If you believe the copy, the best job in the world is lying on a beach, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef and blogging about it for a cool AUD $150,000 (US $96,300) over six months.

Sound like your cup of tea? It sounds like hard work to me!

The Queensland Tourism Department has advertised this job as part of a a multi-million dollar campaign to raise awareness of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef as a tourism destination. Twelve months in the making, it’s the first and largest project of its kind. While future campaigns are sure to come, I doubt any will catch the world’s attention like the Island Reef Job.

The successful applicant will be the face and voice of the islands for six months: there will be constant social media work to be done, blog posts to write, photos to upload, and videos to shoot, edit, and promote.

That said, it’s a highly sought position: with 15 days still to go, over 10,500 video applications have already been made.

Anny Chih from Vancouver, Canada has spent over 50 hours on her application – including creating a website and building a reputation on twitter and other social media tools.

I asked Anny what her perfect day would look like:

I’d probably wake up at six in the morning just being absurdly happy … walk around the island, collect the mail, have a chat with the waitress at a local diner, perhaps do some kayaking (one of my favourite summer activities), practice my rolls in the water, feed the fish, do a little scuba diving, maybe try a new hiking trail, take lots of pictures, blog and twitter like mad to try and keep up with everyone, borrow an Australian cookbook and try to make something with the fire extinguisher handy for dinner (I did once almost burn down my kitchen – luckily the oven kept most of the fire contained), take another stroll along the beach to look for crabs and chat with some locals over a beer, take a hot bath, blog some more and snuggle up to my stuffed animal Sharky at bedtime.

I’m not too sure the Whitsunday’s have diners, but Nicole McNaughton, PR Project Manager for the “Best Job in the World,” thinks the job will live up to Anny’s dream:

“A key part of the role will be exploring the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef to gain a full understanding of what’s on offer – and that includes getting to know the locals and the community. We want the successful applicant to not only report on the great experiences on offer, but also what it is that makes Queensland and its people so quintessentially unique. In short, we want them to get ‘under the skin’ of the destination from more than just a travelogue’s point of view. We want them to meet those who live and work in the region, to make friends with them, to look at issues such as the effects of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef. We want them to be much more than just a travel reporter.”

The best job in the world is an amazing opportunity to spend time amongst some of the 600 islands of the Reef and, unlike most visitors, get paid a hefty sum to do it. It’s also an excellent chance to launch a career in travel writing and gain a social media following for future projects.

Community Connection:

Subscribe to the Matador RSS feed now to stay up to date with more features on the Best Job in the World and the Great Barrier Reef.

If you’re interested in applying, tune in to the Indie Travel Podcast and listen to our podcast interview with Nicole, detailing how you can maximize your chances of success!