Mexican teen’s Australian gap year adventure pays off

Mexican teen’s Australian gap year adventure pays off

Daniel Magana, 19, from Guadalajara in Mexico, decided to take a gap year after high school and travel to Australia to “expand his view of the world”. 

During his travels, Daniel discovered his passion for photography and filmmaking which led him to enter Cover-More’s 2016 Ultimate Traveller competition.

His video entry, using footage from Australia and Asia has taken out the top prize in the worldwide search with his entry ‘Spirit of a journey’.

Following the success of the first Ultimate Traveller competition in 2015, word of the $10,000 prize quickly spread to travel enthusiasts across the globe and this year’s competition received a huge amount of international entries from 21 countries.

Daniel said,“Wow, this is the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life! After I received the amazing news, I was frozen by my own excitement and all I could do was smile uncontrollably.”

“I always aim to spark something inside others with my photos and films, to inspire them to get out there and see the world and what it has to offer. It is important to me that my work raises awareness and gets people thinking about what they can do to keep this planet beautiful.”

 A total of 130 entries were received from 21 countries including Japan, South Africa, Philippines, China, Canada, Germany, France, USA, Poland, Australia, England, Wales, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, India, Malaysia, Netherlands and Bahrain.

Congratulations to the other travellers who, along with Daniel, were named top five finalists.

You can check out their awesome videos here:

THIS IS WHERE MY STORY BEGINS!

Abril Hernandez | Age 27 | San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico

INTO THE WILD

Tyler Cave | Age 24 | Victoria, BC, Canada

THE JOURNEY

Matt Cave | Age 21 | Victoria, BC, Canada

CHASING DREAMS

Adam Rikys | Age 34 | Queenscliff, NSW, Australia

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