Almost two months ago, I boarded a plane and flew to Kangaroo Island to begin the experience of a lifetime. I was officially beginning my post as one of Tourism Australia’s “Best Jobs in the World” winners, in the role of “Wildlife Caretaker” in South Australia.
The Best Jobs job description is jam-packed with daily activities and requirements that is difficult to fathom at first glance. I mean, wow, where do we find the time for all this? Then I remind myself that I make the time and on top of that, all of these “requirements” are awesome.
In the last six weeks alone, I’ve been cage diving with great white sharks; swimming with sea lions and dolphins; skydiving, kayaking and mountain biking; going on food and wine tours, visiting koala sanctuaries and sea colonies; and touring national parks with professional rangers and guides. It is an absolute whirlwind and one I love trying to form in the ways that I feel are best suited towards meeting the ultimate goal, which is growing tourism to South Australia.
The state of SA is filled with awesome and amazing adventure travel opportunities all of which I highlight through my website, Greg Goes Global. I do this through visual engagement and have seen the biggest response to photos shared on Instagram and Facebook. A big portion of my job is to snap, edit and share photographs of SA—especially wildlife shots. It is incredible what kind of online response you can get to a cute animal doing human-like thing. (Hugs, winks, high fives, etc.)
Another big portion of a day in the life of the “Best Jobs” is organization. Staying on top of my editing and communication takes a good hour out of my day. Sometimes after eight hours out on tour hiking, biking or swimming, it can be tough to find the energy to put in this hour in front of the laptop, but honestly it is necessary. No one is going to do this behind-the-scenes work for me. If I don’t do it that day I’ll have more to do the next, and so on. You have probably felt a similar feeling in your own life and can relate to this.
Throughout the last six weeks, I have had the chance to do a number of incredible things. I am proud of the content I am creating and must admit that with a place this beautiful, it is pretty easy to snap a great shot at yet another world-class beach, or yet another dolphin seemingly smiling at the wonderful life under the South Australian seas. The amount of material here is boundless and I am absolutely loving exploring it all and sharing what I see with the world.
This is it, our time is now. The Wildlife Caretaker gig isn’t going to last forever, but my belief in living the best life will. Another day goes by and yet another memory is made. I have chosen to document the story of the Wildlife Caretaker position in a visually entertaining and highly engaging digital format. How will you document your story?
