So no excuses here I’m afraid I just haven’t had the time to be able to feed anything onto the site as I hoped I would and my periodic posts haven’t given you the insight I was hoping into the behind the scenes world of the Island Caretaker! Life has been incredibly good, chaotic and full-on ever since starting the job back in July and now that I’m almost at the halfway point there is some sort of routine to my otherwise abnormal existence!

Bre headed back to Canada for a member of her family’s wedding a few weeks ago and will be back out here in a few days time so we can get back to having the crazy adventure and fun we have in this particularly mad time in our lives. It’s easy to have the experiences by yourself but it means so much more when there’s someone special there to do it and remember it with you. See you at the end of the month Brester!

Since my last post here on the site I’ve been getting bang up to date with my diving qualifications and am almost all the way through my PADI Advanced diver course. I racked up 25 dives and all have been in different locations so there no getting bored with the same sights every time for me – Heron Bommie, The Cod Hole, S.S. Yongala, Wheeler Reef are all rated amongst some of the best in Australia and I feel privileged to be under the water in some of these locations and frequently have to pinch myself to realise it’s actually happening.

I’m typing this from onboard the Fantasea launch which is taking me across to the mainland where I’m joining up with the crew from catamaran ‘Emperors Wings’ where I’ll be for three days between the middle and outer reef taking in some more of the marine world which has hypnotised and keeps taking me back for more, I have eight dives during my time onboard and should return to Hamilton Island as a qualified Advanced Diver.

It’s something that a few years ago I thought I’d never do having lost a best mate to a diving accident back at the turn of the century but it made me realise that life is out there for living and if you don’t do these things you miss out for good…I am so glad that I learnt last year in Lake Malawi and thank you so much to Sandy from Aqua Africa for getting me through that terrifying mask-clearance session, I thought my days were numbered.

From there I head to Long Island and the Peppers Palm Bay resort which is another couples retreat – not that good as my girl is away in Canada still but the chance to get onto the water in a kayak or catamaran should never be missed and I’ll be out there as often as I can.

It’s then back to basics as I return closer to home and have two days camping and exploring Whitsunday Island and aim to reach the highest point, Whitsunday Peak, at 435m as bit of training for the Hamilton Island Triathlon at the end of November.

A little concerned about this as it’s my first multi-discipline event and will be in front of a big crowd  making it all the more important not just to turn up for the wooden spoon! It consists of:

• 750m Ocean Swim
• 20km Bike Ride
• 5km Run

I don’t have a problem with the running or swimming it’s just the bike ride so Steve from the gym on the island has kindly lent me his bike to train on but oh my god how Hamo’s hills kill you! I did do the ‘Run the Whitsunday Great Walk’ at the weekend, a 28km undulating track through the forest finishing in Airlie Beach, and now two days later feel fully recovered…surprisingly! The only thing that is suffering since I got this job is my fitness, having no routine has really knocked it back so I find I’m getting up earlier and earlier to train leaving the house well before the sun comes up but it does make a great way to explore a new destination when I arrive there.

My thoughts are firmly focused on what I’ll do after the Best Job has finished in January and I have a very important meeting with Tourism Queensland to discuss my next endeavour which is more than likely going to be an expedition to kayak the length of the Great Barrier Reef in on of these little beauties. Suffice to say there is still a huge amount of planning and preparation to be done and from previous experience (www.afritrex.com) I know that it won’t just happen overnight.

Hopefully my choice for next year's project

I will try to retrace Captain Cook’s route along the inside of the reef from south to north to utilise the trade winds which blow during July and August, the only feasible time to do it as the temperatures are bearable then. Several people have already expressed an interest in joining me for legs of this adventure and if you have any similar thoughts please get in touch – you never know!

As I pull into the harbour and start another fun-filled chapter in life may I wish you well wherever in the world you’re reading this from.

Ben

{seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.tv/thumbnail/EfSUgDjbYv_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”Slacking again… ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/DscCusniFZ”}}}

I’m here for an evening representing Tourism Queensland at the Tourism Futures event on the Gold Coast and will be speaking to Nick Bryant from BBC World in a panel-style interview in front of the 200 guests.

