Dreaming of a tropical paradise to call your own? Several Australian islands off the Great Barrier Reef are on sale, and thanks to the global recession, they’re cheaper than they used to be.
Global real estate agency Coldwell Banker’s Capricorn Coast branch is offering 9 islands, some with luxury mansions and other amenities, around the Great Barrier Reef with prices starting at $1.3 million and up to $90 million.
One island on offer, Long Island, has seen its $6.5 million price tag slashed by 42 per cent. Others are being advertised for almost half what they cost about a year ago.
Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson celebrated Virgin Atlantic’s 25th birthday this year by launching a new airline V Australia, and throwing an extravagant launch party in Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in LA.
Branson has embarked on an eight-day journey around the world to mark the launch of the newest Virgin airline V Australia.
He started his trip by flying from London to Hong Kong and will travel to Sydney and Los Angeles before eventually returning to London.
50 lucky people are now on a short list to become caretaker of a tropical Australian island — dubbed the “Best Job in the World.”
Officials with the tourism department of Australia’s Queensland state on Tuesday revealed the 50 finalists from a pool of nearly 35,000 applicants for the job – a 150,000 Australian dollar ($96,000) contract to relax on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months while writing a blog to promote the area.
The finalists hail from 22 countries, including the United States, Germany, Greece and India. Applicants include an actor, a chef and a scientist.
Today’s estate Mandalay Coral Gardens, in north Queensland, was voted Australia’s House of the Year by the Australian Master Builders Association in 2007-2008
Exquisitely situated on a peninsula with Pioneer Bay on one side and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park on the other, this stunning Frank Lloyd Wright–inspired estate represents the best of tropical north Queensland, Australia.
Designed by architect Peter Connelly, Mandalay Coral Gardens was constructed in 2005 by owner Bill Sharpe, whose firm was the continent’s 2007–2008 “builder of the year” in Australia.
Australia is offering internationally what it calls “the best job in the world” – earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.
The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner’s home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland’s state government announced on Tuesday.
In return, the “island caretaker” will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of “a few minor tasks” and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.
