Now I know there’s loads of people out there who think that I’ve been on holiday for the last 10 months since I started the Best Job in the World, but even me the Island Caretaker needs to have a break every now and then.

So i’m off to my old hunting ground, South Africa and there’s a few different reasons I’m heading back to the country where I earnt my Southern Hemisphere Wings….

a) a couple of weddings first in Port Edward and one later on in Pietermaritzurg – Katie Vorster who I first met in 1997 when I came out to Port Edward and then my friends Patrick and Sarah who I met whilst travelling down through Africa in 2008 during Afritrex

b) to dive with sharks off the Aliwal Shoal and Protea Bank sites off the east coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. It should be a good time of year to witness some of the Tiger Sharks and maybe even a Great White or two!

c) to enter and complete the Comrades Ultramarathon. I’ve been training as hard as I can whilst home in Brisbane and I’m hoping that I have enough practice km’s in my legs to carry me through to the finish of the Comrades in Durban. The course this year is 89.28kms long and is the ‘downhill’ and in most people’s eyes that the easy way……oh no it’s not! The constant smashing of the knee and ankle joints resulting from running downhill for up to 12 hours make it THE most difficult of the two I can guarantee that!

Here’s the route map and one of the profile showing the Big Five Hills! :

d) to present to a number of organisations around Durban all about the Best Job, and

e) hopefully take in a World Cup football game, ideally Australia v’s Germany in Durban

And I know I’m on holiday but I have the overwhelming urge to continue to blog about the experience but obviously I won’t be updating the www.islandreefjob.com website as it’s not Queensland related…but I have all of my cameras with me ready to record everything I get involved in.

Bring on the race, the sharks and the football!

Over and out for now

Ben