College of the Rockies Adventure Tourism Business Operations graduate Greg Snell has the best job in the world — or at least one of them.
Snell was announced as the winner of The Best Job in the World – Wildlife Caretaker by Tourism Australia on Friday, June 21.
Wildlife Caretaker was one of six positions up for grabs in addition to Chief Funster, Outback Adventurer, Park Ranger, Lifestyle Photographer and Taste Master. With over 330,000 applicants from 196 countries, Snell was the only Canadian to make it to the finals.
After being named a finalist and flying to Australia, Snell competed in a week of adventure, nature-based, culinary, social media and photography challenges against two other finalists in the Wildlife Caretaker category before being named the winner.
As Wildlife Caretaker, Snell will live on Kangaroo Island in South Australia for six months and spend his time swimming with great white sharks, snorkelling with sea lions, hanging out with kangaroos and helping to conserve the pristine natural environment of the island. He will document his experience through videos and blogs.
"I am incredibly elated to have won the position of Wildlife Caretaker," Snell said. "I can't wait to take my passion and enthusiasm for life, travel and conservation to beautiful South Australia. I am looking forward to sharing all of my amazing experiences with the world."
Since completing the Adventure Tourism Business Operations program at the college's Golden campus in 2009, Snell completed a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded internship in Ecuador, focussing on sustainable development through tourism. He then moved on to work for a Canadian adventure tourism company as tour leader in the Southern Cone of South America, leading small group adventure travel trips through Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and The Patagonia.
Snell will begin his role of Wildlife Caretaker in early December. In the meantime he plans to remain in Australia for a couple of more weeks, getting to know the area better before travelling back to Brazil and then spending some time with friends and family in Canada before starting the six-month position.
To learn more about College of the Rockies' Adventure Tourism Business Operations program, go to www.cotr.bc.ca/atbo.