Ontario man wins dream job on Australian island

A 27-year-old man from Oshawa, Ont., has scored the so-called Best Job in the World taking care of kangaroos and koalas on an idyllic Australian beach for six months.

Greg Snell beat out nearly 50,000 applicants from across the world for the position of wildlife caretaker on Kangaroo Island in South Australia thanks to a Tourism Australia campaign.

"My job is to wake up kangaroos and koalas, go swimming with sea lions and kayaking and diving with dolphins," Snell told CBC News.

"Also what I'm very much looking forward to is tagging and researching great white sharks."

While Snell says hed gladly do the job for free, the position pays $100,000 some of which he plans to donate.

"I've pledged $5,000 towards a non-profit agency called Planet-Era, which is based out of Toronto, and they're gonna start a brand new it's like a sustainable community," he said.

Snell says it's a job he was destined for. He spent 10 years working as an adventure tour guide in South America and travelling the globe.

"Always having energy always having the passion and desire to see and experience something new," he said.

"I believe that life is short and we need to make the most of it while we can, so for me that's seeing the world."

Snell will chronicle his adventure on a blog for Australias tourism department.

"It's sort of like a how-to guide if you wanna go and check out all these things that the Best Job in the World entails," Snell said.

"It's possible you can go and do that and live that yourself."

The Best Job in the World contest kicked off in 2009 with a posting for caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The campaign now consists of six postings, including "chief funster" in New South Wales and outback adventurer in Northern Territory.