SkyCity Hotel to Hamilton private car — Amy's business trip

The morning air in Auckland, even in late September, still carried a hint of chill. I pulled up to the SkyCity Hotel, the valet already waiting by the curb. A woman stepped out, small suitcase in hand, looking exactly like someone ready for a business meeting – sharp jacket, sensible heels. She had that focused look about her, eyes scanning the street as if a high-stakes deal waited just around the corner. My sort of passenger – here for a purpose, not just sightseeing.

She introduced herself as Amy W, from Seattle. Her company was opening a new branch in Hamilton, and she was here to oversee the final preparations. The drive down the Southern Motorway was its usual start-of-day crawl. Past the familiar sprawl of South Auckland, past Bombay, the traffic slowly thinning as we bypassed Pokeno. Amy was quiet at first, tapping away on her phone, occasionally glancing out at the rolling green hills. It’s the sort of landscape that makes you feel a world away from the city, even though it’s only an hour south.

We hit the Waikato Expressway, and the pace picked up. This is a good stretch of road, mostly straight, with wide shoulders. I like it when the road is clear, allows for a bit of calm reflection. Amy put her phone down and turned towards the window. She commented on the number of dairy farms, the sheer density of them. She said back home, their agriculture is so different – vast fields, different kinds of crops. She told me she worked in tech, specifically in AI development. Fascinating stuff, though I confess it all goes a bit over my head. She explained that her company was building automation systems for industrial applications, hence the need for a new facility in a place like Hamilton, which has a strong manufacturing base.

We stopped for coffee at a place just off the expressway, one of those clean, modern service centres. Amy got an Americano, strong and black. She mentioned that getting good coffee on the road in the States could be hit or miss, depending on where you were. She’d travelled a lot for work, she said, but this was her first time in New Zealand. She asked about the local industry, the economy, curious about how this region ticked. I told her what I knew – the farming, the manufacturing, the growing tech sector, especially in Hamilton. It’s always interesting to hear what visitors make of our country, their perspectives.

As we got closer to Hamilton, the landscape became a bit more settled, less raw farmland, more manicured parks and the outskirts of a city. Amy pointed to the university campus as we drove past. She’d read up on Hamilton before her trip, she said, knew it was a significant educational hub. She was impressed by the city’s layout, its clean streets, and the river running through it. She mentioned she was staying at the Novotel, and I confirmed I knew the place well, a reliable spot right in the city centre.

We pulled up to the hotel, the doors of the Novotel gleaming. Amy thanked me, gathering her things. She had a meeting scheduled in an hour. She mentioned that the initial setup had gone smoothly, thanks to the local team. She seemed relaxed now, the pre-meeting jitters replaced by a quiet confidence. She said she’d be in Hamilton for a few days, overseeing the initial operations before heading back to Auckland for her flight. As she walked into the lobby, I remembered her comment about automation. It’s funny, you drive along these highways, see the farms, the factories, the businesses, and you don't always think about the invisible threads connecting them, the tech that makes them run. It’s a different kind of landscape, one of data and algorithms, shaping the future, even here in the Waikato. I put the car in gear and headed back towards the expressway, the city receding in my rearview mirror.