thought early on about going for a fast time, my previous best was 3:47 minutes set a few years ago in London and I’ve decided that today was the day to try and beat it. As I came around the last corner of the 42km course I spotted the timing clock reading just under 3:30 minutes and made a final dash to the line finishing in 3:27 mins – 20 minutes faster than my previous best! Awesome news and well worth the aching legs afterwards. The evidence is here

No sooner had I changed out of my race gear than it was back to work. Tourism Queensland Korea have brought across a group of children across to take part in one of the other running events on this weekend, the 2km Junior Dash. Eight of them have made their first trip to Australia and it was cool to be able to sit with them and hear their stories of their own races. I told them a few about the Best Job and their eyes all lit up when I showed them my finishers medal as it was much bigger than theirs. Maybe one day they’ll come back and get their own

I love gadgets and my new Garmin watch allowed me to record my route and times which you can see below or click here for more detail:

Two more interviews before I could retire for the day, one with a Korean running magazine and then a live web-cast with the Gold Coast marathon team! The fun never stops

Balunjali cultural tours

The last thing my legs wanted to do at 6am the day after a marathon was leave the comfort of my warm bed…but when the offer of spending a Monday morning paddling around the Gold Coast waterways was offered I couldn’t refuse. I’ve had some pretty grim Monday mornings in my life; recovering from the weekend’s hangover, heading back to my office desk or working in a garden gnome factory as I once did…I honestly, truly did!

There are kayaking operators up and down the coastline of Queensland all offering the chance to get out onto the water in pretty stable boats exploring the differing coastline from here all the way up to Cooktown in the north. Balunjali do it in a way that I’d not yet experienced – integrating the indigenous side of Australia’s history into the entire experience.

The minibus and trailer pulled up outside the hotel with Mark and Josh onboard ready to whip me and the other passengers out to The Spit where we’d launch the boats. The morning was just about perfect with sunshine and a light breeze and we unloaded the kayaks from the trailer and down onto the sandy slipway across the water from Wavebreak Island. The sit-atop kayaks are so simple to use; wide, balanced, floatey and with loads of storage space so anyone can just jump onboard for the first time and feel confident. Josh’s family are the traditional owners of the land here and their history goes back hundreds of years giving him a complete understanding of the way the earth, water and creatures of the area work together. Having the input of someone as knowledgable as Josh makes Balunjali stand out as a ‘real’ Aboriginal experience and as the day unfolds we learn lots more…

As I dipped my toes in the water for the first time I flinched slightly at the temperature…and then remembered this is the coldest its likely to get all year – toughen up Southall! Our group of 11 paddled our way across the seaway and fifteen minutes later had arrived on Wavebreak Island, a man-made sand bar that protects the Gold Coast shoreline from the heavy winter swells which can pound the coast. The offer of a snorkel came next and I suppose I considered myself a bit of a Barrier reef snob, you know what it’s like – once you’ve seen the best nothing else really comes up to the mark. But I was taken aback and pleasantly surprised by what I found beneath the surface.

I took as slice of bread down with me and the sheer number of fish was awesome…bream, small parrotfish, yellow pufferfish, flute fish and even a couple of batfish. I’m glad I took my camera with me and I even had them eating out of my hand. Well it was in the job description for Island Caretaker…FEED THE FISH!! The chill of the morning swim was reversed by the spread of traditional Aussie food laid out for us by the kayaks; Lamingtons, Damper bread and Anzac cookies – perfect to get the blood flowing again!

Our next stop was just across the water to South Stradbroke Island the home of the elusive Golden Wallaby – something I’d never even heard about but was keen to track down. Josh would be the man for the job here as he has the knowledge necessary to track and spot them in the bush. As a group we followed Mark and Josh through the wooded area to a clearing where Josh carried out a traditional ceremony using white ochre which he wiped across our foreheads, hands and feet to cleanse us. And then we were ready. Off on a Wallaby hunt…but with cameras not guns.

Their tracks were all over the place, easy to spot in the soft sand with the distinctive two long rear feet and one tail-trail but all appeared at least a few hours old..and then Josh was off. He’d spotted something in the distance and we all waited, crouching down being as quiet as possible. Then in the distance we spotted it…but a normal, bog standard Wallaby not the special Golden one which can only be found on South Stradbroke – this 22km long sand island, the forth largest in the world. It raced towards us as Josh had moved all the way around behind it and driven it through the bush towards us…in a second it was gone but just enough time to snap a quick photo.

We continued our walk across the island until we’d completed a 360 degree loop and found ourselves back at the launch beach, our kayaks obiediently waiting on the sand. As we paddled out into open water I glanced across at the city skyline in the distance and realised this is a pretty unique tour and experience. 10 minutes drive from Q1 and I’m here learning about Aboriginal culture in the bush tracking wildlife. My short half day adventure is just one of a range of options from one to three day trips during which everything is done in a traditional way. Totally amazing and a must do if you’re staying down here…ever!

