JUDY Gibson, of Tasmania, is heading to New Zealand thanks to The Senior and Grand Pacific Tours.
Judy’s entry was selected as the winner of the 19-day Ultimate Rail, Cruise and Coach holiday offered as part of The Senior’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
The judging panel was won over by Judy’s charming poem about – in 25 words or less – why she loves The Senior.
Judy couldn’t quite believe it when she got the call to say she had won.
“I rang my husband at work and he said ‘you’ll have to get some TATS lotto tickets!”
Judy and her husband Phillip visited New Zealand in 2009 and are looking forward to going back.
“We saved frantically to get there and always said we’ll go back one day, but it never happened. Now it’s one day!”
Judy was one of thousands who entered the competition.
Australian Community Media editorial director Rod Quinn said he was impressed by the number and quality of the entries received.
“Our judging panel was hard-pressed to select a winner because they were all so good,” he said.
“With such a fantastic prize on offer it’s no wonder people thought long and hard about their 25 words.
“I would like to thank our long-time advertiser Grand Pacific for offering the holiday prize of a lifetime to help The Senior celebrate its 40th anniversary.
“Grand Pacific has a fine reputation for offering hard-to-match New Zealand getaways, so we know our lucky winner will have an unforgettable experience.”
Judy will be jetting off to The Land of the Long White Cloud in April.
The tour has it all – the Kauri Museum, Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Rainbow Springs, the thermal mud pools and geysers of Rotorua, the International Antarctic Centre and city sights tours of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Judy will also have the chance to ride the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, the Skyline Rotorua Gondola, take the Coastal Pacific rail journey and wonder at the scenery on the world famous TranzApline train as it travels over massive viaducts, river valleys and spectacular gorges.
Then there's an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound aboard the Fiordland Navigator and a cruise on beautiful Lake Wakatipu on the TSS Earnslaw.
Better yet is the ultimate comfort Judy and her fellow passengers will travel in.
Road travel is aboard the ultra-comfortable Ultimate Small Group Tour Coach, which has been specially configured to house just 20 luxury leather reclining seats – so every single passenger has a window seat. You can relax in armchair comfort, feeling secure in the hands of your professional coach captain.
“As the market leader for New Zealand coach holidays, we offer five styles of touring to suit all budgets and interests – Affordable, Signature, Ultimate Small Group, Cruise & Coach and Special Interest, with over 200 guaranteed departures per year,” said Grand Pacific general manager Peter Harding.
“Grand Pacific Tours’ best testimony is the terrific feedback we receive from our past travellers, who in turn tell their friends how well they were looked after.
“We take care of it all leaving your travellers to get on with creating incredible holiday memories!”
You can take a look at the tour yourself by visiting www.grandpacifictours.com
