Lucky Giants fan wins daytrip to New Zealand (Huh?)

Did you hear about the lucky couple who won a free one-day trip to New Zealand at the Giants vs Diamondbacks game last week?

Get this: Bay Area residents Thuy Thi Le and her boyfriend, Kim Dang, were declared the winners of a unique Air New Zealand Twitter contest during the first inning during the San Francisco Giants vs Arizona Diamondbacks game at AT&T Park last Friday.

The winners had to immediately depart the game for SFO to catch Air New Zealand’s 12-hour overnight flight to Auckland. The flight departs SFO at 10 pm and arrives in Auckland at 5:55 am.

The pair enjoyed Air New Zealand’s lay flat business class seats on the way down, and woke up in Auckland for an action packed day of activities which gave them a taste of some of the great things New Zealand has to offer. Then, on that very same day at 7:15 pm, they boarded another overnight flight to bring them back home to San Francisco, arriving at around noon on Sunday.

During their whirlwind experience the pair was treated to private helicopter transportation between locations as they dined, jumped, sipped and zipped their way through picturesque New Zealand landscape.

How’d they do that? The Giants partnered with Air New Zealand to challenge fans to tweet why they should be chosen to take the nonstop Air New Zealand flight to Auckland for the ‘Giant New Zealand Weekend.’ Thuy tweeted: I should be flying to New Zealand so I can climb the Franz Josef Glacier, place a Giants Flag on it and let it wave with PRIDE! #AIRNZGIANTS.

Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon, who was in San Francisco for the event, said, “Market research shows Americans tend to overestimate the amount of time it takes to get to New Zealand.  The reality is that it’s a comfortable 12-hour overnight flight.  You can jump on board, enjoy a great meal of New Zealand food and wine, go to sleep and wake up in Auckland.”

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After arriving in Auckland; the winners headed to check out the incredible view from New Zealand’s tallest building, the Sky Tower. They then boarded their private helicopter to fly over the breathtaking scenery of Waikato and the Rotorua thermal region, including spectacular views of Mt Ruapehu and Hobbiton.

The pair landed at an exclusive luxury lodge for a gourmet lunch before flying north again to Waiheke Island, home to boutique vineyards, olive groves and adventure activities such as zip lining.

The final stop was at one of Waiheke Island’s premier vineyard restaurants to sample fine wine and canapés before a short helicopter transfer back to Auckland International Airport and their nonstop Air New Zealand flight home to San Francisco.

“This was truly a GIANT weekend experience I will never forget,” said Thuy. “From the breathtaking views of Auckland atop the Sky Tower, the serene atmosphere of Huka Lodge in Taupo, the wild and crazy zip lining adventure on Waiheke Island, and the magnificent wineries dotted throughout, New Zealand truly has something for everybody. Now knowing it’s only a 12-hour flight from San Francisco, I am definitely going back to reunite with our fellow Kiwis!”

—Chris McGinnis

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