Time to let the body recover now I think…

Ben

Eddie was the official photographer for Tourism Queensland throughout the Best Job in the World and we always talked about the possibility of joining together at some stage for a paddle on the water as it’s a true love of his.

He owns a fleet of kayaks and so early on Sunday morning I jumped on my bike and raced across the city to meet him at his house. But halfway there disaster… a massive nail jams striaght through my tyre and….BANG…..PPSSSSTTTT….FLAT TYRE!! Darn it.

Plan no. 2 – jump on the City Cat and race along the river to meet him at Apollo Road jetty. He’s there to meet me in his superb Land Rover. Now I’m a die-hard fan of these great machines and seeing one there loaded up with boats was almost too much to take! The mission was on…

We drove up the coast to Redcliffe with me drooling at the feeling of driving in a Land Rover again (if you don’t know why then have a look at my trans-Africa website www.afritrex.com and you’ll understand – I lived in one for a year!) and pulled into the car park at Scotts Point and met up with a couple of Eddie’s friends from Queensland Sea Kayak Club. Once we’d unloaded the boats from the roof we ran through a few of the safety procedures and hit the water.

It felt excellent to be out there, the sun was out, the water was warmish and I could finally start to train ready for the expedition I’m planning for 2011 – to kayak the length of the Great Barrier Reef.

This is a winter’s day here in Queensland and there was no shortage of life around either with tiny fish all jumping at once in front of us, pelicans swooping low over the water and the occasional splosh as we caught a turtle off guard.

We paddled across the bay to Brighton into a pretty light headwind and then on the way back Eddie demonstrated his sail setup; something I will be using when it comes to my expedition as the prevailing trade winds will be behind me most of the way and will make the journey that much easier….hopefully!

It was a great afternoon and I learnt a heapload about how to fall out of the kayak and how to get back in afterwards, the basics of paddling effectively to conserve energy and lots more – brig on next week! So the next step for me is to join the Queensland Sea Kayak Club and to start attending some of their meetings, paddles and try to learn as much as I can. There are only 11 months until I hope to be on the water…

Back to work with the planning now…

Ben

The entire whirlwind journey – from the moment I stepped foot on Australian soil, which happened to be my birthday, to seeing the awaiting global media as we arrived on Hamilton Island, being the first to step off of that plane and wave to the entire world, the dinners, the friendships, the nervousness, the suspense, the extreme exhaustion, the jolts of adrenaline, the moments of sheer ecstasy, the moment of devastating disappointment, the realization of the end being near – experiencing all of that in about a week-long period felt like I was thrown in a washing machine that was filled with copious amounts of goodness and some sprinkle of “reality bites” detergent and set on the spin cycle.

Long story short, I lost. You probably already know because you are reading this on the “winner’s” blog.

Oh and that part about “devastating disappointment”, I lied. I put it in for dramatic effect, and as I said a countless number of times, it really felt like I was competing against my siblings and I felt genuinely happy for Ben. I’ve had a chance to catch up with Ben for a Korean media tour back in February and the more I get to know the guy, the more I know that TQ picked the right candidate out of all of us there. It is the “Best” job, but it’s an incredibly taxing job and you have to be “ON” all the freaking time. I’m sure every one of us would have brought a different flavor to the position of “island caretaker” but I firmly believe that Ben Southall is the one guy out of the 16 that really had the package that was a perfect match for TQ. That’s why Ben has turned his 6-month stint, into an 18-month job and probably a lifelong career. Good on you mate!

Now, enough ass kissing and let’s get a little more narcissistic. How did “TBJITW” change my life in the past year? Oh where to start? During my 1-year relationship with TQ so far, I had such a wide spectrum of experiences.

I experienced Australia free falling from 14,000 feet in the sky and scrounging around on the ocean floor.

I waited for sunrises floating in a hot air balloon and said goodbye to sunsets while sipping wine on some of the world’s finest sandy beaches.

I climbed on top of suspension bridges and crawled up 150m sand dunes.

I’ve hugged koalas, pet kangaroos and held crocodiles. I’m sure Ben has put up plenty of pics of these so I won’t bore you.

I gave it a go on the surfboard and I WAS the sand board, multiple times.

I traveled in everything from choppers and seaplanes to quads, white water rafts and luxury yachts.

I’ve had a chance to meet everyone from Ambassadors to celebrity chefs.