Just watched a superb sunset from the 8th floor of the Marriott Hotel which overlooks the ocean and can’t wait to get up for sunrise as it climbs out of the ocean…….

There’s a very good friend of mine called Tom who has lots of time on his hands to create such legendary classics as this….enjoy and thank you Mr Bartlett.

On Sunday Bre and the filmcrew from Beyond TV headed south from Brisbane to the Gold Coast where they’ll spend the week visiting Movie World, Sea World and generally having as much fun as they possibly can. They’ll be filming her every movement as she trains with some of the world’s best stunt men and women, driving cars, diving with sharks, cracking whips and mingling with the stars from down there who’ve done it for years.

When she’s down there she’ll be staying with one of our great friend’s, Alex Stratigos, whose family live there and have very kindly offered to put her up for a few days. Alex is down in Sydney still and sometime soon will actually get her ass up this way to visit…hint, hint!

While she’s away I’m heading off to the Fantasea Reefworld pontoon to spend a couple of days there and a night enjoying the Reefsleep, find out more here. Wish she could have been here to do it with me though as it’ll be strange being under the stars, floating on the Great Barrier Reef without her there to enjoy it with me….

Hurry back my girl, there’s a huge adventure going on and I want you here with me to enjoy it! Have fun down there and be safe.

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:

• Mountain bike along the Bicentennial Trail which runs from Cooktown to Healesville, a total distance of 5300kms
• Row the length of the Great Barrier Reef, something like 2000kms in a kayak or Woodvale style boat (my friend Tom is leaving in November to row the Atlantic – best of luck mate! Have a look at http://www.atlanticrowyt.co.uk)
• Run across the Simpson Desert?!
• Balloon across Australia with the help of Sir Richard Branson and Virgin
• Climb the 10 peaks in the Kimberley’s in a 10 day period. That’s one a day (not sure about the logistics of this really)

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!

[flickrset id="72157622008909324" thumbnail="square" overlay="true" size="small"]

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!

[flickrset id="72157621882697858" thumbnail="square"]

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!

[flickrset id="72157621758225775" thumbnail="square"]

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.

[flickrset id="72157621615561989" thumbnail="square"] [flickrset id="72157621616500033" thumbnail="square"]

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??

Sorry for the delay in getting anything new onto the site, I have set myself the task of writing some new script for you tomorrow morning, in the mean time have a look at our first scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef when we descended to 10 metres to dive with some Potato Cod and Reef Sharks.

The first few weeks of the job have been excellent, really good fun, packed full of new challenges but pretty damn busy. Now that’s a good thing as anyone who knows me will realise…I don’t really like sitting still or wasting time – unlike the English cricket team in the first Ashes test!

As I sit here tonight on the sofa at home (watching the Ashes funnily enough) I’ve been thinking back about the days since I started the job in July 1st and will try and summarise the highs and lows of what’s been going on in my crazy world ever since.

Best beach: Whitehaven Beach – crystal clear water, THE finest white sands and its 7kms long.

View Larger Map

Best food: The accolade for this category must be split between two very different locations. I love my steak I really do, a fat rib-eye fillet, cooked rare makes me smile from ear to ear and that was my first night back in Australia at Jo-Jo’s in Brisbane. Presentation is SO much  as far as I’m concerned when it comes to good food and Glenn Bacon at Hayman really does make you feel at though you’re eating a work of art. Bre and I sat at his bench in the kitchen and were served an incredible range of delights….Squid Ink Emulsion, Ice Bowls, Foie Gras Jus – a tantilising menu of note.

Best bed: The Pavilion at Lizard Island resort for sure! From the goose down pillows to the mind blowing view there is only one real contender so far. I could have spent two weeks here and have never got bored…the review that Kate Hudson gave exactly the same room when she stayed there was “the most romantic place in the world” – and I can agree. There’s this incredible bed, the huge sliding windows which open out onto the veranda, the infinity plunge pool overlooking the ocean and Osprey Island and finally the double day bed a few feet down to watch the sunrise from. Yes you pay through the nose for somewhere like this but the experience is one I’ll never forget. Check out these photos…

[flickrset id="72157621653118174" thumbnail="square" overlay="true" size="small"]

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:

Eddie’s interview

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: