HAMILTON ISLAND, Australia — And we have a winner! Ben Southall from England is the 'successful applicant' in the quest for the Best Job in the World. Canada's Erik Rolfsen was just as positive about the whole experience when we interviewed him after the announcement, as he was each time we talked to him in the past few days.

So, as you may know from watching our show, Ben made a few appearances with us on Monday and Tuesday. We knew he had a girlfriend named Breanna in Vancouver because his published information indicated he would be taking her with him to Hamilton Island in the event he won. So, clearly, Breanna is packing her bags in Vancouver as we speak! Our producer Heather contacted her through Facebook earlier today, because many of the media here had the feeling Ben was in the top one or two as the week wore on and we were in that boat as well. Breanna almost immediately got back to Heather with her contact information. When Ben was announced the winner, Heather e-mailed Breanna within seconds to let her know. We did an interview with Ben shortly after the announcement to run on Canada AM Early Edition with Marci. As I started the interview, Heather got Breanna on the phone, and as the interview ended I handed him the phone with Breanna on the line from Vancouver. It was a great moment.

Ben and Erik will both be on the show Wednesday and then our work here will be done. I believe there is a wrap-up party to attend, and that's something on our list for tonight. It's been a long couple of days here on Hamilton Island in Queensland Australia, but a real eye-opener for me about things on this side of the world. The Aussie people are very friendly, and they LOVE Canadians. Yesterday someone heard me speak and asked me if I had an American accent, so today when I went out this morning I had my green CANADA tee shirt on and wore it over to the media centre just to clear the air.

My producer Heather and cameraman Gord did spectacular work this week. We shot a lot of things during the day, and had to edit them and feed them back to Toronto in the space of 2 or 3 hours, and then prep to do the show, which ran from 8pm to 11pm nightly. You can imagine that when you're working with people on the other side of the world that you can expect to hit a few bumps, but Heather and Gord cleared the runway every time to make sure we got what we needed. We leave here tomorrow and fly to Brisbane, overnight there and then head back home on Friday.

Thanks for reading this week!!

Tuesday Blog

Our show ended last night here in Australia at 11pm, and all of us, cameraman Gord, producer Heather and me were beat. We were up at 5.30am and spent about 10 hours in the sun and on the water at the Great Barrier Reef and Hayman Island with the 16 finalists in the Best Job in the World Contest. But, I managed to get a pretty good night's sleep, and, woke up this morning to a cockatoo on the railing of my balcony. It stayed there long enough for me to get a few pictures and later I learned a couple of things about these birds. First, you don't feed them because they are literally the 'seagulls' of Australia, and second, these birds can live to be 75 or 80 years old and actually lose their hair in later years.

It was a cloudy and rainy day here in the Whitsunday's. We boarded a catamaran and headed for a place called Daydream Island as the finalists had some 'experiences' to do there, before moving on to Whitsunday Island and Whitehaven beach. However, when we arrived at Daydream Island, which used to be called West Molle Island until a resort was built there in the 1930's, it began raining, and raining very hard. It was originally planned the finalists would experience feeding fish at the resort here, and then go either sailing or kayaking. However with the rain, the plan had to change, and much to the delight of the finalists, the sea going adventure was swapped out for a spa treatment!

Weather around here changed very quickly today, and while the finalists were in the spa, organizers decided to take advantage of a break in the weather to have them feed fish. Except, as it turns out, the fish weren't hungry, but the stingrays were, much to the consternation of a 2 metre lemon shark who showed his displeasure to the ooohing and aahing of those gathered. This event took place in one of the resorts display 'reefs', where they have many types of fish, sharks and rays. After this it was lunch. Everything on the menu was local from Queensland, and Gord claimed it was one of the best meals he's ever eaten. He had a stuffed crab on his plate the size of a small Volkswagen, and barbequed prawns, just like we had on the show last night. There was yet another photo op after lunch, it rained again, and we headed back to Hamilton Island. This was slightly disappointing because we had to forgo a trip to Whitehaven beach, which, by all accounts and pictures is stunning.

