Auckland was buzzing with excitement last weekend, escalating to what can only be described as rugby-fever pitch following the All Blacks’ victory on Sunday night at Eden Park, but leaving the ordinary behind, it was a South African affair for trade partners lucky enough to score tickets to the finals as guests of the tourism board.

Waving the Springboks flag, South African Tourism’s Sydney team led by General Manager Australasia, Lalie Ngozi was joined by colleagues from South Africa head office and South African Airways, General Manager Asia Pacific.

Staying aboard the Adventure World chartered, Ms Volendam, decked out specifically for rugby fanatics, guests were treated to South African hospitality during the weekend and with some 40,000 South Africans residing in New Zealand, Ms Ngozi said it was becoming an increasingly important market for the tourism board.

Following the launch earlier this year of a push to “Leave Ordinary Behind” phase two of the campaign has just been launched to attract first time visitors to the country with a social media campaign competition.  Boasting 14,000 Facebook fans in Australia and 600 in New Zealand, the competition has attracted hundreds of entries with winners from both countries to be announced later this week.