After the big announcement, we had a huge party, in which all the tourists and staff of Hamilton Island were invited! It was awesome! However, I had to go to sleep early because I had to be up early the next morning. Here is a follow-up of the Next-day.
Byebye Best Job…
Hello Qantas muffin 
Who would imagine that this could be called “loosing”…
Don’t worry mates, I’m doing well!
The last day of the selection process has been very strange!
Cali seemed to have a lot of fun looking at her tweets.
The guys were really excited about getting their new waterproof cams (apparently :))
Clarke was… Relaxing!
I saw a green snake in the hotel before going to my final interview (bad omen ?).
And Ben S. was laughing and keeping it cool, as always!
And finally, once the Big annoucement had been made, I went to give my resumés to some people around us, closely followed by my TV crew friends from TF1
My good friend Ben Southall from UK has just been nominated to the Island Caretaker job. Well done Ben!
That’s right unfortunately. We spent all day on rainy Daydream Island. But I realized that even rain could be nice!
Once the Vessel Boat dropped us on Daydream’s harbour, we were given some Daydream branded umbrellas to protect ourselves from the rain gods, and to enjoy our stay in this beautiful resort.
Fishes do not really care about the weather so we were able to feed them at the living reef lagoon. The hotel has a great artificial built-in structure allowing tourists to discover and to feed fishes they might not be able to see otherwise. We all went to feed the huge stingrays. We also admired the feeding of the sharks and of “Henry” the cod. Stingrays were really docile and impressive, but I preferred taking care of the beautiful star fish!
The weather did not allow us to have our sailing event as planned. But if it is rainy on Daydream Island, that’s no worries mate !
You can spend your whole day in the Rejuvenation Spa, in which we had an extraordinary moment! (Parents, there is a Kid Skipper club for your children while you are at the SPA!)
I experienced a 1 hour Botanical Regeneration (body exfoliation, steam table, scalp massage), but you can also try like 30 other ones (hot stones, facial, etc.)
We came back to Hamilton Island and were introduced to a Great Barrier Reef Ranger who told us about some keys facts of this gigantic amazing living ecosystem.
Then, we had a team activity in which creativity, organization, management and acting were required. In my team (with Myriam, Ben S., Yi, Greg) we decided to give each of us a sea animal role. I actually got the crab’s one, and had to explain to the audience what corals were. All I can say is that it is really hard imitating the crabs’ moves!
You can also watch the official video by TQ of our second day!
Here is the blog post I had to write for the official website www.islandreefjob.com:
“Good day mate! Welcome on board of Fantasea’s adventure cruising to Reefworld. May I check your ticket please?” asked the young lady near one of Hamilton Island marina’s pontoon. That would have been one of the questions I had the chance not to be asked today. Actually, as part of the TOP 16 finalists for the Best Job In The World, the selection process for Island Caretaker job is both serious and entertaining. I really appreciated the trip to Reefworld, even if I got a bit seasick! I should have taken my pills like mom said! But that was not to ruin my day at all, I recovered fast and was really ready for this exciting first day.
Just before continuing, I wanted to clarify things with everyone. If some of you still think that the selection process is like a big holiday, well just imagine that it is like the picture below all day long. Hopefully, we (the candidates) all really enjoy much talking to the local and international media (I just love my mates from TF1, France) in order to explain the whole Best Job’s selection process and more, how each of us could be the successful applicant for The Best Job. So that’s hard work though!
I have learnt a lot during my first days in Australia (Brisbane, The Sunshine Coast, and The Islands of the Great Barrier Reef). From all over the world and with Mr Cousteau’s quotation: “People protect what they love”. Indeed, each continent has its own culture and ways of thinking. Theses values could be represented as big and strong ropes connected to one fundamental value: emotions. Today, we had the opportunity to discover a small part of the Great Barrier Reef, which is to me, one of the world’s most beautiful ways of unifying people. We are just so equal and small once facing the GBR and its 2000+ species of fish and corals!
Once we were briefed by Fantasea’s diving experts (and quite good comedy actors!), it was time for action, and finally to discover the GBR! Snorkel gear on (number 2), I was eager to swim as close as possible to the coral and fish to enjoy the moment as much as possible.
Just after that, we had to leave all our new fishy friends and we met in order to go to Hayman Island. I finally understood the expression “that blows your mind”. True, flying over the GBR has actually become my #1 achievement in my life. Thanks to Anjaan who did a great job as co-pilot of the plane bringing us to Hayman Island.
Our first golf buggy trip on Hayman Island was really exciting as the island actually shines from the sky and is really full of colour contrasts once we landed. The big smile you can see in the middle of my face was before discovering the island. After it became twice as big! A big thanks to Mr Wright and all Hayman Island’s crew for welcoming us, getting us to be official Hayman invited citizens, and enjoying a sumptuous international gourmet lunch by Chef Glenn Bacon.
I thought I could not finish this blog article without some cliché photos. So I decided to share with you an overview of the resort we went to on Hayman Island as it just looks like a postcard, but is not! Hayman Island is like heaven on earth. If you like colorful landscapes, relaxation, enjoying tasty meals and living your life fully, I recommend you visit www.hayman.com.au and book ASAP!
Before leaving Brisbane, I had to “share” with you some of the great food we had, here at Stamford hotel.
I enjoy so much seafood that I could eat everything on the buffet!
Seafood! |
Lebanese Food! |
More Food! |
We all arrived at the airport right on time for our first photo shoot and interviews with the worldwide press !
Then, we all went to get internet connections in the Airline’s Lounge.
Before serious things start, I thought it was time to give a big hug to everyone (sorry I might have missed some of you guys…)
Seeing Brisbane by plane reminded me that I have to come back to this town. It’s just ALL incredible: its people, its culture, its sunrises from the pool of the Stamford, and yet, I did not get to learn enough about this city and that’s a pity… Brisbane I’ll be back!
The 1.5 hour flight to Hamilton Island happened to be a great moment on the plane. Actually, some camera crews were allowed to film on board and that was fun and entertaining. We were surprised to see so many cameras on the ground of Hamilton Island. Check out and try to find Charly!
Ben (UK): “Come on Benj, journalists are waitin’ for ya ! “. Dear candidates friends, beware of Ben²
And finally, I am delighted to introduce you to the french TV crew who will be following me during ALL the interview process for TV channel TF1 for the “Sept à Huit” show
And here is a video of the Blue Pearl, the house of the winner
I am happy to present you the other candidates for the Best Job In The World!
 Anjaan(IND) |
 Ben(GBR) |
 Cali(USA) |
 Clare(TWN) |
 Erik(CAN) |
 Greg(SGP) |
 Hailey(AUS) |
 James(AUS) |
 Juweon(KOR) |
 Magali(NLD) |
 Meiko(JPN) |
 Myriam(DEU) |
 Clarke(NZL) |
 Yi(CHN) |
 George(IRL) |
I also got my shiny cyan blue tshirt! I just love this color!
Here are some more photos (remember, you can see a lot of them on my Flickr Albums!)
Magali, Anjaan, George, Greg, Ben (UK)
Cali, Hailey, Ben (UK), Magali
We also met the big Guru this morning, Mr. Anthony Hayes, TQ Chief Executive Officer. He has really been nice to everyone of us, and it seems that we have the same kind of supportive mothers!
PS: Keeping up, here is my French touch #2