So, another long day as we get ready to do the show 'tonight'. Tomorrow, they will announce the winner. The 'caretaker' will be announced at 3pm local time, and that's overnight in Canada, but tune into Canada AM early edition with Marci and I'll have an interview with the winner shortly after 6, and then the winner and other finalists will also join use for Canada AM. Now, word of warning, there is a huge wrap-up street party tomorrow night right when our show is on the air, so I can't guarantee what kind of shape anyone will be in because it's the first chance for the finalists to 'let loose', and if you ask me, these finalists are ready to let it all hang out!

Monday Blog

A great day here in Australia Monday. Up and out bright and early and on a boat heading to the Great Barrier Reef at 7 a.m. They were taking us to a place called "Reef World" which is a diving/snorkeling platform built on the reef, 70 kilometres from shore. The ride out and back was brutal. With the winds upwards of 50 km, and blowing from the S-E, and swells of 3-4 metres, that meant we rocked and rolled all the way out to the platform. Good thing the guy sitting beside me was able to get to his 'bag' on time!

We went to the reef with Erik Rolfsen and the rest of the Best Job in the World participants. All 16 finalists had a snorkeling 'experience' today, going in four at a time, and making their way from a barge about 200 yards away back to the main platform. We were also shooting a segment on the reef, so Heather my producer and I put on our "jelly-fish' proof suits, mine was powder blue, and hit the water. The very fact one is snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, is a life experience in itself. We had an underwater camera with us, and we got some great shots with it. The only thing that was a wee bit disappointing, is that is was sooooo windy, the seas were churned up a bit and you didn't get that crisp, clear look, but none the less, it was still amazing.

We spent about 2 and a half hours at Reef World, then got back on the boat for another mix-master ride to Hayman Island. This is one of the most exclusive Islands in Australia, with a very exclusive resort complete with all you'd want in a beach, and a view that just doesn't quit. Here the BJITW gang, along with the media, went through a 'food experience' tasting Australian food, and also food from each of the countries represented in the event.

Gord, our cameraman was the first to pick up on the 'Canadian' dish, which was a maple syrup and ice cream mixture that was so good, Gord and I had several! The task for the 16 finalists after their snorkeling and food experience today was to consume all they did and go back and blog about it. In the end, I have a feeling that the person who exhibits the best blogging ability will be the eventual choice. We'll know who becomes the 'caretaker' here on Hamilton Island at 3pm Wednesday, which is overnight for Canada. But don't worry, watch Canada AM Early edition at Wednesday at 6am with Marci and we'll have an interview with the winner.

Sunday Blog

So I made it Hamilton Island Sunday at 1:40 p.m. Australia time, just 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my condo in Toronto. My producer Heather and cameraman Gord went through this earlier this week, although Gord had an even longer trip, as he started in Halifax.

I've never been on a flight that's 14 hours long. I wasn't looking forward to it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. After a five-hour flight from Toronto to L.A., I caught Qantas Flight 16 to Brisbane. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I did, in fact I got a good solid 6 to 7 hours.

This still left me plenty of time for a couple of movies, so I watched Frost/Nixon, which was excellent, and Four Christmases, with Vince Vaughn, and it was laugh-out-loud funny, right in the middle of a cabin full of sleeping passengers. This flight is 11,600 kilometres in length and crosses the International Date Line. In total, the flight from Toronto to Brisbane is 16,400 kilometres and you have another 600 or so to make it to Hamilton Island so you've got about 17,000 kilometres of travel there!

Well, it was worth it. Arrived here and hit the ground running. Erik Rolfsen, the Canadian in the Best Job in the World event, arrived with the other 15 finalists about 1:15 p.m., and they immediately hit the pool in the first big of job competition. While they were doing that, we paid a visit to, and shot, the multi-million dollar place the winner of the BJITW will stay.... Watch for this on the show Monday. The view alone is multi-million dollar stuff.

There's a place here called the Koala Gallery and it's the only place in the world where you can pick up and cuddle a koala. I did that too! We'll have Koalas on the show Tuesday. They're darn cute, but apparently poop a lot!

Things are reversed for us on this trip, our show runs from 8 p.m. to 11p.m. here in Australia, so we'll be following the entrants tomorrow as they 'experience' the Great Barrier Reef, and learn about some fine cuisine. Then you'll see parts of that on the show.

Also, I'll also be snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. We have an underwater camera with us, and I'll be using that. It's pretty windy here, so taking the hour boat ride to what's called 'Reef World' is going to be a challenge for those who tend to get a little sea sick...I'll let you know tomorrow how I do!