Best Jobs contestants explore S Australia

SYDNEY - The contestants of the South Australian Best Jobs in the World competition have Monday marvelled at the rugged beauty of Kangaroo Island, said to be the best place in Australia to see wild animals.

American blogger Nick Tilley, 33, Canadian adventurer Greg Snell, 27, and Taiwa social media expert Hsin-Hsuan Hsieh, 25, are all in the running to win their dream job as Wildlife Caretaker with Tourism Australia.

As part of their duties, the winner will spend time with the famous fauna of Kangaroo Island - home to thousands of kangaroos as well as koalas, wallabies, possums, echidnas and the elusive platypus.

On Monday, day three of the competition, the contestants practised their tour guide skills at the island's famous Seal Bay, Flinders Chase National Park and Hansen Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

They posed at the rugged and windswept Remarkable Rocks, gazed down at the stunning coastline from a helicopter, and came face-to- face with seals at sunset.

Tilley described the island as "a rugged wilderness, sculpted by nature and time".

"South Australia is such a unique place, with wildlife unlike anywhere else in the world," he said.

The competitors are currently undergoing a series of challenges and using social media to help sell the state to the rest of the world, before the big competition announcement on Friday, June 21.

While yesterday's tour gave them just a slice of what Kangaroo Island has to offer, the winner will have the good part of a year to get to know the local secrets -- the best places to walk among sea lions, swim with dolphins, or spy on elusive Leafy Sea Dragons amongst the weed.

Known as the wildlife sanctuary without fences, around 30 percent of the island is protected as parks -- but it is also home to five-star resorts with an eco or food tourism bent.

One of the not-so-secret local treasures is Vivonne Bay, with turquoise waters and a long, curved sandy beach -- rated number one out of 10,000 Australian beaches evaluated by Sydney University for things like water clarity and privacy.

Vivionne Bay is also home to the so-called Little Sahara with white sand dunes surrounded by bush, where thrill-seekers can climb to the top of razorback ridges and take the fast way down via sandboard.

On Tuesday, the last day of the competition, the Best Jobs finalists will continue their South Australian adventure, learning how to track an echidna and visiting Stokes Bay, a honey farm and winery, before travelling to Sydney for Friday's results announcement.