The British man about to be paid $150,000 to lounge on a Queensland island has denied complaining about his "dream job" before it has even began.
Ben Southall, who won the worldwide "Best Job in the World" competition last month, admitted he will miss the long English summers — but that there is plenty to look forward to when he takes up his six-month caretaker’s job on Hamilton Island.
"Despite the weather, I love summer in Britain," The Sun reported Southall as saying.
"I'll miss the long days we have. The island may boast a tropical climate but it gets dark at 8pm."
When asked by ninemsn today if he means to moan about missing Britain, Southall replied: "As if".
"I'll still be getting plenty of daylight and sun in Queensland — it's all good," he said in a phone interview tonight.
Southall, a former charity worker from Petersfield, Hampshire, also told The Sun he will miss the traditional Sunday roast as he writes his weekly blog from his rent-free three-bedroom beach villa.
"It will be far too hot to cook anything like that," he was quoted as saying.
But Southall told ninemsn he cannot wait to tuck into some Australian barbecue seafood.
"I'm a big lover of seafood platters, especially crayfish, and what I'm really looking forward to is the chance to catch some fresh fish and cook it on a proper barbecue," he said.
Southall even said he even wants an "Aussie-style BBQ" on his wedding day instead of a "poncy four-course dinner".
The 34-year-old beat thousands of online entrants and 15 other short-listed candidates to win the highly-publicised dream job contest.
He begins his caretaker’s job, which includes "tasks" such as writing a weekly blog and going on scuba diving trips, on July 1.
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