Holiday Inn Auckland Airport to Tauranga private car — Mads's conference trip

The air conditioning in the Holiday Inn lobby was blasting, a stark contrast to the sticky warmth of a late November Auckland evening just outside the glass doors. I usually don’t get many airport pickups heading out of town – most folk arriving there are just starting their trip, not ending it. But this time, it was a conference attendee needing a lift straight to Tauranga, bypassing the city centre entirely. He was standing a bit apart from the usual hustle, a tall fellow with a neat beard and a serious-looking laptop bag. He looked exactly like someone who’d just spent three days locked in conference rooms.

His name was Mads L, and he was from Copenhagen. He’d been in Auckland for a tech conference, something about sustainable energy solutions. He had a plane to catch out of Tauranga the next morning, and decided the private transfer was the easiest way to get there, rather than going into the city and then finding another connection.

We cleared the airport traffic, a usual hold-up on a Saturday evening. Once we were past Manukau and onto State Highway 1, things smoothed out. The landscape began to open up, the suburbs giving way to rolling green hills under a sky that was just starting to hint at sunset. Mads was quiet for the first hour, mostly looking out the window, though I got the sense he was processing a lot of information from his trip. He eventually pulled out his phone, scrolling through emails. I figured I’d offer him a coffee break at the next convenient spot.

Pokeno’s iconic ice cream shop was doing a roaring trade, but we opted for the service station next door for a quick caffeine top-up and a stretch. As I poured us both a takeaway coffee, I asked him about Denmark and his impressions of New Zealand. He spoke thoughtfully about the similarities and differences in approach to renewables between Europe and here, mentioning that Denmark, being relatively flat and windy, had embraced wind power quite aggressively over the last couple of decades. He showed me a few pictures on his phone – fields dotted with turbines, and then later, the sleek, modern architecture of Copenhagen.

The Karangahake Gorge section of State Highway 2 was particularly beautiful that evening, the setting sun casting long shadows and highlighting the gold-mining history etched into the hillsides. I pointed out the old railway tunnel, now a walking track. Mads seemed fascinated by the history, asking if there were many visitors who explored it. I told him it was popular with hikers and cyclists, and that it was a welcome change of pace from the usual intercity routes.

He mentioned that while the conference had been productive, he felt he’d only scratched the surface of what New Zealand had to offer. He’d spent most of his time indoors, either at the airport or the conference venue. I could relate to that – sometimes the best parts of a country are the ones you stumble upon between destinations. We talked a little more about that, the idea of soaking in the local flavour, and how sometimes business trips can feel like a missed opportunity for genuine exploration.

As we approached Tauranga, the sky had deepened to a bruised purple. The lights of the city began to twinkle, giving a sense of arrival. He was staying at a hotel near the Mount, a familiar landmark, even from a distance. I pulled up to the entrance, the lobby lights bright and welcoming. He thanked me for the comfortable and efficient journey, mentioning he felt much more relaxed than he expected to be. Stepping out of the car and into the warm Tauranga night, he looked ready for a good night's sleep before his flight. I watched him go in, another person dropped off, another journey completed. The drive back to Auckland would be quiet, the usual time for reflection, thinking about the brief glimpses into other people's lives you get behind the wheel.