I’ve had a chance to serve many different roles during my past year as TQ’s Tourism Ambassador, but the one that has left the biggest footprint is my role as “babysitter extraordinaire” (second word in the title is self proclaimed) during the The Best Global Leader Campaign that Tourism Queensland sponsored along with DAKS Kids. I’ve always loved kids, but after being in charge of an 8 year old and a 6 year old boy for a week, I have MUCH LOVE and RESPECT for all the parents out there!

As you can see, there are many things that I’ve gained from my relationship with Tourism Queensland over the past year, but I value my new found friends from all over the globe the most. I still remember the awkward “hellos” and attempts at putting the online identities to the real life faces and handshakes when the 16 final candidates first met at the hotel in Brisbane. The 16 “smurfs”, all dressed in our bright blue shirts, shared a certain bond during that week in May 2009 and now, seeing an email from one of my fellow candidates in my inbox never fails to bring a smile to my face. I’m happy to report that all of us still keep in contact with each other with these great, long and entertaining emails that provide a snippet of our current lives to our fellow “best jobbers”, as we like to call ourselves. It’s always exciting to hear updates with stories about new additions to candidates’ families, the new “Best Job Couple”, or the latest trip to Queensland… but we have become close enough where we confide in each other during our tough times and tragedies as well. When I see this kind of camaraderie among the group, I realize that I was really part of something special and all of my efforts for TBJITW wasn’t for naught and it actually produced something tangible, something real, something worthwhile, even though I technically “lost.”

I mentioned earlier my position of Tourism Queensland’s Tourism Ambassador here in Korea. What exactly is a Tourism Ambassador? Well, my job: selling the wonderful tourist destinations that Queensland has to offer to Koreans and the rest of the world. Sounds simple enough. I always thought that sales people who believe in the product that they are selling are always the best ones. And through my wonderful trips to Queensland during TBJITW and in subsequent trips as a part of my Tourism Ambassadorship, I definitely believe in the product that I’m selling. I’m also very glad that I can work alongside TQ’s Global Tourism Ambassador, and my friend, Ben Southall. Thanks for this opportunity to have my say Ben!

Best to all the readers in the world!

Juweon Kim
TQ’s Tourism Ambassador in Korea

It’s amazing the mental pictures that we build up about somewhere prior to arriving and mine of Dubai were based on the tales that friends and family had shared with me over the years. I was curious, very curious.

One of the major tourist destinations for holidaying Emiratis in Australia is the Gold Coast in Queensland and my trip here was timed with for the launch of Emirates Holidays 2010 brochure, in which the GC features.

The Emirates Holiday Tradeshow is an annual event that features exhibitors from all around the world each showcasing the amazing things on offer in their country to around 2,000 travel agents from all over Planet Earth. It’s a truly international affair and flipping huge!

I have been invited along as the guest speaker for the opening day and my role is to give a 40 minute presentation to motivate and inspire the assembled masses into thinking more about adventure, travel and just to give them all something to think about. It’s one of the biggest room I’ve talked to so far and by all accounts everything goes very well with rapturous applause at the end and a good few people commenting on how motivated they now feel – it feels great to have inspired!

Tourism Australia are represented at the show with Queensland making up the bulk of the display but with so many other exhibitors there standing out from the crowd is the challenge. Paul Buggy from TQ conjures up a superb idea – a law court with the case for Australia claiming to be The Best Holiday in the World. Chief witnesses include representatives from Queensland, Sydney and myself along with Bugs Bunny and Tweetie Pie flown in from Movie World!

The evidence is overwhelming and no one can deny the facts – it IS the best of course!

Arriving to the dry heat of the Middle East brings the memories flooding back of previous adventures in the desert, back in 2008 I drove with a friend Luke through Mali in temperatures of 49c and there is something magical about humans existing in temperatures like this…but exist they do thanks to good old air conditioning.

Over the next few days we’re going to be based in Festival City on the banks of the Dubai Creek and my room looks out over the water with old-fashioned boat yards lining the shores and the skyline of modern Dubai in the distance.

There’s the media side of things to be covered whilst I’m here too with several journalists from the newspapers and magazines asking for interviews, of which a couple are below and there’s also a few online publications here and here

…and even a slot in the local radio station, Dubai Eye. Here’s the interview:

One of the more personal presentations I give is to the Dubai Men’s College as part of their Speakers Week. It’s to an interested crowd and the Dubai Ladies College have even come along and as with Muslim tradition there is a split in the room with the men on one side and the women on the other. At the end of my talk the questions are really different as there is such a work ethos here “How did you leave your family for so long?”, “My Best Job would be in an office not on the road!” and the classic “Do you always wear blue shirts!”

In amongst the work there’s also some time to explore some parts of Dubai itself and the first stop is out to Al Maha Desert Resort, 220sq km of dunes and sand that offer protection to the 300 Arabian Oryx that call this part of the world home. It’s extreme out here, exposed to the heat of the day, direct sunshine and very little to eat but the reserve offers a measure of protection and around the luxury Emirates Resort they are plentiful.

