An Irishman, who is among the top ten applicants competing for ‘the best job in the world’, has said he is quietly confident about the competition.
Meathman George Karellas (31) fought off almost 35,000 applicants from more than 200 countries to be among the 50 people shortlisted.
Now Mr Karellas, who has previously worked for RTÉ and Carr Communications, is among the top 10 on the wild card leaderboard.
Speaking to The Irish Timesthis morning Mr Karellas said "it's been nothing short of exhilarating since 2am yesterday morning when my father woke me to tell me the news".
You expect a few congratulatory emails and phone calls from friends but it's as if Ireland has gotten behind me, he added.
Mr Karellas said he was ‘quietly confident’ about the competition, adding “I haven't paid much attention to my competitors, my grandmother used to say when you are running a race, don't worry about where the other guy is”.
Anna Karellas, George's sister, told The Irish Times: "I saw the ad for the job in the paper, and as soon as I saw it I texted George the link to the website and said - 'just do it' as I knew he was perfect for the job"
There has been a lot of work involved and some bad luck in the making of the video, so I definitely feel that George deserves to win now as he stuck with it and worked hard to get it done, she added.
No formal qualifications are needed for the job, which involves being a “caretaker” of tropical Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, but candidates must be willing to swim, snorkel, dive and sail, reporting back on their adventures to Tourism Queensland HQ in Brisbane (and the rest of the world) via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
Candidates had to submit a video application in English explaining why they should be chosen for the job.
The winner will receive return airfares, rent free accommodation in a luxury three-bedroom house and transport on Hamilton Island, as well as a salary of AUD $150,000 (€75,000) for the six months.
The 50 applicants will now be reduced to 10 candidates selected by Tourism Queensland and one wildcard, voted for by visitors to the website islandreefjob.com
The winning applicant will be announced on May 6th, with the six-month contract commencing on July 1st.