I love shoes. A lot. And handbags. And necklaces. I love edgy little labels from the far corners of the earth; I love indigenous Irish labels. I love the high-octane glamour of designer labels, I love the versatility and immediacy of the high-street. I love shopping for me and I love shopping for others. And there was a fertile period of incessant fashion consumption earlier this year; my month-end bank balance completely inverse to my bulging wardrobe. And then I had to put the skids on BIG TIME. I was going travelling around Slovakia and Poland and shock-horror I needed to budget appropriately for it. One pair of shoes made way for some rock-climbing lessons. A flouro handbag gave in to dome tent. I relinquished some impulse jewellery buying in honour of mountain biking through the Tatras mountains. And you know what? I was happy. Seriously, deliriously, overwhelmingly happy. No question about it, I looked rough trekking and hiking about the unbelievable landscape of Slovakia, but I was pumped with adrenaline, full of energy and health and well-being. And upon my return, I realised I would happily sacrifice my world of fashionable goods in exchange for a weekend surfing or a chance to sleep out under the stars after a hearty s, home-made barbeque. Nostalgic? Maphaps. But I have far more treasured memories of my travelling expeditions than I do of wearing my FINSK wedges to some fashion event.
Don’t get me wrong; I still love all things sartorial, but I would happily part with my extensive, expensive collection of shoes for an opportunity to dust off my hiking boots and charge up my head torch. And so, when I got wind of the New Zealand Tourist Board offer I thought it prescient to get involved…
Tourism New Zealand are offering people a chance to win one of two awesome adventures over in the Land of Hobbit. Summer Rhythm Experience is a week-long road trip down the coast, finishing with a 3 day music festival over New Years…the Guardian rates it as one of the best NY celebrations going. Beaches and Boats is a 2 week beach-hop round the 144 islands belonging to the Bay of Islands, promising lots of adventuring, sand-surfing and sun-lounging. I’ve made it to most of Europe, lots of the big ‘ol U S of A, but for some reason, I haven’t managed to make it down under. I do like a bit of relaxing, but I’m more the pumped-up adventure kinda gal, so NZ appeals to me on account of it’s vast, never-ending landscape with plenty of activities and sports.
So, what’s the craic? How do you win? The premise is that travelling memeories and experiences beat tangible, material assets – never a truer word spoken in these times of recession woe. The competition is called Stories Beat Stuff so you have to make a video or a picture of something that you would give up in order to win one of the two trips.
Here’s how to participate:
- Take a photo or record a video of what you would be willing to sacrifice – and think carefully, because if you win, the things you offer up for trade will be given to a charity of your choice – and submit your entry to the Stories Beat Stuff website.
- Then, share your video or photo with everyone you know! Post it on Facebook, on Twitter, on your face, whatever. Because the more votes you get, the higher your chances are of getting into the Final 20. The ultimate decision, however, will be made by Tourism New Zealand judges!
Take a looksie at what I’d give up:
The competition is open to anyone aged 18+ and it DOES NOT MATTER WHERE in the world you reside
The closing date is 31 November 2011.
Check out what’s potentially on offer here:
For full details – www.storiesbeatstuff.com
These are the first two trips of many; apparently more will be released on the New Zealand Facebook page in the coming weeks and months.
