Andrew and Lorraine Porter won a trip to Antarctica
WHO SAID COMPING CAN'T TAKE YOU ON AMAZING ADVENTURES?
Andrew’s an avid comper − he enters about 30 comps a night (mainly on the internet), and clearly has fun. “I pop upstairs for 15 minutes while Lorraine is watching Corrie,” says Andrew, “it’s my way of winding down in the evening!”
He has his own comping quirks − don’t we all − and Andrew puts his personal secret to success down to choosing comps with unusual prizes. “I always look out for slightly different prizes as they should have fewer entries,” Andrew explains. “I mean a trip to Antarctica might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so if less people enter, I thought I’d stand more chance of winning.”
I agree. The competition was promoted on Times Online (that has 600,000 hits a day, globally), was free to enter and had just one, fairly easy, question to answer. Yet, only 18,000 people entered. You may be thinking “only???” but consider how many people you are competing against if you buy a National Lottery ticket every week. Over 14 million people are gunning for the jackpot! So, Andrew’s odds of winning his dream trip to Antarctica were not 10 times better, not 100 times better, but 778 times better than winning the lottery − and didn’t cost him a penny! You see the difference.
The more comps you enter, the more your odds of winning go up − it’s all about statistics. You’d buy more lottery tickets, Premium Bonds or raffle tickets to up your chances of winning a prize − and the same principles apply to comping. Enter at least 30 comps a week and your odds of winning amazing prizes, just like Andrew, shoot up!
How an ordinary bloke form Preston took a £7,000 holiday.
When Andrew got an email asking him to get in touch with Times Online he couldn’t quite believe it… he remembered entering their competition to win a 10-night trip on the Peregrine Holiday’s Antarctic Explorer Cruise, but surely he, an ordinary bloke from Preston, couldn’t have won such an amazing prize?
But he did! This was the prize of Andrew’s dreams − and worth a massive £7,000. You can imagine how ecstatic he was: “I have always wanted to go to Antarctica; but never dreamed I would ever get to go,” Andrew told me. “And what really topped of the prize was that my wife − who is not keen on flying to France, never mind Antarctica − agreed to go with me!”
You don’t need to be an intrepid explorer to enjoy Antartica!
You’d think only the most experienced travellers would get to go to Antarctica… but I believe we’ve just hit on the best thing about comping; you can experience things you would never have thought you could!
Andrew and Lorraine (who aren’t big travellers) got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience on a 10-day Explorer Cruise to Antarctica! They were crashing through “bergy bits” (chunks of ice, broken off icebergs) watching Minke whales surface and circle their ship, glimpsing different types of seals playing in the Lemaire channel and even videoing penguins onshore!
“For those who have always dreamed of going to Antarctica, I promise you will not be disappointed” says Andrew. “It’s truly jaw-dropping.”
Their cruise ship was captained by an expert team, and every day they had interesting guest speakers, educational talks about Antarctica’s geography and wildlife − plus training on how to approach penguins when onshore. They were advised to always give penguins a five- metre clearance, but a group of Adelie and Gentoo penguins on Petermann Island clearly hadn’t read the rules. They were happy to come right up to Andrew and Lorraine and one very inquisitive member of the group had a nibble at Andrew’s wellington boots.
Everything about the trip was fantastic, and Andrew never thought he would ever win another prize quite like this… that was until he won a trip to the World Elephant Polo Championships!
A great website for exciting holiday prizes, just like Andrew’s…
Andrew spotted the chance to win this unique trip on the Travel Channel website; a trip to Nepal to not only watch the World Elephant Polo Championships − but also have a go yourself!
Every month the Travel Channel website (www.travelchannel.co.uk) has a great holiday competition… just these last few months you could have won a holiday exploring the magical Amalfi coast, seven nights in Toronto, Canada and even a round the world cruise! And right now you can win a trip to Northern California; visiting San Fransisco, Sacremento, Sonoma county, and Lake Tahoe So, if you get the chance, go online and enter − you could be enjoying a fantastic holiday in sunny California.
Chivas, the Scottish distillery, sponsored the prize trip to Nepal, and called Andrew in person to tell him he’d won. He had to jump around the house by himself for a few hours until his wife came home to share the exciting news!
The trip started off on a high for Andrew as he flew Business Class for the first time ever, over to Nepal. He couldn’t believe the difference from Economy class! He had delicious food; impeccable service; loads of legroom; comfortable reclining seats, and then when they landed, the Business Class passengers were escorted off the plane into their own private terminal.
Imagine seeing 20 elephants appear out of the mist next to you!
You’ve got to agree, 20 elephants emerging from the mist, just metres away from you, is pretty surreal. Standing in Chitwan National Park, south west Nepal, watching the professional elephant polo players warm up on the pitch, Andrew had to pinch himself to believe he was really there at the World Elephant Polo Championships.
Elephant polo was first played in India around the turn of the 20th century, by members of the Maharaja’s harem – to keep them busy. Now WEPA (World Elephant Polo Association) host and create elephant polo as an organised competition.
The first games were played with a football, but after finding that the elephants like to smash the balls, the football was replaced with a standard polo ball. The rules for Elephant polo aren’t much different to horse polo, but with some necessary additions! For instance, an elephant can’t lie down in front of the goal line − imagine trying to score with an elephant in front of the goal!
Andrew plays Elephant Polo!
The polo players usually ride in twos; one player and one trainer who drives the elephant on. On his second day in Chitwan, Andrew got to sit alongside a trainer and become an elephant polo player for the afternoon. “It was strange being that high up” Andrew recalls. “The largest elephants were 12ft tall!”
Andrew and other competition winners watching the World Elephant Polo Championships stayed at the Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, home to the polo elephants. The lodge is a set in the lush sub-tropical jungle of Chitwan National Park. “It is an amazing experience staying there,” Andrew tells me. “Every day you can take an amazing elephant ride through the jungle with a skilled safari guide. I got to see rhino, beautiful exotic birds and even saw the Royal Bengal Tiger”.
The Jungle Lodge is known for its delicious food, friendly atmosphere and experienced staff − most people just don’t want to leave; and that was Andrew included. This is a trip that Andrew will not forget in a hurry!
Over the last three years Andrew has won two amazing holiday prizes − plus a brand-new Peugeot car, a top of the range digital camera and many other bits and pieces that have kept him going in between! It’s just a reminder that comping really is a fun and rewarding hobby − and one that real people, lie you and I, can get excited about every day!
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