Beach dig sends Dunedin families on Gold Coast getaway
Cheered on by family and friends, contestants grabbed golden spades – awarded to listeners over the past three weeks – and dug into the sand in search of the coveted golden tokens.
Two of those tokens secured their finders a family trip to the Gold Coast, which will soon be just a 3.5-hour direct flight from Dunedin.
Alongside the two grand-prize family trips, other participants received annual passes to theme parks across the Tasman.
The Wharerimu family – Reon, Jody, and their sons Roman, Grayson, and Foxton – were among the first to unearth the top prize.
Reon said winning the trip was 'awesome' and especially meaningful after their previous attempt at a family holiday overseas was abandoned due to Covid.
'We had a trip booked and then obviously it got cancelled, so it'll be good to get over there,' he said.
The prize marks the family's first overseas holiday together. Winning one of the top prizes 'felt amazing', Reon said.
'We even jumped in and helped a few other families at the end there just to try and help them win a box. So yeah, stoked.'
The King family won the other top prize.
Nikita King said she was thrilled to be heading back to the Gold Coast with her daughters Dakota and Roxanna, aged 13 and 2, and son Haley, 18, for their first holiday in eight years.
'We'd go back all the time if we could afford it,' she said.
The family were looking forward to the warm weather and spending time at the theme parks. 'Just getting away for a bit.'
Megan Crawford, general manager of business development at Dunedin Airport, said the airport was thrilled to welcome back direct international flights.
'We are absolutely stoked to have Jetstar flying direct from Dunedin to the Gold Coast starting on June 24,' she said.
'We're really pleased to be working with The Hits on this wonderful campaign that's getting families out digging for the opportunity to fly direct to the Gold Coast and experience all the amazing things Village Roadshow has to offer.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
18 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Kiwi musician Emma G - from 24 brain surgeries to mental health advocate through music
This open-minded determination and thirst for learning has helped her through some of the toughest times in her life, with music acting as one of the driving forces. From her humble Waikato beginnings and health struggles, to being a two-time TEDx keynote speaker, Ghaemmaghamy hopes her songwriting stories and coaching can help people navigate the worldwide post-Covid mental health crisis. Emma G teaches youth and adults about songwriting and music across the United States. Growing up with hydrocephalus, a condition where fluid builds up in the brain's ventricles causing them to enlarge and put pressure on tissue, wasn't easy, she says. Headaches, memory loss and multiple other side effects made living a 'normal' childhood a challenge, but it was something she'd learned to live with, and songwriting helped her cope. 'I think I grew up a lot faster than everybody else around me, which made things difficult to kind of relate to my peers in a lot of ways,' Ghaemmaghamy says. 'Music has always been the thing that helped me be normal and connect with people in a way that didn't feel ostracising.' She first put pen to paper on her 5th birthday with a song titled School is Cool and hasn't stopped since. A prominent member of Kiwi band Static Era, Ghaemmaghamy also placed sixth on the New Zealand version of hit show The X Factor. She won the New Zealander of the Year Local Heroes Award in 2014, which was about the time she decided she wanted to head overseas and start using her creative outlet differently. 'Chris Yong [of the band Tadpole and formerly Static Era] helped me realise that music didn't just have to be about staying stuck in my muck,' she says. 'It was also an opportunity for me to start writing a future and writing my way out of the chaos, the pain, the overwhelm, the depression, the whatever it was I was going through. That's when I started to really begin learning about how therapeutic music can be for self-expression, depression and anxiety.' In 2019, she was contracting to a multi-million-dollar company in the US, writing their theme songs and doing their performances, when another opportunity struck. 'The woman who ran the company, her son wanted to do what I do, so that's when I started doing Youth Empowerment through songwriting coaching. I started helping young people learn how to express themselves through songwriting and singing.' Ghaemmaghamy now has multiple clients, has toured the US, and has been a keynote speaker for TEDx on two occasions. 'I have always had this kind of idea that your growth happens outside your comfort zone, so I don't like to live in my comfort zone,' she says. Emma G's new book looks to bridge a gap when it comes to navigating mental health challenges. Taking all her knowledge, experience and connections, the time soon came for a natural next step: compile her thoughts into a book. Mental Health Sounds Like This, in Ghaemmaghamy's words, describes her process of what it looks like working with her clients and the exercises she uses, while also linking to her own musical journey and experiences. And while she's well behind the science of how the brain works and cites in the book studies on the positive impact music has, she's not interested in being a therapist or dishing out therapy. 'Therapy's job is to look at the past and how it plays into our present, a coach's job is to look at the future and help bridge the gap between where we are at the moment to where we want to be,' she says. 'My hope is that this book sort of bridges the gap and fills in some of those blanks when it comes to how we understand our brains now, as it pertains to healing and mental health.' Giving advice, Ghaemmaghamy says, can sometimes cause more harm than good because everybody is learning and evolving in different ways and with different personal circumstances. Music, she says, with its wide avenues and opportunities, creates a platform for expression. 'We're constantly finding unhealed parts of ourselves, which can then be healed. There's always another page or there's always another song, right?' Mental Health Sounds Like This releases tomorrow, July 27. Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald's entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke's Bay Today.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
'Quite a bump': Rotorua lures more Auckland visitors
