One of my New Year’s resolutions those many months ago was to have plenty more experiences, memories and adventures to write and instagram home about – so entering a competition like Stories Beat Stuff to win the trip of a lifetime to New Zealand was a bit of a no-brainer (!).  All I’d have to do for this opportunity to enjoy an amazing time away with three (!) of my nearest and dearest, is simply share what treasured possession I’d trade it for:

And the prizes? Well, now that it’s Phase 2 of the comp, two new incredible experiences are up for grabs.  There’s Winter Highlife,  an epic skiing trip which includes lessons, VIP tickets to the Queenstown Winter Festival and the chance to bungee jump, snowboard, jet boat and sky dive – or Natural Goodness, where I could go paragliding, rafting, kayaking, see local wildlife and enjoy a overnight cruise, staring at the stars  – brilliant, no?!

I opted for Winter Highlife (I’ve always wanted to go skiing!) and would figured I’d trade my vintage DEFIANT box record player which I bought some years ago –  I’m CONVINCED  it’s worth something? –  and Teddy Pendergrass’s Greatest Hits thrown in (reluctantly) for good measure – and yes, this baby still works!:

So if you fancy your chances at winning this competition too, just record a video or  send in a photo of what you’d trade for the trip to www.storiesbeatstuff.com – then choose your 3 mates you’d want to come along, and get canvassing for votes via all your social media outlets – Twitter, Facebook, Google + you name it.  You might also want to visit  http://www.facebook.com/purenewzealand/app_141439529289323  t0 see some of the entries so far to get your creative juices flowing. So good luck to all those who enter – it’s a fantastic competition  (and …if you vote for me, I promise to vote for you ;-)