A 27-year-old Canadian adventurer who beat thousands of entrants from around the world to become South Australia’s Wildlife Caretaker started his six month position last week.

The State Government and Tourism Australia chose Greg Snell for the role in June – one of six positions offered as part of the Best Jobs in the World campaign.

Minister for Tourism Leon Bignell said Greg would blog about his experiences and promote the state via social media, encouraging other young people to visit.

“As well as looking after our local wildlife, Greg will promote our state as a working and holiday destination to thousands of people across the world,” said Mr Bignell.

“Greg’s travel experience, passion for wildlife and digital media skills make him the ideal person for the job.”

STA Travel figures released earlier in the year showed the campaign had sparked a 34 percent increase in international sales to South Australia – driven by strong demand from Europe – since it started in March.

Greg said he was “stoked” about moving to South Australia, and looked forward to sharing his adventures with the rest of the world on social media.

“Since being chosen four months ago, I have been tracking jaguars in central Guyana, photographing spider monkeys in Suriname and surfing the north-east coast of Brazil,” he said.

“All this was in preparation for the adventures awaiting me in South Australia, where I will be shark diving, swimming with dolphins, hiking the Flinders Ranges and caring for koalas. There are so many incredible things to do and I can’t wait to get stuck into it.”

Greg, a former adventure tour leader based in South America, won the position after a lengthy recruitment process, which involved submitting a video, campaigning in his home country and competing in a series of wildlife challenges against two other finalists in South Australia.

He won a $100,000 salary package and will spend six months caring for SA’s wildlife, working on Kangaroo Island and the Eyre Peninsula with sea lions, dolphins, koalas, seals, tuna and great white sharks. He will also visit other regions and help with major events such as the Tour Down Under.

The Best Jobs in the World competition attracted 620,000 entries submitted by 330,000 people from 196 countries, with more than 46,000 videos uploaded for consideration by the judges.

To follow Greg’s adventures throughout South Australia, visit:
www.greggoesglobal.com
@gregorsnell
https://www.facebook.com/#!/greg.snell.71?fref=ts

To view Greg’s Best Jobs in the World entry, visit: https://bestjobs.australia.com/