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Queensland Travel / Plane Spotting / Hamilton Island / Great Barrier Reef / Jetstar / Virgin Australia / → All Tags

Some Airports are Just Made for Plane Spotting

We admit to heading to the airport with a few minutes to spare so we can watch airplanes take off and land. Sometimes we get lucky and we spy a new aircraft of a foreign carrier or just one in a new paintjob. On a recent trip to the tropical island of Hamilton Island in Queensland, we took note of the proximity of the airport to...well, everything.

While chowing down on a seafood lunch, we watched a Boeing 737 so close we could practically see the whites of the passenger's eyes peering out. So naturally, we hopped in our golf cart —there are no cars on the island—to get a closer look. This place sees some arrivals from Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar, with most flights arriving around the same time.

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Clickety-Clack Down the Australian Track: By Train and Ferry to Hamilton Island

Sunset from Yacht Club

We have told you about the unique travel experiences that Queensland Rail offers to travelers, and even invited you in to have a look at the rail cars themselves. Now it's time to talk destinations, and this one's a doozy.

Boarding The Sunlander train in the Aussie city of Brisbane, the one-night rail journey was chockablock with wining and dining. After aperitifs, we retired to our berth to find it was magically made up into a single bed (You have to love top-notch customer service). When we awoke, we were just approaching the inland town of Proserpine, Queensland. Showering and breakfasting while whizzing past sugar cane fields is just one of those treasured, "only on a train" moments.

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Wish You Were Here: Hamilton Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef

There are very few things that can beat a tropical island. Today we came to you from a tropical island in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. More specifically, a group of islands called the Whitsundays. The exact island name is Hamilton Island, also known as the home of the Best Job in the World.

The group of islands were discovered by Captain Cook right after he "found" Australia. The infamous explorer's detour around the giant barrier reef led him smack dab into the middle of these palm-covered volcanic islands. The primitivity of the Whitsundays has long since disappeared, replaced by a whole crop of tasteful luxury resorts, but it's still very much paradise.

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The 'Best Job In The World' Winds Down But Another Awesome Job Begins

While most of us are busy packing up our holiday presents and preparing to head through increased airport security to head home, another traveler is especially sad to see the holiday season come to an end. Our lucky pal Ben Southall, who won Tourism Queensland's Best Job In The World earlier this year, is finally coming off the payroll, but only for a little bit, because apparently he did well on his annual performance review. We probably would too if we needed to excel at blogging, photographing, swimming, and being on vacation for much of 2009.

After a visit from Santa and his parents for the holidays—we hope he got a new snorkel—he’ll be heading out from paradise to promote his former island home around the world. His new job will be to tell everyone how great Queensland and Hamilton Island are, but he will have to do it away from the sun and the sand.

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Is Queensland's 'Best Job In The World' Really The Worst?

The now very-well-known tourist board campaign which recruited Ben Southall for the Best Job in the World—experiencing and blogging about life on the paradise of Hamilton Island in Queensland, Australia—apparently earned the state about $360 million worth of publicity (not bad for a $2.2 million outlay). Now that everyone knows that Queensland is a great place to go thanks to Ben's twitter pictures and blogs, there's one big problem: nobody's going.

Despite the massive interest in Queensland, international tourist numbers dropped by almost 8% over the last year, and almost 14% fewer international business visitors arrived. Of course, the global economic crisis can probably take a fair bit of the blame for that, but Queensland is still worried.

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'Best Job In The World' Winner Ben Southall Looking For Four Assistants

We're already almost two months into Brit Ben Southall's six-month term as "Island Caretaker" of Queensland's Hamilton Island, and he's definitely received more criticism than praise for his work showcasing his travels around the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. This privilege to travel around, live in, and document a paradise on earth is the result of his winning Tourism Queensland's contest to fill the position dubbed "Best Job In The World."

Apparently, the hours have been long and the fun too time-consuming, and Ben hasn't been the best at his job requirements of blogging, twittering and vlogging his experiences. So he's seeking four assistants! It's your second chance at "The Best Job In The World," even if it's really just the second best job in the world.

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Virgin Blue Starts New Route, Direct to Best Job in the World

Virgin Blue says they've introduced their new Sydney to Hamilton Island route—they started flying it on Saturday—only "after close analysis," saying there's long been a clear demand from both domestic and international travelers to access the Whitsunday Island's main stop from Sydney, but we suspect it's actually a sudden demand: everybody wants to see how Best Job in the World winner Ben Southall is doing.

It's surely no coincidence that Virgin Blue's route has started up just a couple of days after Ben arrived for his six-month residence on Hamilton Island. Now that he is Twittering and blogging his way around the Whitsunday Islands, it's no wonder Virgin Blue has found a bunch of extra customers.

If you want to check out Ben's lifestyle or have your own personal reasons for hitting the Whitsundays—sun, sand and surf still count—Virgin Blue has daily direct flights from Sydney. We found flights as low as A$145 ($115, one way) but you have to book a bit ahead of time to get 'em that cheap. Say hi to Ben for us!

Related Stories:
· Island Caretaker Blog [Official Site]
· Hamilton Island Gets a Brit for Best Job in the World [Jaunted]
· Virgin Blue Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gluehwein Effects]

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Hamilton Island Gets a Brit for 'Best Job in the World'

Aw, shucks! We didn't win Tourism Queensland's huge contest to live on Hamilton Island, also known as the publicity bash called "Best Job in the World." Newsflash: you didn't either, unless you are Ben Southall of Hampshire, England. After four days of grueling Survivor-ish physical and mental testing on the island in the Whitsundays, the final 16 competitors were whittled down to just this 34-year old former African tour guide and charity worker.

It was truly a harrowing time for the folks, who were forced to endure such tests as receiving massages, dining on sumptuous meals of local cuisine, and being submersed in the Great Barrier Reef. Now with Ben Southall pegged to assume his role as "island caretaker" on July 1 for a period of six months, the other 15 can return to their normal, non-videoblogged lives on dry land.

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Finalists for 'Best Job In the World' Finally Go to Battle on Hamilton Island

Time sure flies when you're not in the running for The Best Job in the World, "caretaker" of Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef, since it only feels like yesterday that we wracked our brain thinking of cool things to say in our audition video. Had we ever gotten around to making that video, perhaps we'd be one of the 16 finalists from 15 countries flown this weekend to their possible future home.

So what's on the hectic schedule for the Survivor-like group, which includes our past interview subject Angelene Orth? Having flown in on Virgin Blue, they've already seen the region's hottest airline, which was promptly followed by a tour of the digs at stake: the 3-bedroom luxury Blue Pearl villa.

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A 'Best Job in the World' Candidate Sets Her Eyes on the Prize

We spent some time the other day talking with Angelene Orth, a candidate for the Tourism Queenland's "Best Job in the World" contest in which hopefuls are vying for the chance to work on an island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months.

The responsibilities of the Island Caretaker/Travel Correspondent job (salary: $150,000 AUD plus living and transportation costs) include "taking care" of the Great Barrier Reef, exploring the area and reporting back to the world wide web via video, photos, blogs and other "media commitments."

Orth, 27, and already employed by public relations firm Weber Shandwick, told Jaunted that she's got what it takes to leave the New York behind and settle down for six months Down Under.

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