Spill the beans on your favourite place

Fly the Kiwi flag – spill the beans on your favourite places

Kiwis are being urged to spill the beans on their favourite local destinations on two new not-for-profit websites aimed at helping holiday-makers uncover New Zealand’s best backyard secrets.

The websites – newzealandsouth.com and newzealandnorth.com - are the brainchild of Christchurch creative director Simon Darby and tap into the collective knowledge of Kiwis to give visitors to our shores information on everything from how to handle sandflies on the West Coast to where to find the best fish and chip shops and hide-away picnic spots.

They are an online guide to New Zealand written by the people who know the country best and who are the most qualified to market it – ordinary New Zealanders.

"Many visitors want to do more than just visit the usual tourist haunts. They want go beyond that but they often don’t know what’s out there. This is a way for them to pick up information on what locals consider the best places to go and to read their tips for making the most of their holiday," says Mr Darby.

"It’s word-of-mouth advice with genuine recommendations from people in the know, presented in an engaging format. We’ve used great imagery and design to make it an easy-access feast for the eyes. And every place featured includes a map so people know exactly where to find it."

Mr Darby says the key to the websites’ success is getting as many ordinary New Zealanders as possible to share their stories about their favourite places – both on and off the beaten track.

"It is amazing how much food features in people’s choice of favourite places. Almost everyone who has contributed so far has shared a delicious food find in their experience of a destination. There’s no shortage of great grub in New Zealand and this site now gives people an easy way to find out what’s hot and what’s not."

Simon Darby says with up to 85,000 international visitors expected to come to New Zealand for next year’s Rugby World Cup, demand for the "inside skinny on what’s really great about New Zealand" had never been higher.

"This isn’t about commercial tourism businesses promoting themselves; this is about Kiwis sharing their pride in their homeland with the rest of the world. For travellers it is a fantastic resource that they can use to make the most of their holiday – whether they are Kiwis exploring their own backyard or visitors from overseas."

The newzealandsouth.com site is already live while its northern cousin, newzealandnorth.com, is open for new public content submissions. People can contribute to both sites by going online and clicking on the ‘submit’ menu.

"We want to hear your stories. Now is the time to spill the beans and let the rest of the world in on our backyard secrets," Mr Darby said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media