Ben Southall became the envy of many when he beat out 34,000 other applicants and was awarded the "best job in the world" - the chance to spend six months in Australia's Great Barrier Reef region. He even got to bring his girlfriend along for the adventure. In exchange for priceless experiences and A$150,000, Southall was to detail his adventures on regular blog posts.

But, according to The Courier-Mail, some people feel that Southall hasn't keep up his end of the bargain. Since the job started on July 1, Southall has logged just seven posts. Tourism Queensland blames difficulties with Internet access for the skimpy posting and says that they are pleased with Southall's performance so far, especially given his hectic schedule. Tourism Queensland also claims that Southall has conducted over 50 interviews and has a documentary crew filming his every move. From what is posted on the blog, it does seem as though Southall has a very busy schedule, with dawn-to-dusk activities planned nearly every day. Tourism Queensland also said that they were looking at ways to clear up Southall's schedule a bit.

Hopefully they can work things out and allow Southall more time to blog. And if it turns out that Tourism Queensland isn't pleased with his performance, I'm sure they'll have no trouble finding a willing replacement!

Filed under: Blogs, Oceania, Australia