We head out across the wadi’s (sand dunes) and hit the slopes for some sand driving action, our guide expertly taking us through some pretty hairy slopes and drops. Oh to be driving across a desert again!

Dubai is also home to the world’s tallest building- the Burj Khalifa that towers above the city at 800.1m high. It’s nothing short of incredible with its enormous spire towering above everything far and wide that seems ridiculous, as most of the other skyscrapers are at least 20 stories high. From up on the viewing platform at Level 124 all other construction looks like it’s just a plan view laid out below.

On my last night I take up the offer of a local Emirati girl called Rihab who takes me on a superb 8-hour tour of the city and the sights, we start at the light and fountain show before heading down the coast to the landmark of the Burj Al Arab hotel at Jumeira Beach. This city is all about building and in any style, shape or size you want! Thank you Rihab for a totally comprehensive guided tour and amazing night.

My final morning in Dubai has two more presentations in it; the first to the Australian Business Council and then to the Board of Emirates here in the UAE – both to very high-up people within their industries and for some reason the nerves are jangling more than with a room of 500!

But they both go well and as I wrap up the tour and head back to the airport I’m thinking about the huge range of people around the world from all different walks of life who have at least heard of the Best Job in the World. From the hotel staff to the directors of major companies – something like 3,000,000,000 yes 3 BILLION people know or have heard about the campaign. Mind blowing.

For now the world tour has drawn to a close allowing me time back in Brisbane to think about putting the contents together for a book and to start to plan my kayaking expedition. Work in progress….

Ben

After travelling through Africa and finding a totally different scenario to that which the world’s press portrayed I should have thought twice before judging this very intricate and interesting land.

China is a country developing at an immense rate; the value of the currency continues to rise, the growth of its industries put the rest of the world to shame and there is no muttering of the letters GFC anywhere. Everything appears to be on the up.

Beijing the capital

You can well believe it from the moment you set foot on Chinese soil too. The enormous terminal building at Beijing Airport is an indication of what to expect from the rest of the country. The supersized structure towers overhead with a vast number of arrivals gates. The authorities even had the foresight to build not just one but three terminal buildings, one of which isn’t even used yet. They’re saving that one for the future…and they’ll need it.

Our drive into Beijing takes us down wide four lane roads that operate efficiently, without fuss and we arrive at the Westin Hotel in the centre of the city. It’s to be my location for the next few days and as I present to the media and industry from this part of the world.

My first job is to help launch a partnership between Tourism Queensland and Byecity.com, the online department of a highly successful travel company here in China. Billy the CEO is a fantastic gentleman who realises the adventures that can be had out in Queensland and tells me that more and more Chinese are heading away from their motherland on adventures by themselves across the planet rather than in the standard 20+ tour groups of the past.

Queensland is a great place for foreign visitors but we need to try and do more to make it even more tempting for non-English speaking travellers to come and experience the state. Signage, translators and guides all help the overseas experience to be that much easier.

The Chinese market currently brings lots of visitors into Queensland and over the next 5 years this number is expected to rise to around 10-12% thereby potentially making it the single largest supplier of inbound travellers to Queensland’s tourism industry.

Make no mistake; this is a vastly important stage of relationships between China and Queensland. We need to make a good impression right now to ensure that we can welcome holiday-makers, backpackers and businesses alike over the coming decades.

When in Rome do as the Romans do. That’s the age-old adage and something I’ve never shied away from on travels around the planet so here is no different. We head out to a few different local restaurants over the three days in Beijing and sample lots of dim sum, seaweeds and fiery hot chilli sauces too.

A trip to the capital can’t be complete without taking in a few of the famous attractions so one evening I head down to the Olympic Village to see the awesome Birds Nest stadium and Water Park. The site is vast and gives me an idea of quite what a project it is to run something as huge at the Olympics! Good luck London in getting everything ready for 2012!

Spring is just starting to show its face here in the north of the country but decided to stay away the day I visited the Forbidden City with rain and a horribly cold temperature but it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm to try and cover the 720,000m2 site in the short time we had there.

It’s a pretty impressive centre to the city and easily visible from the air using Google Maps as Tiananmen Square is forms the southern boundary of the site. As you approach the main gate you do so with thousands of other Chinese from all parts of the country, all here to find out their country.

Building for the city started in 1406 and still today is one of the most impressive and enormous tourist attractions I have ever been to. The halls, of which there are 980 ranging from small individual rooms to the monumentally massive Hall of Supreme Harmony that rises 30 metres from the level of the surrounding square.

