Four winners announced for NZ’s Great Walks
After a global search, four Great Walkers have been chosen to take on all of New Zealand’s famous nine Great Walks in just nine weeks.
Air New Zealand’s Great Walkers are Joel Cogger (Australia), Richard Harrison (United Kingdom) Stephanie Hathaway (United States) and Toshitake Suzuki (Japan).
The Great Walker competition is being run by Air New Zealand in association with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) and will see these four winners conquer the country’s premier DOC tracks: Abel Tasman Coast, Heaphy, Kepler, Lake Waikaremoana, Milford, Rakiura, Routeburn, Tongariro Northern Circuit and Whanganui Journey.
Applicants were asked to get creative and demonstrate why they thought they should win a place on the trip by uploading either a short YouTube video or a Pinterest board of inspiring images.
Applications were received from trekkers and hikers in 45 countries.
Air New Zealand then conducted interviews via Skype with a shortlist of 20 finalists who were assessed against a set of criteria, including personality, creativity and skills that may be useful on the trip.
Stephanie Hathaway, a blogger from California, gave up her job in January of this year to travel the world, only to be diagnosed with breast cancer. She recently found out she was cancer free and is excited to realise her ambition to travel to New Zealand.
Richard Harrison has undergone a drastic transformation, losing 200lbs. Only a few short years ago Richard was unable to travel and couldn’t walk more than 100 metres. He now leads a healthy, active and action packed life and is looking forward to conquering this new challenge and inspiring others like him to take the first step on their journey.
Joel Cogger, a Melbourne graphic designer, is looking forward to getting out from behind the computer and getting into shape as he conquers 550km of stunning New Zealand terrain.
Toshitake Suzuki from Mount Fuji in Japan is a recent environmental studies graduate who’s passionate about travel and the outdoors. He lived in Canada for a year where he started ‘Nature Junkies’, an outdoor activities club.
The four winners will share their experiences with the world via an online blog. They will travel to New Zealand in February 2013.
For further competition details and to view the winners’ profiles, visit www.greatwalkernz.com.
For information on DOC’s nine Great Walks, visit www.greatwalks.co.nz.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive