Life less ordinary

Life is unfair. Period. But try telling this to Ben Southall, the winner of the ‘Best Job in the World’ competition, he’ll probably roll on the golden beaches of Hamilton Island, Australia, and say, “No mate, life is a beach.” Well (sigh), can’t argue with a man whose life is literally on a roll, can we? The 34-year-old Briton, a former charity fund raiser, will now earn £70,000 for a six-month contract as the caretaker of Hamilton Island, one of 70 islands in the world-heritage listed Great Barrier Reef. So while you are eyeing that four-room apartment tucked away in the fringes of metros, Mr Southall will live in a three-bedroom villa on the Island — complete with private pool and a golf buggy to go exploring.

Of course, there are some natural takeaways for the job: endless ocean views and clean sea breeze. The ‘job’ is not all that daunting also: fishing, hiking, sailing and snorkelling and updating a weekly blog, video and photo diaries about these extremely difficult pursuits. So while you and me will get roasted in the more than required sunshine of the Indian summer, Mr Southhall will lie on a sunbed, sip some cold beer and decide what do in the evening: snorkelling, sailing, fishing or just dip his toes in the barrier reef and enjoy the sunset. Life is about tough choices, isn’t it?

Mr Southall is already talking in the language of his new life. When CNN asked him about his reaction to the win, he said: “I was blown away, to be honest with you”. Well, we are also blown away, thanks to hot winds blowing across the plains of India.

First Published: May 06, 2009 22:35 IST