Today the vast majority of the site is open for tourism but certain sections are only opened for ceremonial purposes that involve Emperor Hu. In 1987 it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO as the “Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties”.

Great Barrier Reef meets Great Wall of China

The interest in Queensland and The Best Job is huge here, the press conference that Charley organised was packed to the rafters and we managed to squeeze in 10 different media interviews too adding to the coverage the tour is getting. The national newspapers are featuring lots of stories about us!

No visit to China is complete without a trip to the Great Wall. A wonder of engineering even now as the incredibly long 8,800km wall winds its way across the undulating Chinese countryside originally designed to stop invasions by the Mongols from the north.

Together with 20 journalists we all head out to a popular section of the wall, Badaling. The sun is out and it seems everyone from the city has had the same idea with coach loads of tourists piling up the steps to marvel at the view. We drive in the opposite direction and find a less populated part and spend an hour wandering along it. It really is incredible that this was built between 1350 and 1600. Awesome.

World Expo in Shanghai

Next stop was Shanghai, a very different but very special Chinese city. It’s the site of the World Expo that runs from May through to October. The event was originally held in 1851 at Crystal Palace in London, more recently in Brisbane in 1988 and is now here in China.

I didn’t really have that much of a clue about what an Expo involved until now but having done my research realise that they are massively important events across to world to help nations showcase trade, tourism and open themselves up to other people, cultures and countries.

The Expo here is set to be absolutely massive with expected daily attendance figures of around 400,000. Total visitor numbers are expected to reach 70,000,000 by the end of the show – WOW.

I’m here to visit the Australian Pavilion that alone is expecting 40,000 per day. I was starting to get an idea of the significance of the event. We managed to get hold of some very special tickets to preview the pavilion and went down to see how preparations were going.

Rumours floating around the city are that the opening date of May 1^st is far too early for some of the exhibitors with workmen frantically attempting to get everything complete ready for the grand opening. No such dramas at the Aussie Pavilion though…everything is bang on track!

There will be around 200 people working in the Australian Pavilion when it opens and a certain Brisbanite by the name of Emma is to be our guide for the tour, as with all of the staff she as been to loads of lessons all about the tours they’ll be giving everyday for the next six months – and she knows her stuff!

The staff here are made up from Australians and local Chinese people who speak both English and Mandarin and later that night I head out for dinner with a few of them – Amber, Joanne and Bernadette. All very hospitable girls and we have great fun exploring Shanghai’s nightlife together!

Walking through the exhibition halls takes you on a journey of discovery and the final act brings you back to the entrance hall where seven cocoons hang from the cathedral-high ceiling from which wire-acrobats and dancers will perform.

I WANT TO COME BACK WHEN IT’S ALL UP AND RUNNING!

The final part of the tour involves meeting the Commissioner General for the Australian Pavilion, Lyndall Sachs. She is a very knowledgeable, lovely lady who shows us the VIP area of the building and then escorts us back to our hotel where the assembled Chinese press are waiting for us. The huge Asian media interest continues with nearly 50 journalists attending and I give another ten interviews over the course of the afternoon and next morning.

The subject of the Sheng Neng comes up on a couple of occasions. It was bound to. A Chinese ship runs aground on the GBR with the Island Caretaker away from his job! I have good news for the journos though as earlier that morning the ship had been re-floated with little or no pollution. The longer-term scar however is the 2km long scar the hull of the vessel has left on the sensitive coral reef.

Some of the food out here is pretty special you know…pretty damn hot too. Have a look at all of the chillis in this Sichuan dish. The restaurants also like to serve fresh fish…and I mean fresh fish. I recognise a few of the unlucky inhabitants of these tanks after diving with them out on the reef. They do look so much better when they’re swimming free in the ocean!

As part of the Expo the Chinese government ran a competition to find ten families from around China who would represent the country as they flew out to previous cities that have hosted the event. Brisbane being one of these welcomed Jeff, Lisa and their son Andrew back in July 2009 and I had the chance to go and meet them at their home.

What a great morning! The media followed us once more as we exchanged gifts and learnt just a little about each other’s lives. The family are really good English speakers and have travelled to the corners of the planet before and some of the photos they have on the wall are very motivating…lots of places still to visit Ben!

Together we wander down to the more famous areas of Shanghai like Ju Garden. A collection of old traditional buildings with a market place, zig-zag bridge, fish ponds and delicious eatery where Dim Sum is served and the queue tells us its bound to be good.

The market stalls feature all manner of things going on – check out this guy who cuts stencils from paper in record quick time. This is the dolphin he cut out in just under a minute. The obligatory photo then followed, as he knew all about the Best Job.

