This Remote Australian Island Needs You to Be Its Only Resident for 6 Months

get paid to live in Tasmania
Bruny Island Lighthouse in Tasmania. | Shutterstock
Bruny Island Lighthouse in Tasmania. | Shutterstock

Feel like you need a very extended vacation, far, far away from everything going on right now? Australia's Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is looking for someone to actualize their dream of unplugging and living on a remote island. They need a caretaker for Maatsuyker Island, a small island just six miles off the southern coast of Tasmania. 

They've posted for the gig on Facebook, requesting "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, caretakers are trained and paid to "carry out daily weather observations for the Bureau of Meteorology."

Worried about leaving a loved one behind? Never fear. Because of "safety concerns," they prefer people take on the job in couples.

They're filling positions for the next two years, with the six-month shifts ranging from September to March and March to September in each year.

It's remote. Like, really remote. There's no television or internet, according to details at The Telegraph. Contact with the mainland is very limited. You're bringing your own food (though there's a garden!), clothing, entertainment, and bedding. But if you forget something, don't worry. There's a resupply trip after three months on the island. Also, in the case of an emergency, helicopter evacuation is available.

On the upside, the caretakers are going to have a Cribs-worthy home. It's a four-bedroom 19th-century lighthouse on an island with incredible wildlife that includes penguins, fur seals, elephant seals, silver gulls, sooty oystercatchers, and the endangered petrel.

Ready to go where few have gone before? You can apply here. Couples that want to take the plunge together should note that both individuals need to apply. The deadline is Jan. 30.

h/t Traveler

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Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He holds a Guinness World Record but has never met the fingernail lady. He’s written for Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, The Rumpus, and other digital wonderlands. Follow him @dlukenelson.