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Tasmania Is Seeking Caretakers For This Remote Island Lighthouse

Tasmania Is Seeking Caretakers For This Remote Island Lighthouse

Want to get off the grid in 2017? Tasmania is looking for two volunteer caretakers for Australia’s southernmost lighthouse on Maatsuyker Island and it looks like a dream gig – especially if you hate crowds.

Maatsuyker Island is located 10 kilometres off Tasmania’s south coast in the stretch of sea that leads towards Antarctica. Set up to keep the island running year round, the Maatsuyker Island Volunteer Caretaker Program sees two keen volunteers take over maintenance of the remote isle for six-months at a time.

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Volunteers will effectively act as the island’s caretakers – this includes anything from mowing the lawns (all two kilometres of them) to picking up shipwrecked sailors who pass by. Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife service say they’re looking for “self-sufficient people that are healthy, have proven ability to live and work in remote locations, and are able to carry out care-taking services including maintenance of grounds, buildings and plant and equipment.” Volunteers will also be in charge of providing daily weather observations to the Bureau of Meteorology, for which they’ll be trained and paid for.

The gig includes a return helicopter flight to the island, an AM radio, an emergency radio and a landline phone. Punters will need to bring all their own food, supplies and necessary entertainment for the entirety of the stay. Also there’s no internet, so prepare to say goodbye to that Instagram feed for a little while.

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Fair warning, this will be one challenging gig. The island’s location in the middle of the ocean means that winds often reach 50 to 60 knots, and there’s an average of 250 rainy days per year. Despite that, it’s clear this is the place to go if you’re looking to get away from it all.

Keen? Maatsuyker Island positions run March to September and September to March. The program has already been filled until September 2017, and the next round of expressions of interest are open. Check out more details here.

(h/t Lonely Planet)

[qantas_widget code=HBA]Or you could just visit Tasmania instead. Check out Qantas flights to Hobart.[/qantas_widget]

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