Microsoft is offering a year’s salary for a Kiwi to pursue his or her creative dream. Photo / Supplied

A new competition offering a year’s salary (a cash prize of $60,000) for a Kiwi to pursue his or her creative dream has been launched by Microsoft Surface. We talk to a man who did just that – and became globally known.

He had 'the best job in the world' but now Ben Southall has what he calls 'the best life in the world' - because he followed his dream.

It's an example of what can happen in a new competition now being run by software giant Microsoft and their new Surface tablet (Bring your dream to the Surface).

Britain's Southall entered the quest by an Australian tourism authority to find the 'caretaker' of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef in 2009, based on luxurious Hamilton Island - labelled The Best Job In The World.

For six months, Southall travelled by sailing boat, catamaran, ferry, luxury yacht, jet-boat, four-wheel drive, hobie-cat, helicopter, seaplane, jet-ski, kayak, train, motorcycle and car to explore and promote the reef, hosting media and tourism trade familiarisations, doing blogs and videos.

It changed his life.

Not because it turned him into an adventurer - in 2008 he had already mounted a huge traversal of Africa, climbing five of the continent's highest mountains and running five marathons to boot - but because it turned an interest into an intensely enjoyable lifestyle and livelihood.

Let's see, after he finished his six month stint, he:

• Presented his own series, The Best Job In The World, on National Geographic's Adventure channel, airing in more than 315 million homes in 165 countries and 34 languages.

• Kayaked 1600km down the reef over four months in 2011, again attracting widespread media and tourism interest as he re-traced Captain Cook's voyage of discovery.

• The year before, at a tourism awards night, he met his wife-to-be Sophee. They were married in 2012.

• Set two world records - the 'Aussie 8', the fastest ascent of the tallest mountain in each state; and the 'New Zealand 9', the fastest completion of the nine great walks of New Zealand.

• Opened his Cinomad production company in Brisbane which offers video content and social media consultancy

• Completed this year, with Sophee and his 30-year-old Land Rover, Colonel Mustard, a 55,000km, 12-month drive through 33 countries from Singapore to London.

He now calls himself a presenter, digital journalist and adventurer. Not bad for a 21-year-old lad who popped out of university clutching an automotive engineering degree he has never used.

"The only time I have used it is when I've needed to fix the Land Rover and get it going again," he laughs. "I actually wanted to be a car designer at school - I was mad about it and went to all the motor shows."

So how does an automotive engineer re-engineer his life?

"It really was a case of following your dream - and, for me, it was getting out of the UK and travelling, seeing other parts of the world, other cultures. It kick-started something within me - I knew I liked the outdoor life, the environment, and adventures interested me but that first big trip to South Africa and then southern Africa, then a loop right round the entire continent, really got me going.

"That expedition was hugely exciting and I blogged and did videos and the whole thing took a year [climbing the mountains, running the marathons]; it also gave me the perfect resume for the Great Barrier Reef job."

Southall says he has had an enormous amount of fun since then but also underlined that the Great Barrier Reef gig was also hard work.

"It really was - try kayaking 1600km, it takes it out of you but it is also an unforgettable experience. We had dolphins breaking the surface around us, we came very close to a humpback whale giving birth - something very few people have ever been close to."

His other adventures - the Aussie 8, the New Zealand 9 and that enormous overland hike to London - all gave him the opportunity to make videos and documentaries.

"I wouldn't say they [the adventures] are great money spinners; half the time we just break even and we might make a couple of thousand dollars each time. The real money spinner for me now is my production company.

"But those documentaries allow me to live the life I want to lead - and it really is the best life in the world. I love being able to show people how good it is to lead a healthy lifestyle, to be outdoors and explore and discover things and have adventures. That's what it is all about."

He and Sophee are thinking of a new adventure - this one maybe in China - and he is confident they can successfully navigate the challenges there if it comes off.

"Well, I figure if you can live together on a boat and live together in a Land Rover, you're pretty much okay anywhere."

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