Been out on the water again training and getting used to some heavier water conditions around Moreton Bay. the wind was pumping at 20 knots and the waves were pretty damn big!
Here’s the route I took:
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 
The hours in the day seem to run out quicker than ever these days….by the time I’ve finished the days activities, blogged about it and then sorted through the photos and video there’s nothing to do but go to bed.
Something had to suffer and it’s turning out to be this website…much to my own disgust as its you guys I should be keeping up to date with everything that goes on behind the scenes of what I still consider to be the best job in the world!
The last post here was way back (or does it just seem like it was way back as so much has happened) when we headed north to Cairns, well since then we’ve done a southerly loop down to Gladstone and out to the islands of Heron and Wilson. You can read all about that on the islandreefjob.com website instead of me rattling on about it here.
The photos of Heron Island are here
The photos of Wilson Island are here
We got back into Brisbane on Friday and spent the day with TQ at the offices catching up on some of the things which have been going on since I was there last and also for a new concept the one hour long Twitter Q&A session where people could send direct messages relating to the Islands and I’d guarantee I had good reception to be able to answer them, unlike on some of the islands. This was all good in theory but what we didn’t bank on was a hacker breaking into both Twitter and Facebook that night rendering them both useless! What it did mean was a quiet night on the tweet front…..
Spent the Saturday shopping in Brisbane and it’s a pretty easy place to navigate yourself around, the river acts as a great reference point but the only thing is I haven’t yet found the smaller independent shops on my walkabout, you know the quirky little places and one-offs. Yes the main street has everything in it but sometimes I just want to loose myself in a myriad of junk and weird stuff! Did manage to pick up a few books though – a couple to help with the blog and one by the man who ran 50 marathons in 50 days, Dean Karnazes. Should be a good source of motivation when I get my current read out of the way….at the end of the year!
And my thoughts are turning to the end of the year already, I have to otherwise I’ll get there and be left with a huge vacuum and nothing to do…almost like arriving back from Afritrex in January.
I want to do something that involves travel, endurance and raising money for charity…as with Afritrex.
From chatting with people along the way a few things spring to mind:
AND ANY OTHER IDEAS WOULD BE WELCOMED…REALISTIC OF COURSE!
It’s particularly difficult to try and stay fit whilst doing this job you know, constant good food and a lack of routine have meant that my fitness is restricted to the few days I have at home on Hamilton Island…so I’ve been out for the last couple of days, busting the tracks around the island. I even put together a little video for you!
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The pace of life at the moment is totally fantastic and everyday brings new and exciting things to do, one huge fear however is that by the time I blink it’ll all be over and the contract will have drawn to a close. Every so often I have to pinch myself and take a step back to check it’s all happening for real.
Spent the last few days filming with the Getaway travel show which goes out nationally throughout Australia and hit the airwaves on Thursday 13th August – a great idea to compare the host, Natalie’s job and mine. Best Job v’s best job. I win of course!
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Headed out to gain my first sailing qualification on the ocean around the Whitsundays aboard the yacht ‘Another Fiasco’ with the help of Explore Whitsundays and had an amazing time with Matt the skipper and my crew of Nick, Anthony and Ian – it holds me in good stead for the upcoming Hamilton Island Race Week which takes place at the end of August and if the rumour is true I’ll be sailing on board ‘Wild Oats‘ – an incredible Maxi yacht which has won the Sydney – Hobart and is owned by Bob Oatley, the owner of Hamilton Island. Hold your breath Ben – this one’s going to be mental!
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We spent a few days on Hayman (yes the place whose name I spelt wrongly in my first week on the job and got crucified by the press!) relaxing in the sunshine, snorkeling, bush walking to try and find wallabies and enjoying the opulent hospitality there.
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Today and tomorrow are days off, well as close as I can get – only a huge website update for both here and islandreefjob.com, a couple of phone interviews and an 800 word piece for The Observer newspaper by Friday night. Headed to Airlie Beach on the mainland for another dentist appointment and I hope they’ve sorted it this time for good….
Over the weekend I head south on the Queenslander train service to Gladstone before relocating on Heron and Wilson Islands for some real bush camping in tents…..5 * tents of course – you can’t expect me to back to normal ones just yet can you!?!
The weather’s been blustery and warm, the tan is starting to feel right again after a few pasty months in the UK and the ocean is becoming more like a playground as I try loads of new things – jetskiing, sailing, diving at night, snorkeling in rip currents in front of the house etc!
I’ve picked up the pace of life and feel it all fits rather well – I could do this for a long time you know!
Only 5 months left and counting. Time to start looking at the next project and getting things under way for my circumnavigation of Australia departing in the early part of 2010. Any ideas of good endurance challenges people??
Its amazing how much today I take mobile phone reception for granted and when I loose it all normal functions, updates and blogging just disappear off the radar. It’s actually quite refreshing, life can continue without being tied to the keyboard and it gave me a chance to enjoy Lizard Island to the full. The downside though is this site has neither changed nor evolved in the last week and for this I can only apologise….so here I go!
After a few days on Hamilton Island and in the surrounding Whitsundays, Bre and I headed to Cairns and the north of Queensland. Its the furthest north we’ve both been so far on the trip and the change in temperature was really obvious as we left the plane and suddenly felt a rush of warm air as we left the plane, finally Bre may be warm enough in the evenings to not need to wrap up as though she’s at home in Canada!
I’d really looked forward to heading out to Lizard Island as so many people had recommended it, this is one of the Voyager resorts and by all accounts probably one of the most luxurious destinations we’ll visit during the next six months…plenty of real celebrities come here to get away from everything….people, internet, mobile phones – everything!
The flight we took on Hinterland Aviation over the outer ribbons of the Great Barrier Reef was awe-inspiring, we swept low over the coral cays with the deep aqua blues and sandy bottom really standing out, some of the little sandbanks are only exposed at low tide and you can really imagine parking off on one for lunch and a snooze, maybe sometime I’ll be able to do it but not this time. We made the final approach to Lizard and touched down on the runway, full of anticipation for the coming few days adventure….
Bliss, perfection and total utter spoiling…just some of the words which can only start to summarise what awaits you if you ever make it out to Lizard Island. This is one of those retreats that the rich and famous make it out to, its remote, there’s only ever 40 guests on the island at any one time and you feel like someone really special as the staff treat you with a very personalised touch, add to that the fact that it’s one of the most picturesque tropical islands I’ve been lucky enough to make it to and you’ll see why I’m pouring so much praise onto it.
There’s a wealth of things to do here, it not just the ‘sit on the beach and fry’ sort of retreat as there’s activities galore to experience; diving, snorkeling, sailing, dinghies for hire, bush walking etc. During our few days on Lizard we had a good go at most of them. The Cod Hole is a famous dive site on the GBR, famed for its huge Potato Cod which are so tame they actually accept food from the dive master and brush right past you in the process. As they power away from any threat the shockwave their acceleration creates can easily be felt through the water, my first ever experience of this which gives you an idea of their strength….don’t get in the way! I loved the dive here, the second of the day, which had given the tide a chance to drop offering some protection from the swell and surge of the outer ocean and allowing the clarity of the water to increase giving us amazing visibility of around 20 metres. We swam with Black Tip Reef Sharks, Trumpet Fish, Barracuda and Mackerel. The variety of corals here both soft and hard are very impressive – there’s other areas where I’ve snorkelled which maybe don’t quite come up to scratch with what I’d expected from the GBR but the Cod Hole truly delivers. Here’s a selection of images to try to highlight this, apologies for the lack of colour in these images – I only received the camera just before heading underwater and hadn’t changed any of the settings to suit the marine environment. Will do better in the future….
Its sort of two-fold this post…
1. The Best Job in the World campaign has be beaten by none less than Barrack Obama’s presidential campaign in the race for the Titanium Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival. Oh well, probably a little more budget there I imagine. Read more here
2. The British and Irish Lions were beaten 28 -25 by the South Africans in what will go down as a simply spectacular game of rugby. With one game to play in the three game series the Saffers have already secured a series win leading 2 – 0. Oh how that hurts…to find out the painful truth read more here
It’s not always good to be the Lion you know 
Welcome to my blog if you’re visiting for the first time from Nuffnang. You’re probably here because we’ve dangled a lucrative carrot in front of you offering a $5000 dream holiday to Queensland and now you want to find out more.
**If you’re here as a regular visitor and have no idea what I’m talking about, then head over to the Nuffnang website.
What’s the deal you ask? Well the deal is this. Last year Tourism Queensland launched a new campaign called Vitamin Me. No idea what this is?
Well it can be found in all forms, but is best attained by experiencing exciting adventures, soaking up some arts and culture, consuming delicious food and wine, or enjoying some beautiful scenery and wildlife. Not surprisingly, the richest sources are found in Queensland.
All you have to do is compose a post on your blog explaining how you would boost your Vitamin Me levels if you won a $5,000 dream holiday to Queensland.
The competition opens today (24 January) and runs until 3pm (AEST) 10 February 2012, so get your posts in quick on the Nuffnang competition entry page.
Check out my video below to get inspired. And remember that we’re looking for originality and creativity, in the form of photos, video or words (however your blog readers prefer).
