Winner of 'a year off' ready for Paris

He recorded a 45-second motivation about why he deserved a year off and what he would do with his time. His dream of seeing Paris, meeting his gorgeous French girlfriend and proposing to her at the Yankee Stadium in New York City was enough to bag him R5000 from BP and a spot among the finalists.

Rhoda, 27, who works as a dispatch supervisor for Goldfield Logistics, cannot believe he now has the means to fulfil his dreams of travelling to France and the US. "I'm still in shock. The only thing I've ever won before is a rugby ball when I was a youngster."

On the day of the finals, the warehouse staff and Rhoda's bosses all tuned into Metro FM to hear if he would walk away with the grand prize.

"I was confident but got a bit nervous when the last contestant sang his answer," he says. However, he need not have worried: he was declared the winner, to the elation of his colleagues and his own surprise.

Glenda Zvenyika, BP Southern Africa's corporate and external communications manager, says Rhoda is a worthy winner. "We all have a dream of taking time out from our nine-to-five without worrying about our income that affords us our lifestyle and doing what we've dreamed of with our time.

"He gets to live this fantasy out for all of us; we congratulate him on his win and wish him well on his travels. To think it all began when he went in for his usual Pie Day Friday lunch at BP Express in Kraaifontein."

Rhoda will be taking three weeks' off to go travelling before plotting his next move.