Stories Beat Stuff 3 US - Another Chance for a Trip to New Zealand!

I’m still working closely with Tourism New Zealand in their quest to get readers to experience one of their exciting adventures – for free! The options continue to get more and more exciting and this campaign offers two trips I’d love to go on.

Option No. 1 is called Culture Kaboom and it gives you the chance to explore both the culture and the landscape of New Zealand. You’ll start by landing in a city built over 50 volcanoes and then you will head east to actually see steaming geysers, boiling mud pools and a hot water beach. This area also happens to be the center of Maori culture so you can experience real New Zealand hospitality while you hang out with locals visiting a marae and digging a hangi. To get a glimpse of this breathtaking land, check out this video.

Option No. 2 is City Splendour and that’s just what it is. You will have a chance to explore New Zealand’s largest cities – Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. The itinerary includes everything from eating at the hottest restaurants and visiting a downtown club, to whale watching and seeing kiwi birds in the wild. This video can show you more of New Zealand’s top cities.

Like the previous Stories Beat Stuff campaigns, this one is all about proving how much you want it. You can win this trip for you and three of your friends  (valued at $20,000-30,000) by creating a video or photo entry for the trip of your choice. Your creation must show (or talk about) a physical object you would trade for this trip of a lifetime. Then, have your friends share and vote for your creation. Here’s one of the winning videos from the first campaigns if you need an idea of where to start.

If you aren’t feeling overly creative, you can still be a part of the fun by voting for your favorite entry.You might even win two tickets of your own to fly to New Zealand.

Good luck and I hope at least one of my readers can have a glass of sauvignon blanc for me in New Zealand!



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Stories Beat Stuff 2 US - Another Contest for a Trip to New Zealand

A few months ago I wrote about the Stories Beat Stuff contest to win trips to New Zealand. The first phase of the competition is complete and now it’s time for Tourism New Zealand to get on to the second – and give away more trips. Things have gotten even more exciting as the prize value has increased from $20,000 to $30,000 and there are two more experiences for you to compete for.

The key to the competition is how far you are willing to go for a trip of a lifetime. In this case, you need to make a video or take a picture explaining exactly what you would trade for that trip. Then, you need to get as many votes as possible. Ask your friends to help out too because you can bring three friends along on this trip at no cost to them!

I’m really excited about this contest because I’m still planning a trip of my own to New Zealand. While I don’t have to trade anything for it, I’d love to hear more about what adventures I should add to my trip. Here are the two new ones added to the contest:

Winter Highlife
Visit the North and South Islands during New Zealand’s winter and you will get to check out the spectacular ski scene and go to the Queenstown Winter Festival with VIP tickets. This adventure includes roundtrip flights (international and domestic) for four, accommodations, rental cars and adventures such as skiing and bungee jumping. (See the video to learn more about this adventure.)

Natural Goodness
Enjoy the best of New Zealand’s landscapes as you adventure on the South Island. This adventure includes getting up close with the country’s wildlife while kayaking with dolphins, boating around whales and watching the seals along the coastline. You will have roundtrip flights (international and domestic) for four, your own campervan, an overnight cruise, hiking, paragliding, cave and glacier climbing. (See the video to learn more about this adventure.)

For ideas on what works best in this competition, visit the sites Facebook page and also check out two of the winners from Phase 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bfbhoTrP4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fu20GZ_6rI

If you aren’t feeling especially creative, make sure you at least cast your vote. Voters are eligible to win two tickets for flights to New Zealand.

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Viral video by ebuzzing

New Zealand Wine, Girls Go Wild & Michael Symon BBQ in South Beach

Day three of the Food Network South Beach Wine & FoodFestival was filled to the brim with some wonderful New Zealand wine, some foodie girls going wild, and a thrilling barbecue by a man who knows the chew.

I was back down at the Perry Hotel bright and early in the morning for the Wine Spectator Seminar: Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Noir Style Diversity.  The leader of the seminar was New Zealand wine expert and winemaker Patrick Materman, who filled in the blanks on the region and led a tasting of wines from Brancott Estate and Stoneleigh Marlborough.

