Bark Bay in Abel Tasman National Park. Photo / Rambo Estrada
Bark Bay in Abel Tasman National Park. Photo / Rambo Estrada
Imagine travelling around New Zealand's most beautiful spots in the middle of summer - and getting paid for it.
Mount Maunganui man Rambo Estrada got to do just that when Samsung contacted the 42-year-old freelance photographer with the opportunity of a lifetime.
"Samsung contacted me and they just wanted toput a couple of their new phones to the test, the S8 and the Note 8 so they sent me a few phones and said I could go round the country and check out New Zealand's most popular Instagram spots," Estrada said.
He started his journey just before Christmas, first taking photos in the Mount. He then headed up to the Coromandel, then Auckland and then flew down to Nelson.
Another photo from Abel Tasman National Park, where Estrada had never been until he got the Samsung job. Photo / Rambo Estrada
"I spent a day cruising round Abel Tasman, went to Wanaka and then went to Milford Sound then back to Queenstown, back up to Auckland, went to Piha and then went to Waiheke Island."
Estrada completed the journey in one week and said it was a big trip.
"They had a number of places that they definitely wanted me to go, and those were like Milford and Abel Tasman where I'd never been. So it was awesome to be able to go to spots I'd never been before.
"Everywhere I went I'd meet up with people to have people to shoot with, I'd have to put out a bit of a shout out in places I didn't know anyone, other times it was friends, my fiance flew down for the last bit.
Sandfly Bay, Abel Tasman National Park. Photo / Rambo Estrada
"She was hanging out with me in Queenstown and Wanaka. I often travel around on my own and just meet up with people."
The company wanted the project to have a "Kiwi summer" sort of vibe to it.
Estrada said when he looked at the itinerary it was pretty ambitious, so he told the company in advance that he didn't think he could get everything they wanted.
"But we ended up having an amazing run of weather and getting pretty much everything that everyone wanted."
