Three days. Three Christopher Luxons. And three sea-legs pills - tales from the National Party bus trip up the North Island

Three days. Three Christopher Luxons (himself and his face plastered on both sides of the bus). And three sea-legs pills which knocked me for six.

I write this fresh from devouring an incredible cream bun from the Morrinsville Wagon Wheel cafe, as Hotel California rings out across the National Party bus sound system. I'm on the National Party North Island bus trip as part of the media contingent.

The general gist of the trip is we hurtle up the North Island on a massive blue bus, stopping at places for National leader Christopher Luxon to get out for handshakes and walkabouts. We went from Wellington to Napier, then to Rotorua, and will land in Auckland’s Botany tonight. The journalists are all Press Gallery reporters working in Parliament together, while a lot of the Young Nats and staffers also work in Parliament.

The media sits at the back, then the Young Nats fill the middle, before the Prime Minister, his protective services, staffers and other MPs are more to the front.

Christopher Luxon holding a stand up outside his bus and giant cow.

Currently on day three, vibes have increased in line with our ascent up the island. Maybe it was getting out of Wellington? Maybe everyone’s tired? Maybe it was the release of MPs Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis, both who under current polling are not guaranteed to re-enter Parliament, who came up part of the way on the first day. A reminder of the exceptional turbulence the party enters this election into.

I travelled the same route for the start of National’s bus trip in 2023. There are some of the same faces aboard, but there was an excited buzz rippling through the 2023 trip. Luxon’s energy feeding off and exponentially increasing with the hype that met us at each stop. There’s a bit of hype still, but it’s not at the same level. The most was probably when we stopped in Havelock North briefly and were met with MPs Catherine Wedd and Katie Nimon and a music boom box playing ‘We didn’t start the fire’ by Billy Joel. 

Christopher Luxon ices a National Party cake.

In Hamilton, Luxon caught a break with an energetic Tama Potaka sign waving session, where he received a warm welcome by beeping passersby. 

It was a quick break however, before a downpour left supporters using the signs as shelters and abandoning the human hoardings.

Calm before the rain storm in Hamilton.

While the media conferences are tense, Luxon is relaxed and chatty with journalists behind the scenes, talking all things from music to midterms, stopping by after we bumped into him during both evening dinners and even singing happy birthday and delivering a piece of cake to one of the journalists on Thursday.

Major themes during the press conferences were election uncertainty, the NZ First candidate Michael Laws’ comment about Opportunity candidate Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, and the Opportunity Party. Probably not what he wants to be talking about.

But all that won’t matter after tomorrow when the ballots close at 7pm. Or maybe it’ll be after the special votes come in three weeks later.

“There'll be time after the polls close tomorrow for the pundits and the commentariat and everybody to have their reckons and their says and reconcile what they thought was going to happen and what has actually happened,” Luxon said when I asked if the country was looking down the barrel of no government for quite some time post-election.

“Right up until 7o'clock tomorrow people get a chance to vote, and I'm just encouraging people and New Zealanders to have their say and get out and actually do that,” he said.

Luxon said his plan for election day will be calling his team and checking in on them, catching up with friends, a lunch and also life admin.

“I've got some things to sort out, some ironing to do, a few things like that.”

For me, I’ll be up at the National Party event for election night, with Interest.co.nz also covering Labour and a range of election night party events.

While my National Party bus trip ends tonight, whether Luxon’s journey as prime minister continues is up to voters.