H ave you ever wanted to be isolated with a friend or significant other for six consecutive months on an island — most of the total area of 460 acres is a protected natural haven for penguins, seals and other fauna and flora — and get paid for it? Are you tired of the conveniences and headaches of modern life and need a temporary break from it? Would you like to live in a house which was built in the 1800s?
Want to Be Isolated on an Island For Six Months and Get Paid For It?
If so, you have an opportunity awaiting you — if you and a friend or significant other are chosen, as evidenced by the official Facebook Internet web site of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service:
Wild island opportunity
If you are keen to escape the rat race and spend six months on a sometimes wet and often windswept island, watching the swells of the Southern Ocean, we might have just the gig for you.
The Parks and Wildlife Service is seeking volunteer caretakers for the coming two years on the remote and spectacular Maatsuyker Island in Tasmania’s south-west.
Maatsuyker Island is approximately 10 kilometres off the coast and is within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The lighthouse is Australia’s southernmost lighthouse station.
We are looking for self-sufficient people that are healthy, have a proven ability to live and work in remote locations, and are able to carry out caretaking services including maintenance of grounds, buildings and plant and equipment. Additionally, they are required to carry out daily weather observations for the Bureau of Meteorology, for which they receive training and payment.
Transport to the island by helicopter is provided. Volunteers are sought for periods of six months from either September to March or March to September. For safety reasons at the remote location, couples or individuals (minimum of two) are preferred.
A Maatsuyker Island Volunteer Caretaker and Weather Observer Information Package is available from either the Parks and Wildlife Service website www.parks.tas.gov.au or www.wildcaretas.org.au.
Applications close on 30 January 2017.
Click here for details on how to apply for this opportunity.
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
The lighthouse itself was built in 1891; but its beacon is now managed by computer technology.
A well maintained brick house — with four bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathroom and storage with basic furniture — is available solely for your use, according to this official document. “This includes beds, mattresses, table and chairs, refrigerator with a small freezer, gas stove and oven, microwave, basic cutlery, crockery, basic pots and pans, electric washing machine, VHF and HF radios and telephone. Space heating is limited to one small fan heater. There is no television or internet available on Maatsuyker Island, although it is possible to watch DVD’s on the computer supplied or your own laptop.”
You must provide your own food, clothing, entertainment, bedding and other personal items; and transport space for the six months is limited to approximately 325 kilograms — or slightly greater than 716 pounds — per person on the flight from Hobart to Maatsuyker Island.
The Parks and Wildlife Service will also provide one resupply helicopter visit at approximately three months into the standard stay of six months — “often to coincide with scheduled or unplanned maintenance.” Space on the resupply flight will be limited. You will have access to the vegetable garden for fresh food to supplement the food you bring with you. All drinking water is filtered. Basic tools and spare parts are provided for routine maintenance.
Electricity is supplied to the light station — including all houses, which have asbestos roofing; and some buildings have asbestos walls, which supposedly “presents minimal hazard to visitors” — by a generating system which incorporates both solar power, with diesel fuel as a backup source of energy. The high cost of transport dictates that gas and diesel consumption on the island be kept to a minimum.
“The volunteers provide a presence on the remote island and help to maintain the heritage buildings and machinery and island volunteers also work with the Bureau of Meteorology under a separate contract to carry out daily weather observations”, according to the official Facebook Internet web site of Maatsuyker Island caretakers, which contains photographs of the house, the lighthouse, the island and the breathtaking views. “People interested in the position should be aware that the weather on Maatsuyker is frequently cold, wet and windy, that the island has limited facilities, and access is by helicopter.”
You will be required to take part in a training program in Hobart for a duration of approximately two weeks before leaving for Maatsuyker Island. You will also be required to undergo a medical assessment and dental assessment — as well as have a current first aid certificate; clearance from dentist; and a police check related to being responsible for maintaining a significant cultural heritage site.
Summary
I am unsure as to what the position pays; but three years ago, the salary was Australian $13,000.00 — or approximately United States $9,823.45 — per annum. Assuming that the salary has not increased — as it is not specifically revealed in the latest aforementioned document — that is gross income of United States $1,637.24 per month…
…but if you are up to the challenge, this opportunity can be a priceless experience which can potentially provide a lifetime of memories. Employment for the first standard period of six months starts September 2017 and lasts through March 2018.
If your idea of travel is sipping champagne while dining on caviar and truffles in an opulently spacious presidential suite with chauffeured ground transportation in the most luxurious automobiles in the world, you need not apply for this position.
Source: The official Facebook Internet web site of Maatsuyker Island caretakers