Happy blogging!
Back in August during the Best Expedition in the World the team from Underwater Earth and I headed out with one of Australia’s best dive operators, Pro Dive Cairns, for a live-aboard experience.
I had visions of cramped quarters, ships tack and over-visited dive sites prior to leaving having had that experience in other parts of the world. But after three days living, sleeping, eating and diving with 20 other people I have to say it was simply ‘bloody brilliant’!
Our skipper Warren took us out to some of the best coral reefs I’ve seen. Visibility was excellent, the marine life abundant and the coral was bright, colourful and extensive. Over the three days we visited numerous dive sites, had close encounters with turtles, sharks and bump-headed Parrotfish and went home smiling.
If you want a real Great Barrier Reef experience and love your diving then do yourself a favour, book a place, grab a camera and prepare to be blown away by this adventure.
Richard, Christophe and I were there to film as much of the underwater world as we could. I wanted to produce a YouTube movie about life on a single reef. What would we find? Would there be enough to create an exciting piece? What would turn up to the party?
Here’s the results of a single day filmed at Flynn Reef just off Cairns:
To find out more about this region of the Great Barrier Reef visit here
To read the blog post I wrote about Bump-Headed Parrotfish (possibly the ugliest fish in the world?) click here or to see the photo album from the trip click here
Pro Dive are a PADI 5-Star dive training school operating out of Cairns. Visit their website here
Personally it’d be a crime if the Great Barrier Reef wasn’t one of the Natural 7 Wonders of the World…but then I am a little biased of course!
On November 11th public voting closes to decide the New 7 Wonders of the World from 28 finalists. Australia has two of them, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.
There are some incredible places that we’re up against including Table Mountain, The Amazon and the Maldives. All of which are pretty special places to visit and will get masses of support from voters…but we need your help to keep the Great Barrier Reef in the top rank.
To show how important every vote is, this week I headed out to Vlasoff Cay on the Great Barrier Reef with a polling booth, seven snorkellers, Tourism Australia and a film crew…to set up what could be the most remote polling station in the world!
Andrew Ridley, the co-founder of Earth Hour was there too. His work literally plunges the planet into darkness for one hour every March as companies and individuals turn off all their lights to to take a stand against climate change. As one of the Reef’s Ambassador’s his vote is well and truly behind the reef.
We got great coverage from the Australian media with channel 7,9 and 10 all running news pieces about the stunt. This morning I had to don my indigenously-painted wetsuit for a live cross to the Channel Ten news room in Sydney…all in the name of promotion of course!
So how can you help?
In order to cast your vote visit the New 7 Wonders of the World website by clicking here, choose your top seven (making sure the GBR is one of them) or alternatively you can visit their Facebook page and cast your vote here
As I draft this and continue to move north along the Queensland coast, I have reflected on the minor speed bump the expedition experienced during the past two weeks. While it has been a challenging time the light is glaring at me very brightly from the end of the tunnel – we’re back on the water and picking up the pace!
Since Sunshine took a battering from some wild weather during our stay at Lady Eliot Island, I have been working furiously to get the Best Expedition in the World back on track.
The BIG4 Cane Village here in Bundaberg has been our home for the last fortnight and I have to say a massive thank you to John and the team here for looking after us. The guys at the Bundaberg Slipway have become our co-workers and friends and yacht Sunshine is almost ready to become Operation HQ once again from where I’ll report as often as I can to bring you a snapshot of life on the Great Barrier Reef.
Since then I’ve been up to Heron Island and shot some incredible images with the crew from Underwater Earth, interviewed some of the great scientific minds working at the research station, been interviewed by radio and television stations from around the world and tried to keep fit by running the streets here.
Mum and Dad have continued their Queensland Road Trip along the coast and have been furiously blogging to bring you their story of life on the road as they explore the state in their Apollo Motorhome and document here on the blog.
Finally the Yellowbrick tracker will be moving in the right direction (north) and as we take photos, post videos and create blogs they’ll appear on the track exactly where they were taken – keep watching this page for the latest updates.
Being able to get back onto the kayak is something I’ve been itching to do and once we make up some of the lost ground I’ll be cutting my paddle through the waves hopefully alongside the migrating Humpback Whales that have already started to appear along the Queensland coast.
So my sincere apologies for a temporary break in transmission…rest assured we are eager to go and working twice as hard to create a wake and bring to life more reef adventures to inspire you all!!
Yours Expeditionally
Ben
Breathe in, breathe out, and exert a massive, “Pheeeew!” I’ve finally made it to 1770 – the launchpad for the Best Expedition in the World!!!
