Stories beat stuff winners enjoy experience of a lifetime

As the Stories Beat Stuff campaign gears up to launch its next two experiences, the first two winners have been busy updating their blogs on newzeland.com and sharing their building excitement with the wider youth market via twitter and facebook.

Tourism New Zealand's General Manager of Marketing Communications, Justin Watson, says the interactive nature of the campaign, alongside the ongoing focus on the influential youth sector which accounts for almost 25 per cent of annual arrivals to New Zealand, is starting to show results.

"Generating over 122,000 unique visits to the Stories Beat Stuff campaign page on newzealand.com, and a further 250,000 views on YouTube, the campaign is proving to really resonate with the sector," he says.

The first of the winners, Donat Ertsey of Budapest, arrived in New Zealand on 22 December, just in time to enjoy Christmas and New Year in true Kiwi style with the Summer Rhythm experience. Donat traded a week in his European homestead with him as a private tour guide to win the experience.

Along with his brother, Donat's photos and blogs documented the highlights of his week-long road trip along the east-coast of New Zealand before arriving in Gisborne for the 3 day Rhythm and Vines music festival where they welcomed in the New Year. His first blog upon landing in Auckland set the scene for the trip, "No jetlag…just side effects of being here… heart-beating caused by the landscape, fresh air, blue sky and strong sun."

Closely following Donat's blogs and is the second of the winners, Christian Murphy from the United Kingdom, who traded of his musical instruments and equipment to his old college to win the Beaches and Boats experience.

Set to arrive in New Zealand 1 February 2012 Christian and his best friend will enjoy a two week road-trip starting at the top of the North Island and traveling through Northland to experience all of the beach and boat experiences the region has to offer.

Like Donate, Christian will provide updates during his trip which you can follow on his blog on the Stories Beat Stuff campaign page.