The Department of Conservation (DoC) has seen a massive response from people worldwide for one of its jobs in the small town of Haast.
DoC says over 1300 eager applicants threw their hats in the ring for the role of biodiversity supervisor in the West Coast town of Haast.
The initial deadline of October 13 had been extended to November 1 because only three people had applied, all of which had none of the required qualifications.
But a story on Stuff detailing what the job involved like managing kiwi and working in some of the beautiful scenery around the small town saw DoC's job advertisement making headlines across the world.
DoC's south Westland operations manager Wayne Costello said 1,383 people from 26 counties had applied for the job by the time applications had closed.
"We've been totally blown away by the interest shown."
DoC saw applications from Finland, the UK, Colombia, Brazil, India, Ireland, the US, Dominican Republic, South Africa and Paraguay as well as from Kiwis and Australians.
The job required a valid work visa or eligibility to work in Aotearoa. Of those who applied, over 40 met that criteria.
With international media picking up the story, some of the translations of the job description saw changes in meaning being introduced.
DoC says a regional German newspaper said the job was for a "future Haast kiwi commissioner of the National Park".
"The main focus at this site is on saving New Zealand's rarest kiwifruit species, the Haast's kiwi," the paper added.
Costello said DoC's recruitment staff are working to short-list the applicants.