On my final evening in Shanghai I wander down to the Bund, a cosmopolitan mix of the old and the new with architecture from the early part of the century mixed with the ultra-modern Pearl Tower and other huge skyscrapers. The river is like an artery for the city and country with constant barges piled high with goods moving inland.

This is a country that is growing very, very fast and I am excited by it as bringing the new richer average person from here to Queensland seems very achievable. I want to learn Mandarin in preparation too!

China has surprised me on so many levels with massive media interest in the Best Job generating front-page newspaper articles, TV coverage and a record number of interviews. After sitting down with Wu Ni, an environmental journalist, I found out that the country really is making an effort to reduce its carbon foot-print as new green technologies seem to appear here everyday…we just don’t seem to hear about them in the newspapers of the UK and Australia.

BEIJING PHOTOS

SHANGHAI PHOTOS

My role as the Tourism Ambassador meant that I wasn’t going straight to Brisbane and the office, but instead stopping off in the Far East to visit some very important markets in the tourism industry back in Queensland.

First stop, Hong Kong.

It wasn’t my first visit to the island though! I visited here when I was three years old with Mum and Dad on a short stop over. Suffice to say I remember nothing of it but am told that I blew a raspberry at a stallholder in Kowloon market – so must have been getting some practice in for my didgeridoo lessons later in life.

As the plane dropped in through the heavy cloud I got no view at all of the sprawling high rise below which I’d hoped to see. The scary landing which takes incoming through the skyscrapers of the city is gone too, as the out-of-town airport now gives a Hamilton Island-esque landing on a finger-thin runway that juts out into the ocean.

The drive into the city takes you past one of the busiest waterways it the world. The docks which flank the shores are a sign of how successful Hong Kong is as a major shipping port with cranes and containers stacked up like lego bricks as far as the eye can see.

The Marco Polo Hotel is to be my home for the next few nights located in THE shopping district of the city with the likes of Chanel, Louis Vitton and Christian Dior lighting up the evening sky with their extravagant display of opulent electricity usage. I doubt whether Earth Hour was observed here!

Work starts in earnest for me though. Vicki and Tourism Queensland have organised a four day road show in the Harbour City shopping centre with an expansive display highlighting the wonders of the state focusing on the Whitsundays.

The pride of the show is a brand new Mini Cooper that has been completed covered in stickers and branded in the Best Job in the World logos and images taken during my role as the Island Caretaker. It’s awesome but also a little embarrassing!

Our display has a couple of competitions running for the public to enter. One is for budding amateur photographers who can use one of the sponsored Canon cameras to take pictures of their children as they play amongst the huge fish and turtles that the display is made from! The winner, chosen by a group of judges, gets a holiday to Queensland for their efforts.

With the assembled media all massed together it’s time for me to earn my crust with a presentation to them all about the Best Job and Queensland. The stage area forms a magnet for the passing shoppers and by the end there must be a hundred people all watching my slide show!

Afterwards each journalist waits quietly in turn for my to give a five minute interview. There’s a range of journalists here from national newspapers to travel magazines and television, each with a slightly different story to take from the day.

The subject of the environment comes up on a couple of occasions with the issue of the grounding of the Shen Neng 1 being the hot topic.

It was bound to – the Island Caretaker for the Great Barrier Reef goes away for a few weeks and a Chinese tanker crashes into it. The timing couldn’t have been worse. But with my usual diplomacy I steer around these awkward obstructions…I just wish the damn tanker captain had too. Good luck to all of those involved in the rescue operations.

Having so much interest in the story of the Best Job isn’t something I’d expected but it really is front-page news here still. The feeling of celebrity hadn’t crossed my mind until now when I had to start autographing photos! Yikes.

With the National Geographic program about a month away from hitting television screens across the world there’s a few jobs to do with helping to promote the series across Asia.

Star television is the broadcaster here in Hong Kong and one morning I arrive at the studio to record some interviews and promotional material. The series will go to Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan and the relevant lines have to be recorded for each of them. “This is National Geographic, make sure you stay tuned to find out all about the Best Job in the World”!

With two days gone the total number of interviews I’ve given has rocketed to nearly 20 which has to be a record for the world tour so far! Getting this much coverage for Queensland in a massively growing market really will help to bring people out to the Sunshine State…especially when we haven’t seen the sunshine here at all!

Next stop is Beijing…

My colleagues at Tourism Queensland confirmed today that power is being restored; ferry services and tours are returning to normal, roads have been re-opened and many resorts and regional airports are operational, so no need to cancel Easter holiday bookings folks!

I’m currently in the UK on ambassador duties and will ensure holidaymakers here have a clear perception of the situation and understand that it’s fine to continue holidaying in Queensland!

Wish I had a holiday there booked after arriving back in the UK yesterday. Winter remains here!

