An Australian backpacker who arrived in New Zealand just two days before he purchased a winning lotto ticket now plans to upgrade his accommodation and travel in style.
The lucky tourist purchased the ticket in Christchurch and then immediately travelled to the Wellington Lottery headquarters to claim his prize.
He initially planned to get seasonal fruit picking jobs to fund his two month NZ holiday.
Fortunately with the high New Zealand dollar exchange rate with the Australian currency, his windfall still equates to $870 000 AUD.