From Iceland — Meet Vicki, Winner of the Grapemas Helicopter Tour and Grapevine Reader of the Month!
Published January 16, 2020
Now, as the last of the Christmas lights are stripped from the lampposts and the Santas are settling down to hibernation, one lucky woman in Australia has a present she hasn’t even opened yet. Introducing: Vicki Connolly from Karratha, Australia, our Grapemas 2019 Grand Prize Winner!
The lucky Australian received the top prize for a Happy Hour Helicopter Tour provided by Northern flight! But now that the prize is won, another challenge awaits: Getting Vicki halfway across the globe to enjoy it!
We caught up with Vicki and asked her a few questions…
Lucky winner Vicki!
I live in Karratha. It is a town of about 20,000 people in Western Australia and is 1522 km north of our capital Perth. I looked up statistics — Iceland will fit in WA 25 times and in Australia 75 times. There is a lot of not very much here! I was able to drive five times from north to south between Perth and Karratha. Most of the time we will fly to Perth when we need to go.
Have you visited Iceland before?
I visited Iceland in June 2017. Visiting my partner’s family was a good reason to go. Traveling around Iceland and getting to know his son Kári and his sister Magga was great. Magga’s knowledge of history was incredible.
Well, favorite thing about Iceland? So many! I liked contrasts. Long days in summer, long nights in winter. Watching a group of university students celebrate their graduation on Iceland Day in Akureyri at 11 at night when it was still light. Incredibly green fields and barren areas. Black concrete… with ice cubes! Geyser! So many magnificent waterfalls. When you live in Karratha where it’s hot and dry, it’s amazing to see so much fresh water. Glacial valleys. Geologically a very young country compared to Australia. Your recorded history is comprehensive. We have little more than 200 years of recorded history, although Aboriginal oral histories are tens of thousands of years old. My visit made me think a lot about my father who was a geologist. He would have loved Iceland’s geology.
Are you a regular reader of Reykjavík Grapevine?
The Reykjavik Grapevine pops up on my Facebook news feed. I have found a wide variety of articles that have piqued my interest. I am very interested in understanding Icelandic life. I’m not sure how I heard about it. Maybe I saw an article on Facebook? I enjoyed the first article, so I went to your Facebook page to read more. I am now an avid follower of the Reykjavik Grapevine.
I was very surprised to win such a prestigious award. I had hoped to be in Reykjavík to experience an Icelandic Christmas with Bjössa’s family, but it didn’t happen. I was a bit bummed not to be in when I entered the competition and thought how wonderful it would be to win. Now that’s one more reason to go back – even though it might be the most expensive “free” helicopter tour. But worth drinking sparkling wine on top of a mountain (that I don’t have to climb).
Are you looking forward to drinking sparkling wine on top of a mountain?
It’s something I hope to enjoy when we retire. I have to work on my Icelandic, although I can’t figure out why you would want to connect nouns. Bjössi/Bjössa? Crazy!
Congratulations again to Vicky and also to all the other award winners. Feel free to check out some of the great prizes we gave away to our Facebook followers at Grapemas below and stay tuned for more giveaways in the future!
13 Days Of Grapemas: Northern Lights Tour With Bustravel Iceland
13 Days Of Grapemas: The Golden Circle With Reykjavík Sightseeing