Since I am currently planning a trip to New Zealand, I was especially interested – and impressed with the offerings. I’m always a fan of NZ sauvignon blanc and was happy to discover the ones from these brands, which were full of tropical and grassy notes. I also tasted New Zealand Pinot Noir for the first time and found the 2010 Brancott Estate Letter Series “T” to be more fruit forward and richer than many of the California ones.

From the seminar I headed over to the Hotel Victor where I was excited to have been invited to the Girls Gone Wild event.  This event was probably the most fun two hours of the entire festival and I give kudos to Bullfrog and Baum for putting this group together.

The moderator for Girls Gone Wild was Travel Channel star (Bizarre Foods) Andrew Zimmern and he had his work cut out for him while an amazing group of women “went wild.” Actress Debi Mazur, who co-hosts the Cooking Channel’s Extra Virgin with her husband Gabrielle and also blogs at Under The Tuscan Gun, was the most outspoken, but Bitchin Kitchen’s Nadia G. was not far behind in  “R” rated honesty.

Rounding out the Girls Gone Wild Panel was Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli and Prune Restaurant owner/chef Gabrielle Hamilton, who is also the author of bestseller Blood, Bones & Butter.  The conversation ranged from favorite dishes to dishing on their male counterparts and it was always entertaining.

                                

I had just enough time to shower and change before meeting with winemaker Patrick Materman and Pernod Ricard PR Director Krista Drew for a glass of Perrier Jouet Champagne and some more New Zealand conversation.

Then it was off to the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach for Thrillist's BBQ & The Blues hosted by Michael Symon. Celebrity chef Symon is best known to many these days as one of the hosts of ABC’s The Chew, but foodie insiders also call him one of the nicest guys in the business.

Next year, I probably won’t pick three days in a row of barbecue at SOBEWFF (The Q, Burger Bash and Thrillist), but I’m glad I did get to experience this event. The music by Diablo Times & The Bloodhounds was great, the drinks were flowing (including cocktails made with Michael Collins Whiskey and Entice Wine), and the barbecue was a bit different than I had previously.

The food offerings came from around the area and from Symon himself and included a delicious Korean beef brisket from Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill and a Smoked Tongue Pastrami (with bone marrow brioche) from Gastropod Miami. I also really loved the short ribs from Jacksonville’s Cabana Beach Club, served on a cheese polenta.

When I couldn’t possibly sample any more, I headed back to The National Hotel to get some rest for my final day of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. It was going to be a big one as I was going to try to tackle all of the Whole Foods Grand Market. 

Story of a Lifetime Takes You to New Zealand

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled postings (couldn't resist saying that!) to bring you something very special. I have been working with Tourism New Zealand on planning a trip there this winter. SInce they are in the middle of some very unusual promotions, they asked me to pass them along to my readers. New Zealand is a place that I can't wait to get to and I'm more than happy to help some readers have the same opportunity.

For the next 12 months, the tourism board in New Zealand is running a competition to give away trips. There's a catch, though. I go to places and write about them, but if you want this opportunity you need to do the writing first. It's called Stories Beat Stuff and the best stories win, but your stories need to be on a specific topic. They need to convince Tourism New Zealand that you really, really want this trip.

How far are you willing to go for an all expensive paid trip to New Zealand? The good part is that you don't actually have to do it, but you do have to explain what you would give up to go. Whether it's your favorite food, your dream car or even your significant other, if you want to win, you need to put it on the line in a video or a photo.

Six trips of a lifetime will be given away, one every few months. Each trip will include unique experiences, starting with the winners in December and January, when the Summer Rhythm (it's summer in New Zealand) trip is given away and the lucky winner gets a two-week roadtrip that goes along the East Coast of New Zealand and ends with the three day Rhythm and Vines festival (check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp_9zF_MrUI).


Viral video by ebuzzing The competition has begun and the opportunity for the Summer Rhythm prize ends on November 30th, with the additional contests to follow.  It is open to everyone throughout the world who is 18 years of age or older. Check out the example video above and then enter at Stories Beat Stuff. Then, like New Zealand on Facebook and ready all about the country you may soon get to visit -- for free!