Online guide showcases NZ road less travelled
02 Nov 2009
Getting off the beaten track in New Zealand has just become easier with a new interactive travel website aimed at helping backpackers and international students get out of town and onto the road less travelled.
GOOT (Get Out Of Town) online guide offers travellers information to help plan a unique Kiwi road-trip, taking in lesser known destinations.
The website and GOOT Passport booklet provide destination suggestions, driving routes and itineraries for one-day and longer trips.
The website also offers special deals for discounted accommodation and activities from tourism operators throughout the country.
Co-creator Joe Fagan says the inspiration for the website was connecting foreign students with real Kiwis and exposing them to the "hidden gems" that the locals know about.
Get out and go
The GOOT Passport contains another incentive to get out and go with the GOOT GAME which pits international students against each other in a challenge to locate 100 places, icons, people or objects around New Zealand.
Teams are awarded points based on the difficulty of finding and photographing each thing, and the team or individual who collects the most points each month wins.
Fagan says the idea for the GOOT GAME came one day when he was thinking about what makes New Zealand unique and how experiencing the "real New Zealand" is not always just about the major tourist attractions.
GOOT takes off
The GOOT GAME is still currently in a trial period and officially available only to students, but has already proved immensely popular with those who have signed up from the GOOT website.
Fagan says the initial response from the game has been great, and he has enjoyed hearing the stories and looking through the participant’s photos.
"It is almost like we can share their travel experiences with them," he says.
Team Two Sheeps
‘Team Two Sheeps’ from Norway have played for two months in a row and are the most successful team so far, having amassed 287 points.
Kristine and Karina, who make up ‘Team Two Sheeps’, say the game has made travelling in New Zealand an even more amazing experience for them.
"I don’t think we would have seen and done as much as we have in the past two months if it wasn’t for the game. It’s extra motivation to get around and explore this beautiful country."
Discover and explore
Joe says GOOT has been a hit with international students because it gives them the motivation to get out there and discover and explore new places.
"The game provides another incentive to get out there and travel. It also gives you a purpose and makes you stop in places that you would not normally go. Those that play the game inevitably end up interacting with locals and having experiences that they would not normally have had."
Reflecting the trial period’s success, a new GOOT GAME website is currently in the works and the game will be expanded to allow backpackers and adventurous families wanting to get out there to play as well.
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