It’s merely a cricket’s lifetime away now. Next Saturday, while the Captain Cook Festival is in full swing, the crew and I will be kicking-starting our epic voyage of discovery. We can hardly wait!
But, I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. I might have escaped my CBD office, but there’s still a bit to get through while I’m ‘waiting in the stalls’.
International and domestic media are travelling to 1770 over the coming days to investigate, write up, and film Best Expedition related stories.
The similarities between Captain Cook and myself have been particularly enticing for the media. Click here to read the Courier Mail article.
Not only will I be following Cook’s route up the Queensland coast, I’m just as much of an adventure-hungry Pom as he was! I just happened to swap his HMB Endeavour for a state of the art Hobie Kayak, and his telescope for an ocean of modern marine technology.
Just to make sure I can pull this 21st Century challenge off, I’ll be doing some serious Hobie and ‘tech training’ this week. I want to make sure I know what I’m doing and have contingencies in place before I hit the open water.
I’m fairly sure I’ve packed everything the crew and I will need (and stuff we really don’t need). Solar showers, board games, expedition mascots, DVDs, Saya skincare, laptops, 4-months worth of clothing and enough dive gear to sink a ship – I’ve brought the lot…and then some. This is not back packing, this is not flash packing, this is the Best Expedition in the World!
Fingers crossed, everything will fit on the Sunsail support vessel, “Sunshine “, which is currently passing Yeppoon and on it’s way south. I visited Sunshine in the Whitsundays several days ago and kitted her out with a complex interweb of technology – slightly overwhelming stuff, but vital in order for me to run bestexpeditionintheworld.com from the middle of the Great Barrier Reef.
Mum and Dad have also been learning how to master new media technologies. They arrived in Brisbane last week to kick off their ‘Queensland Road Trip‘, which they have started photo-documenting and blogging about on the Best Expedition website. These ‘Grey Nomads’ will undoubtedly get up to some serious fun and mischief over the next few months. I look forward to catching up with them at different points along the coast and hearing ALL of the goss.
Between catch up points, my folks will be able to follow my progress (from May 21st) by taking the odd peak at the live tracking page of this website, courtesy of Yellowbrick. It will update my position every 15 minutes on a Google Map, and feature photo videos, photos, 360° panoramas, and blogs in exactly the same place they were created. Check it out here and join me on the adventure of a lifetime – the Best Expedition in the World!
Yours Expeditionally,
Ben
It really has been THE busiest last couple of weeks. My apologies for not updating the blog recently but this should make up for it at least! In preparation for the Best Expedition in the World which starts at the end of May, (less than 11 weeks away) I’ve been chasing sponsors, planning itineraries, training on the Brisbane River and now building my Hobie Mirage kayak and getting it ready for the 1600km challenge that lies ahead.
As with The Best Job in in the World the idea of the expedition is to take the story of the Great Barrier Reef to the rest of the planet; to educate about the life there, to expose some of the incredible locations and to make people just that little bit jealous so they’ll come out and experience it for themselves! My ultimate goal would be to have another television series shot documenting the adventure telling the story of the expedition, the characters we meet along the way and the people who research and protect one of the Natural Wonders of the World. As a bit of a prelude to this TPD Media (who film programs here in Australia such as Queensland Weekender, Great South East and Creek to Coast) and I decided to head out to Lady Elliot Island to film a short pilot episode for a possible series. This meant getting everything I’d expect to have on the expedition…including the kayak out onto the Great Barrier Reef! At extremely short notice the owner of Lady Elliot island and Seair (the small airline who fly to the island itself) Peter Gash managed to find a plane, strip out enough seats to take the 4m kayak and fly us out for a couple of days of filming.
We took with us an old friend and kayaking guru, Eddie Safarik, to shoot some still images and Richard Vevers from Underwater Earth; the company we’ll be working with throughout the expedition to bring you the most incredible images and film footage we can so you can live the adventure from right where you are now – sat at your computer. A really early morning start in Brisbane saw Sophee and I drive down to the Gold Coast and our flight headed straight up into the dark clouds and rain, our light plane being buffeted around by the squally conditions. We’d managed to load the four metre kayak into the plane along with the camera gear and people we’d need to make this event happen; some first time visitors to the island, others have been before and fallen in love with the place. Peter brought the plane to a halt on the rough coral runway after 90 minutes of flying and it was straight into the action – off to the Coral Gardens to have some still shots taken that will be used on the new website, launched later this year. Eddie really had me working it I can tell you; on the beach, in the water, sailing, paddling and even some really cool underwater ones too.