Tourist photograph the Tourism Rotorua building. Photo: Andrew Warner Rotorua is experiencing a surge in domestic tourism, with new figures showing an increase in visitor numbers, spending and accommodation occupancy. Local leaders say the boost reflects growing confidence in the city as a destination, following years of disruption from Covid-19 and emergency housing . Figures via RotoruaNZ, the council-controlled tourism organisation, showed an uptick in Kiwis heading to Rotorua for a holiday. "I've received lots of great feedback from locals who have appreciated the boost in business and also seeing Rotorua thrive again," said Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. The mayor praised the 'Robe Trip' marketing campaign, which was aimed at highlighting Rotorua's standing as a destination for luxury and relaxation. The campaign ran over six weeks in February and March across multiple media, including a television ad featuring Tapsell. According to figures the council released to the Taxpayers' Union in March, the ad cost just under $94,000 to produce and broadcast. RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said they were very pleased with the results of the Robe Trip campaign. About three-quarters (73 percent) of Aucklanders surveyed would consider Rotorua for a holiday or breakaway after the campaign, up from 34 percent pre-campaign. "This was a bold and deliberate move to reposition Rotorua in the minds of New Zealanders - especially young and mid-life Auckland couples - as a destination for luxury, relaxation and indulgence." RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson. Photo: Andrew Warner Over the course of the campaign, there was a 9.4 percent increase in visitor spend by Aucklanders in the city and a 5 percent year-on-year rise in hotel occupancy. In comparison, there were 1.4 percent and 4.4 percent decreases respectively across the nation. Spending by domestic visitors from across the whole of New Zealand, not just Auckland, went up 14.3 percent year-on-year in Rotorua in May - compared to a 0.1 percent drop nationally. In addition, 76 percent of New Zealanders surveyed rated Rotorua as appealing to visit, with 35 percent intending to do so in the next 12 months. Traditionally, Rotorua's heritage has marked it as the birthplace of Kiwi tourism, but it had also grown into a mecca for adventure seekers, Wilson said. "The push towards luxury and relaxation is not about abandoning our adventure roots. "It's about expanding our narrative. Rotorua has always been a place of restoration and manaakitanga [hospitality]. We're simply reminding Kiwis of that in a fresh, relatable way," Wilson said. Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button. Photo: Andrew Warner The recent rise in domestic tourism has also been noticed by those in the industry. Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button said he has seen an improvement domestically compared to 12 months ago. Last year, the country was in the grip of the cost-of-living crisis as households tightened budgets and went without getaways, he said. "I don't think there's one silver bullet," said Button. "Last year, domestically, it fell off. We had an abrupt drop in May and our research suggested it was economy-related. "It's definitely still tough out there and I am not going to pretend it's not but interest rates have dropped and things might be getting better." Button said Rotorua's desirability had also returned. The pandemic had a major impact on the city, while the subsequent period of emergency housing compounded the city's tourism struggles, he said. Emergency housing motels in Rotorua are being wound down by the government, with a plan to stop contracting motels by the end of 2025 . Hennessey's Bar owner Reg Hennessey. Photo: Andrew Warner "A lot less use of motels for social housing has really helped," said Reg Hennessey, owner of the locally famous Hennessey's Irish Bar on Tutanekai St. "This school holiday was good and domestic tourism has definitely picked up, it's taken quite a bump this year. "Now we are just getting the good word back out to New Zealand that it's a safe town and people can always feel safe here because of the way it's operated." Tapsell also highlighted new efforts to attract more international visitors, as Rotorua Lakes Council funded promotion through an economic development rate on short-term accommodation providers. "Tourism and hospitality contribute significantly to jobs in Rotorua," she said. "Attracting visitors can be very competitive, not just to get them to our district, but also to our country. It's important that we don't get complacent, so we've put a lot of effort and smart investment into unique initiatives to promote Rotorua." She said the council was excited to continue to see the results of this. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hamlet to hit the silver screen
A remote coastal hamlet in South Otago could become the last bastion of humanity — if a new short film turns out to be doubly prescient. Milton business owner Chris McDonald said he conceived the idea for post-apocalyptic comedy drama Seeking a Friend for the End — which finished shooting in Toko Mouth earlier this month — in 2019, just before Covid struck. Although the reason for main character Eve's isolation is not detailed in the 10-minute film, McDonald said the arrival of Covid just as he was polishing the script was a bit of a "Nostradamus moment". "It was an idea that I'd had for a while, then just as I was completing the script Covid arrived, and I ended up shelving it. "The chance for some development funding from Short Film Otago came up last year. I applied, and was fortunate to be accepted." He said the film was originally conceived as a small-scale project with longtime collaborator, director Jason Williamson, but grew as the script developed. "We applied for a production grant from Short Film Otago, and we were stoked to receive a $15,000 grant earlier this year." That had allowed a four-day shoot using a crew of about 20, and also enabled the production to secure the talents of Dunedin producer Bex Rowe, and experienced TV and film actor Alice May Connolly. "Alice was a bit of a coup, as everything in the film hinges on the main performance. She'll be highly recognisable to audiences and has elevated the script to something special." McDonald said the Toko Mouth community had been "warm and welcoming" to the crew, although transforming it into a human-free landscape had not been without challenges. "We were lucky to have a crib we could use down there, and the community also let us base ourselves at the hall for the shoot. There was one scene where we could see some campervan lights in the distance, when Eve is supposed to be the last person on Earth. But they were happy to move from the shot." The film was now in post-production, although New Zealand audiences might not get to see the finished product for a year or more, McDonald said. "Because of the way the competition and festival circuit works, it might be a while before it arrives in New Zealand. But we'd love to show it at the Toko Mouth Hall so locals can enjoy the results." He said the experience of seeing his first grant-funded production come to life had been a pleasure, if also a little surreal. "It's quite a weird experience. You have your own version of the story in your head, but a talented team like this brings so much more to it."