Here’s a few pics from Hamilton and it all looks great

No time to soak up the beaches, views or the restaurants though. This is all about work.

What was supposed to be a two day shoot has to be crammed into one instead as my house move and my imminent next trip away have really put the pressure on us to get things done as quickly as possible.

As I walk through the arrivals area at Hamilton Island airport there’s an incredible reception waiting for me. Some of my great friends here have organised boards and banners saying ‘Welcome Home’ and “Best Ben in the World’ and the girls on the island are furiously waving them as I turn the corner. I love them. Thank you so much Anna, Rosie, Grace, Amy and all the others!

But before I can get caught up in the moment I’m quickly reminded that I’m here to work. Richard Meyer from NatGeo introduces himself, grabs my bags and whisks me off to Catseye Beach to film the first setup for the day.

We’re filming a thirty second promotional piece that will go to air in the month leading up to the series opener in May.

The piece has me introducing myself sat in a grey suit, shirt and tie behind a desk (actually the desk of Glenn Bourke – Hamilton Island’s CEO!), getting up from my chair and asking “How’s your job going?”

Throughout the piece I slowly loose the office attire, stripping the jacket, tie, shirt and trousers whilst suggesting the types of jobs you may do. Plumber, shop assistant, banker etc etc.

The penultimate scene sees me down to my boardshorts and shirt entering the bushes saying “Let me show you where I work”…

We filmed everything on Hamilton Island with the exception of the closing scene which is awesome. The weather had been very seasonal throughout the shoot with hot sunshine broken up by torrential downpours – this is the tropics during the green season!

Our final scene was to be me exiting the bushes but appearing on Whitehaven Beach. One of the world’s top beaches with pure white sand along its 7km length. We took off from Hamilton Island Airport in a Bell Ranger helicopter and headed for Whitsunday Island.

However when we got there it was pretty wet and windy so Greg, our helicopter pilot from HeliReef, came up with a new location. Langford Spit off Hayman Island.

We grabbed a break in the clouds and managed to film several takes of me exiting the bushes, stripping off the final layer of office clothing and standing on the beach pronouncing “Welcome to my office, this is where I work. My name is Ben Southall and this is The Best Job in the World”.

As I say this the helicopter pulls away sharply with the camera panning out to leave me stood on a stunning sandy beach with crystal clear blue water all around.

You’ll just have to see it to believe it. As soon as I get a copy I’ll upload it onto islandreefjob.com for you!

Just one little reminder for you all then…

If you live in Australia don’t forget to set your video/digital recorders to National Geographic Adventure channel on Thursday 13^th May. Local time variations may apply so be sure to check your listings so you don’t miss it! It’ll be broadcast across the rest of the world soon after so I’ll let you know when, when I know!

Today however would be different. No more messing about, this is the stuff that sorts out the men from the boys – I mean it is supposed to be an adventure tour isn’t it!

First stop Skydiving. Skydive Cairns are to be our hosts for the stomach-churning adventure and we rock up to their office in the centre of Cairns for the pre-jump brief and to find out who we’ll be paired up with as our Jump Master.

My man of the morning is Max, a parachutist of 15 years who has made well over 15,000 jumps and obviously has an exemplary safety record (we just don’t talk about the five close shaves he’s also experienced!). He runs me through the procedures involved; how I should tuck my head back and my legs away when it’s our turn to sit in the door, when to spread-eagle in the air on the way down…and when it’s almost over – how to land.

I feel in a pretty privileged position really, having jumped a month ago with Skydive Airlie, but there’s a couple of pretty apprehensive faces wandering around the office!

We all get into our harnesses, sign our lives away and then make our way to the minibus waiting outside the office…sitting there like the vehicle which will take you to meet your maker!

As we pull onto the airfield our awaiting plane is already fired up and ready to go, there’s no going back now. I mean there’s pride at stake here. Forming an orderly, if bouncy-adrenaline-filled queue we await our fate…

One by one our Jump Masters load us into the plane, there are seven of us jumping so that’s 14 people in total. We clamber inside the plane and take our places between, the person in who our future now lies, thighs. This is all very cosy!

As we taxi down the runway some of the Korean media are talking to each other in Korean. I find out later that the editor of AB-ROAD magazine turned and told his cameraman “I love you!” Classic.

The scenery below is stunning as we make our way south-east, away from the city and out over the rainforest once more. We spot our some of our locations from the day before, landslides on the hills and churning waterfalls off in the distance. It’s a very different view to that of the Whitsundays, but equally as beautiful.

14,000 feet above the ground doesn’t take that long to get to and before we know it the roller door has been opened, the rush of the cold air fills the cabin and the first victim, sorry jumper, has their feet out of the door. Then before you can blink – GONE!

It’s surprisingly quick with these guys you know. No time to say you’re pulling out which is probably a damn good thing. I’m fourth up and before I can look down we’re falling down at terminal velocity towards the ground.

220 km/h of face distorting wind is rushing against my face and body and the only thing I can do is laugh and love it. The feeling never ever changes no matter how many times you do this – adrenaline is coursing through my veins and the natural high it causes is totally addictive.

This time there’s around a minute of freefall but it passes by oh so quickly when you’re tumbling at that speed. In fact it really does feel as though it’s over in a matter of seconds before that crutch-jerking tug on the harness and the entire freefall is over.

Once I’m hanging under canopy floating gently to the ground, Max offers me the controls of the parachute and I get a chance to steer this baby. Scary thought I know but it’s so cool being able to fly yourself down to the ground and towards the landing zone.

We pull full circles at speed and eventually come close to our landing site before Max takes over, gives the last instruction to lift my feet and with a fast approach we make it down onto terra firma once more.

Incredible – absolutely amazing – “can I go again please!”

Seeing the other guys come down to earth is wicked too, I can hear Juweon before I see his face – he’s had a great time too and shouts and screams as he approaches the ground.

The most incredible transformation has take place with another of the group too – Choong Keol Lee, the editor of GQ Korea, was a pretty quiet guy before this jump. This has brought him out of his shell totally. From total fear to total enjoyment and a huge number of very funny jokes too. I like this guy a lot.

Remember this is supposed to be an Adventure Tour so there’s no time for sitting about. No sooner are we through with our jump then it’s back to the office to collect our bags and onto the next activity…

Well strictly speaking we did have lunch first and it was back to one of my favourite haunts in the city, Café China and its ever-welcoming host Harry. Treated to his very special function room we all tucked in a spread worthy of the finest Chinese Emperor, finished off with a very different but tasty mango jelly. You have to try it!

With our final mouthful just about down the itinerary kicked in once more – we were off to the final installment. White-water Rafting.

Now I know it’s not the most impressive of all the rafting waters in Queensland, but with the rain the surrounding hills have had over the last few weeks, the Barron River is still putting down some serious white water. Enough to challenge those first time rafters amongst the group…and there are a few!

Raging Thunder are again our hosts for this our last adrenaline-filled activity and we jump in their minibus, complete with trailer and rafts, which takes us on the hour long drive up the valley.

The Korean media group all head off to one raft with their translator – there are certain things that you have to understand when rafting! I join up with another group of English speaking tourists led by Ash the guide. Once we’ve kitted ourselves out with lifejacket, helmet and slap on the sunscreen it’s down to the water’s edge to prove we can swim, float or at least not drown. The large yellow raft is big enough to fit eight paddlers and a guide in, there’s holes all over the bottom of it but fear not. They are there to let water out…not in.

The paddling drill is then given to us with a number of different instructions necessary to take on the rapids of varying intensity. They range from “paddle” to “PADDLE!!”, there’s “get down” and finally “GET DOWN, PADDLES UP”.

These are all in order of desperation as Ash our guide decides how we should be approaching, or attacking, the next rapid.

We do pretty well to start off with, riding the first and second of the falls with relative ease and then one of the big ones approaches – The Rooster Tail. So called when the water is flowing like it is, as the spouting water looks just like a chicken’s tail.

On approach it all looks pretty good, it’s only when we drop onto the beast that the raft is flung up in the air, all of us grab onto the centre ropes and get as low as possible. As we smash into the water below the raft almost flips but we just manage to hold on and save a wet ending happening.

Further downstream we’re not so lucky and get sucked back into one of the falls we’ve just dropped down. This is known as surfing! The raft is pulled right under the cascading water and immediately fills right up but these things are designed to do just that and instead of sinking, just sits there and with me being right at the front, I bear the brunt of the torrent!

We struggle to get free and in the end Ash has to jump out with a rope attached to him to act as a human-anchor, thereby giving enough resistance to pull the raft free from its temporary parking spot. No such luck.

So now it’s my turn to help out. In an effort to add more resistance Ash asks me to jump ship too, holding onto the line he’s clinging onto downstream. I take a leap of faith into the white water and join him gasping for breath 10 metres away on the end of the line. Eventually our efforts are rewarded as the raft breaks free from its watery pit-stop and we clamber back onboard.

Another fifteen minutes later and it’s all drawing to an end. The river levels out, the rapids disappear and we take the opportunity to bath in the waters, relaxing the tired muscles we’ve used all afternoon.

What a cracking way to finish the tour! It really was the activity I enjoyed the most and would love to do it all over again – but with some bigger rapids maybe!

The night was taken up with devouring one of the best steaks I’ve had in a long time courtesy of the Salt House Restaurant. Yum yum.