Next stop was the filming of an episode of Queensland Weekender (the show goes to air on Saturday 26th March on Ch7 here in Aus). Dean Miller the host wanted to know all about the Best Expedition so I took him diving, had a walk along the beach and out on the water to demonstrate how I’ll be moving up the coastline from May through September using my Hobie.
We then headed out onto the dive boats, donned our dive gear and into the water with Richard and Christophe from Underwater Earth. They’ll be coming along at key times during the expedition to help us film THE most amazing underwater sequences that will bring to life what happens on the Great Barrier Reef. The underwater scooters we used have been developed as prototypes to see how the footage looks before the real things are built in the next few weeks. This part of the project is particularly exciting and we hope to bring you a world first very soon. Watch this space…
Mother Nature gave us the complete run down of what to expect from the weather whilst out there with strong winds, driving rain and then an hour later totally blue skies and sunshine, something I have to be very prepared for, come May 21st. Next stop, a two-day test voyage to Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island onboard the Hobie kayak. We intend sailing the 42kms in a day, stopping overnight to film the dolphin feeding and sailing back the next day. It’s all starting to get a little real now!!
Yours expeditionally Ben
Finally after months of planning, thinking and NOT talking about it…I can let the cat out of the bag about my next BIG adventure!!
In May 2011 I will set off on a 1600km expedition along the Great Barrier Reef from the Town of 1770 all the way north to Cooktown winding my way through the islands and along the reef. My ‘Voyage of Discovery’ will retrace the route taken by the original English adventurer and seafarer Captain James Cook who navigated and charted the waters of the Coral Sea back in 1770.
He took just over three weeks to travel the length of the Queensland coastline. I will be taking just over three months.
I’m not trying to set any records for endurance, distance or speed but instead embarking on the journey to investigate the care-taking of this incredibly beautiful underwater environment I’ve been lucky enough to witness first hand during the six months of the Best job in the World.
This is the about bringing the encounters and experiences that I witness to you through my new website, as well as the usual Facebook and Twitter channels. You’ll be able to track my progress in real-time and see where we are on Google Maps, watch movies and video-blogs of the adventure as it happens both above and below the water.
Originally I was going to paddle the entire way in a sea kayak but have now settled on a much better way of going about things. I’ll be using a Hobie Adventure Island that can be paddled, peddled or sailed meaning I can travel between locations much quicker and if heaven forbid I became injured, I’d still be able to continue on the journey using a different means of propulsion. SunState Hobie have been kind enough to supply me with the vessel and my training can now start in earnest as I learn to handle it in all waters. Mal Gray from SunState Hobie has come on-board by supplying the vessel and I can’t thank him enough for the support.
Keith Roberts of Whitsunday Catamarans has been kind and brave enough to offer one of his fleet, a 40ft Lagoon Catamaran named ‘Whitsunday Blue’, as the support vessel and to come along on the adventure as the skipper. The project needs someone with Keith’s knowledge, experience and adventurous attitude to ensure that is works and I’m indebted to him for the commitment.
To run a website that’s as up-to-date and informative as I’m planning will require a pretty impressive office setup in order to create, edit and update all of the information we’ll be collating. The support vessel will be exactly that, a base where I will work every day to provide an online story of the adventure with blogs, photos and videos.
In order to understand the Great Barrier Reef a little better and to help see how human-kind is changing such a sensitive eco-system I will be working closely with GBRMPA (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) and Reef Check, a research charity who study and help look after coral reefs around the world. We will dive in lots of different locations as we go, researching and recording everything that we find. This data is then used by the clever people, scientists and boffins who can make sense it and educate people and ultimately protect one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
The project was launched on Wednesday and we’re already getting some good media coverage with clips on Channel 9, 10 and the Today Show (see below) along with the print media really getting behind the project. My friend Alice Tsou from Taiwan was straight onto it with a blog post too!
But this is now where the really hard work starts. We need to organise logistics, itineraries and expedition partners to help fund the expedition, so if you are a company or individual who’d like to get involved please contact me at Tourism Queensland via the link on this page – I look forward to hearing from you!
Stay tuned as things develop, I’ll be updating the website as often as I can.
Ben
My kayaking partner and good friend Eddie Safarik recently completed the first crossing from Fraser Island to Lady Elliot Island in the Capricornia group, 95kms away, with two friends Gaz and Paul.
The guys are an inspiration when it comes to the idea of out-there adventure and a great source of motivation towards my ‘next big idea’ that will be happening in 2011.
Have a listen to the interview here:
Been out on the water again training and getting used to some heavier water conditions around Moreton Bay. the wind was pumping at 20 knots and the waves were pretty damn big!
Here’s the route I took:
