When I was 12, my parents told my brother and I that the four of us were going on a holiday in
New Zealand.

Growing up, we had taken numerous road trips and short trips all around the country.. camping, fruit-picking, waterfall-hunting, fishing, chasing fireflies, climbing trees, hours at the beach, flying kites, Club Med, etc..  we were very lucky. BUT, my brother and I had never gone ‘overseas’. It was like a magic word then. Singapore and Thailand didn’t count since they were ‘connected’. So naturally, we were very  overly excited at the prospect of going on our first ‘overseas’ trip.

Unfortunately, as air travel was such a luxury/too expensive back then, my parents broke it to us later on that they had decided NOT to take us and go by themselves instead!!

We were MAD.
We whinged and sulked for days.

Finally, we were promised a certain sum of money as an ‘exchange’ to stop moaning about it. Kids are so silly huh!

Eventually my first ‘overseas’ venture was to Egypt when I was 14. At 17, I spent five weeks in Japan on a ‘cultural exchange’. Both were amazing and eye-opening.

To this day, I still enjoy sharing my stories from these experiences.

I knew early on that I had to have MORE. I had to go places.. there was so much to see and do!! I made a big fat scrapbook titled ‘Travel Destinations’ and filled it with pictures from magazines and newspapers.. (mostly of beaches around the world, haha) and daydreamed at school about going to all of them someday.

Now, it’s 2011 and I’ve been more places than I ever would’ve imagined was possible when I was growing up. Did I EVER THINK that I’d be skiing in the Swiss Alps or scuba-diving/water-skiing in the French Riviera? NO FREAKING WAY.

But guess what?
I’ve still never set foot in New Zealand, despite having lived in Australia for over four years.

Anyway, I’ve spent most of my money on travelling and I don’t regret it one bit. Material things, be it a pair of shoes or a new laptop, can only last so long. But the experiences you get from exploring the world and its people are truly priceless (and timeless). They’ll be the things that stick when you grow old – stories that you keep forever! I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the all the things I could’ve bought with my money instead.

What would you trade if it meant you could be one of the first in the world to watch the sun rise on 1 January, 2012 as you recover from a music festival set in a vineyard? What would you trade to spend two weeks swimming with dolphins, island-hopping, and sliding down giant sand dunes?

Think hard! Because Tourism New Zealand are offering you the chance to do just that with their new campaign which will run over the next 12 months, ‘Stories Beat Stuff’.

Tell them what you’d trade for a once-in-a-lifetime, money-can’t-buy experience and you’ll be in with a chance to WIN IT!

For starters, there are two prize trips to choose from:

(Just watching this video has made me wide-eyed and alive with wanderlust.. at 1am)

• Take a photo or record a video of what you’d trade – and think carefully, because if you win, the things you offer up for trade will be given to a charity of your choice – and submit your entry to the Stories Beat Stuff website.  
  
• Then, share your video or photo with everyone you know! Post it on Facebook, on Twitter, on your face, whatever. Because the more votes you get, the higher your chances are of getting into the Final 20. The ultimate decision, however, will be made by Tourism New Zealand judges!

These are just the first of a number of amazing New Zealand experiences on offer.
To find out more, join the New Zealand Facebook Fan Page.
You can also learn more about the country at their award-winning website.

I’m totally bummed because, by some crazy coincidence, I already have a two-week holiday booked for New Zealand this December! I’ll be celebrating Christmas and welcoming the New Year with my family. I’m FINALLY going to New Zealand!!!!

BUT nevertheless, I still made a video entry of my own to encourage you… prepare to cringe.
It’s the first time I’ve ever recorded myself talking.. –_-

I’m wearing decorative glasses and a beanie as it was 11pm and I’d been watching TV in my PJs!

I’ve submitted my entry and I’ve picked the ‘Beaches and Boats’ experience to win – and I’ve also just realised now that this trip takes place at the end of January so MAYBE I can still go. If no one else enters, that is. Ha ha.

If you do want to vote for me, then here’s the link!

Anyway

I’m still really looking forward to my own New Zealand trip.. my whole family are planning to go skydiving! 🙂

This is a sponsored post

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I have a confession.
I live in London and I don’t own a single pair of wellies or rain boots.

For some reason I never saw the need to invest in a pair, even though the weather is always so wet around here. And even when I went to the Isle of Wight Festival last year, I willed and wanted it to be sunny so much that I refused to bring along any wellies.

How was I supposed to know that it would rain on the day we arrived! I ended up having to tip-toe my way through the mud and slush and nearly fell over in my crappy sneakers BECAUSE I was being so cautious with every step.

When I was in Australia, I practically lived in Havaianas thongs (that’s ‘flip flops’ to people here) .
I loved them so much and because the climate there allowed me to wear them often, I ended up with nearly 10 pairs (In fact, every time I see the word ‘Havaianas’, my mind automatically reminisces about my amazing time there, and all the things I must’ve done whilst wearing these thongs).

I had them in black, brown, purple, blue, pink, SHINY pink, GLITTERING pink, green; I even had those strings of cloth they would sell as an add-on – you wrap them around the straps to give it a different look, and then around your ankles where you tie them up.

After moving to London however..
I LOST all of them, except ONE pair.
I think it happened in between moving flats.
The sad thing was, they were hardly even missed!

How often do you get to wear.. *ahem* ‘flip-flops around here anyway?

[I wear mine most when I run away on holiday! ha!]

Yeah, what I need here is a nice, bright pair of rain boots / wellies

And guess what?

Havaianas, whose image to me has always been associated with colour and sunshine, have started to make them!

The new Havaianas Rain Boots / Wellies collection was launched in Selfridges in April – the party was very aptly called ‘Rain of Shine Festival’. I didn’t attend but I hear it was lots of fun, with a real festival/carnival vibe. The floor was even carpeted with grass!

The new collection boasts 8 colours:

There’s black and green

And then there are contrast colours of pink/blue, purple/pink, grey/pink, and turquoise/white

Plus two patterned/printed designs called ‘Always Summer’ and ‘Elegance’

The designs can be viewed here.

My favourite pair is the pink/blue contrast one (featured in the poster) – you know me, the brighter the better!

Left: Daisy Lowe at the event // Right: Jameela Jamil holding up a printed pair

Once I get my hands on these (or feet, whatever), I’m set for the summer. Wet puddles and mud pits at a festival? NO PROBLEM! They’ll be perfect for when I head off to France in August to help out at a farm too, where I’ve been told to bring wellies, yay.

Here are a couple of photos of my own ‘festival’ outfits’ from last year:

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