Police, crocodiles and Penguins

Earlier today I submitted my Best Jobs in the World second round video. When I say today, I mean about 2am. I’m a little tired.

The whole process was intense, in a really positive way. Putting full time work together with making videos, creating social media content, reaching out to traditional media, and planning and pulling off an all-weekend outreach/stunt didn’t leave a lot of time for sleep, and when I did lie down horizontally, my mind was always churning with ideas.

This was a particularly hamstring-stretching iteration of my Quiz.

But being tired was the only real downside. I experienced an outpouring of support and endorsements that exceeded any of my expectations. I had friends who worked their connections, mates who joined me at the pub for brainstorming sessions, family proofreading my CV and getting out and about drumming up support, a gang of willing helpers who dressed in crazy outfits and were mobbed by children, and people I know (and some I don’t!) sending me endorsements from all over the world. Whether or not I make the next round, the last fortnight has been filled with highlights that remind me how lucky I am to know so many great people.

YOU were my ultimate referee – more than 160 of you! (note: the mosaic software was being a bit difficult, so I think there are a handful of duplicates and some people missing :-( But I promise I saw and appreciated every single photo!)

Plus, I wandered all over London with a crocodile and a kangaroo, talking to strangers about some of the most inspiring natural places in the world. I mean, come on! How good’s that? It was so much fun that one of my friends wondered aloud why we don’t just do this stuff for kicks, and I’m a little inclined to agree!

As it turns out, dressing up as a park ranger means people just accept that climbing up on things is the most natural act in the world.

I now have to wait until the 15th May to find out if I’m in the final 3. I think I have creatively interpreted the brief (constrained a little by not being able to work on it during normal hours) but I’m sure lots of the other candidates have come up with brilliant stuff, so I’m going to try to put it out of my mind for a week and just see what happens.

In the meantime, here’s a few of the great people I met on my travels:

This is Squash Falconer (left) and Dave Corn (right), who are travelling 3000 miles around Europe on Elliptigos (the contraption on the right). Smiling adventurers, raising money for charity – click on the picture to find out about their epic trip.

Coppafeel! representatives – a breast cancer awareness initiative aimed at younger people. It was a pleasure to have a chat with them, and such an important subject. Click on the image to visit their website.

Also, a big thanks to Officers Lee and Alex for letting me jump on their bike. It’s bloody massive!

And with that, I’m going to put the best jobs in the world to one side for a bit, and think instead about nanocellulose, optogenetics, drones and lego bridges during the day, and, well, a heck of a lot of not much in the evenings!

Oh, and you might be wondering why there are Penguins in the title of this post.

Bit of a long story.

Queensland: Memories and Dreams

Queensland is a state that holds many memories for me. I’ve been from top to bottom, but it is so immense that I feel as though I’ve barely explored it at all. Whether it be recalling the search for pale headed snakes at Lake Broadwater after a desert thunderstorm, or my unfulfilled ambition to visit Eungella National Park and see a wild platypus, it captures my mind.

A memory.

This photo is from the sweeping bay just southwest of the most Northern point of the Australian continent: the tip of Cape York. It was one of the highlights of my 2010 trip; the evening was calm, and the gang of fellow travellers I was with quickly found our usual childish excitement morphing into a contemplative serenity. A lonely yacht was anchored in the bay, and tiny but perfect lines of swell wrapped along the flat, sandy beach. We watched the sun set and dawdled back to the car one by one, stepping over stingray holes and staring at the sky.

A dream? Image: Wikimedia Commons/Aaronazz

From the far North to the deep West, I’d love to visit the Diamantina National Park. While the picture above isn’t the most illustrative, I like the fact that there are communities out in the desert tapping into the huge source of renewable power in the sky!

The Diamantina beckons me because it’s so remote. Australia’s inner landscape is so alien, so harsh, and so beautiful. It’s a place where you can find true silence away from cities and flight paths, and adventurous people are rewarded with experiences that few share. There’s also surprising biodiversity, especially after major rains.

Do you have any memories of Queensland, or dreams of places you’d like to visit?

Will I get the Best Job in the World?

It started out as an ordinary evening. I’d been for a long rock climbing session after work at The Arch, then hopped off the bus a stop early to take in the warm night breeze with a walk along the Thames. Then my phone rang. It was an Australian number. My Mum.

She was a little bit excited. Something unexpected had happened.

Earlier this month, I’d applied to be a Park Ranger in Queensland, as part of Tourism Australia’s Best Jobs in the World competition. With more than 600,000 expressions of interest for the jobs, I put it into the back of my mind (sitting on a shelf next to my memories of Australian wilderness adventures). Here’s my alliterative attempt:

Result? Success! I made it onto the shortlist for the job. You can see the other 24 brilliant shortlisted candidates here. But that’s only the beginning; now I need to complete a tricky but exciting task to win a place in the final 3 – I need to find an ‘ultimate referee’.

It’s a perfect job for me. I lived in Queensland for 7 years and studied Environmental Science and Wildlife Management there. The state has some of the most inspirational natural locations in the world – obvious ones, like the Great Barrier Reef, but some less so, like the wonderful Chillagoe National Park. I spent a healthy wodge of 2010 exploring off Queensland’s beaten track. These places are assets for Australia and the world, so promoting and protecting them is a worthy cause.

Six months as an adventurous ambassador for the state’s most stunning areas would be a dream. For the next two weeks, I’m going to be pulling out the stops to make it a reality!

I have a few ideas up my sleeve…

Someone hit play

The United Kingdom skipped a month. We collectively drew in a breath at the beginning of March, ready to exhale when warm returned and we could throw open windows, park jackets in cupboards and do all the things we hadn’t been doing since September.

And then it got colder. At first it was ‘bracing’, then it was news, then it was just cold. It wasn’t the bitter weather per se that was the problem, it’s that people expected it to disappear quickly. And so, in the mysterious dark space between expectation and reality, sixty million people paused for a month.

But now, a warm breeze blows. The days are longer and the street cafes are pushing bustling life into the outdoors, just as the trees are erupting with new leaves and blossoms. The release is palpable. Someone hit the play button. And I’m excited.

This picture’s not relevant. It’s a grab from a time lapse I took last year, and come to think of it, never did anything with… move along!

For the first time, I am facing a summer in the UK with a stable job, a big friendship network, and a long list of great things to do. Let’s start with work. This week, my role consisted of discussing cyborg brain tissue with an eminent researcher, seeking permission to fly an unmanned ‘drone’ helicopter, and on Friday, I’m getting presentation training at the National Theatre. Oh, and I’m planning an event about the end of the world. Not a bad way to spend my 9-5.

But then there’s extracurriculars. I’ve got trips to Italy and Germany pipelined, with question marks over Greece and Portugal. Add in the prospect of weekend trips to peaks for rock climbing, an intensive Kung Fu training weekend getaway, and another round of sustainability training with Green Steps, and I think I have all the ingredients for a memorable few months.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s warm? It’s warm.

Finally, something to share; today, New Zealand passed a marriage equality act. That’s cool, but not something I would routinely comment on. However, the video below captures what I think might be the most stirring moment I’ve seen in a house of parliament:

Brothers on the Slide

I’m not sure if there’s ever been a more (in?)appropriate song for a video I’ve made.

While this won’t be setting the extreme sports world alight, it’s a nice little memoir of an excellent trip.

Also, note the person I board past at 3.14: an excellent reason NOT to wear an all-white ski suit. Invisible when fallen over!

An early view of the Alps from the window of our coach.