New York Times Best-Selling Author Selects New Zealand Winner of ‘Best Adventure to Experience Before You Die’ Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 19, 2010 -- Auckland, New Zealand, March 19, 2010 -- New York Times best-selling author Patricia Schultz (1,000 Places To See Before You Die) has chosen a 62-year old New Zealand mum among the five winners of the ‘Best Adventure to Experience Before You Die’ challenge, run in conjunction with Gap Adventures’ highly-successful Create Your Own Adventure contest (www.createyourownadventure.com).

For New Zealand winner, Trish Heikoop, her trip of a lifetime entitled 'Lifelong Dream Time', involves heading across the globe with her son as he participates in the World Piping Championships in Scotland and then going on to experience some of the historical sites in Europe that she’s only ever seen in documentaries (http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/qYTVzi0wpzsh/)
The four other winning entries originated from the United States, Norway and Poland and covered destinations in China, Mongolia, Europe, India and Morocco. Gap Adventures’ Create Your Own Adventure program has garnered immense interest from around the globe with more than 13,000 entries from 99 countries on six continents in five weeks. The contest has also attracted a total of 90,000 online visitors from 165 countries.

“The five winners expressed amazing creativity in the itineraries they created,” said Schultz, who will also help select the winner of the wider Create Your Own Adventure initiative. “I easily sensed their passion for these exciting destinations and was impressed with their research and logistical ingenuity to create some truly unforgettable itineraries—all of which are definitely worth experiencing before any of us die.”

The five winners—who will be awarded a $500 US Gap Adventures travel voucher, as well as a personalized copy of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die—are:

‘Shifting sands, changing minds’ by Laura Walch (United States) http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/oAas1dMmWuxi/
‘Shangri-La’ by Christopher Cilfone (United States) http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/jroRWF834jOJ/
'Lifelong Dream Time' by Trish Heikoop (New Zealand)

'In the Wild, Wild East - Russia & Mongolia' by Magdalena Bober (Poland) http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/qygt2HPQLQGk/
'The Mystery' by Morten Nielsen (Norway) http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/uOMq2DMMDvOi/

The Create Your Own Adventure contest invites everyone from once-a-year vacationers to seasoned globetrotters to submit an itinerary for the tour of their dreams, virtually anywhere in the world, virtually any way they want. Everyone with a winning tour idea can log on to www.createyourownadventure.com and use the customized itinerary engine to build their dream trip. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2010 and the creator of the winning tour will have the opportunity to experience their adventure along with two lucky friends.

For more information, visit www.gapadventures.com

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