They all professed themselves to be National voters but they could not see where the National-led Government was going and could not be sure that it would ever find its way. At that stage NZ First had made no moves.
When Mr Peters again popped up on the hustings, I should have put two and two together. I didn't - and the party vote for NZ First in Rotorua was, at 10.1 per cent, one of the highest in the country.
So I disagree with those who say that NZ First's success was at the expense of Labour. Rather it was at the expense of National as those who remain unimpressed with Mr Key's style of Government - and, in Rotorua particularly, those who disdain his alliance with the Maori Party - gave their votes to Mr Peters.
Others, awake to Mr Peters' somewhat colourful past, chose the new Conservative party. The Conservative candidate here took 2.9 per cent of the electorate vote and 3 per cent of the party vote.
The persuasive, plausible and paternal Mr Peters is one of the great phenomena of our political history. He has more lives than a cat. And I sometimes wonder what this country would be like today if he had behaved himself way back when and become a National Prime Minister. One thing I do believe: If Mr Peters had been born in the United States, he would be, or have been, President by now.
The most worrying thing about this election, however, was the lightness of the poll, with something like a third of eligible voters not bothering to cast a ballot.
Sure, there would be those whose ignorance made them unaware of the opportunity and those who were too busy or couldn't care less, but I suspect most who did not vote were, even subconsciously, making their protest at the political system as we know it.
These are folk - and I am sometimes inclined to be one of them - who see that it doesn't matter who they vote for, whichever party or group of parties achieves power will simply do what it likes and they will have no say in the matter.
In the same vein, the paucity of the turnout indicates a general disillusionment with politics and politicians on the part of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters. Politicians are more and more seen as untrustworthy self-seekers.
This ambivalence is no better illustrated than in the issue of partial privatisation. While some 75 per cent of people polled disagree with any sort of asset sales, those same people ensured that the party which proposes to do so was elected overwhelmingly.
It is obvious that MMP will be retained, with, I hope, amendments to the way it works, but the gravest flaw in our political system is that, unlike most other Western democracies, it consists of a unicameral parliament.
What we really need is a second chamber of Parliament, an upper house or senate, call it what you will. And this upper chamber needs to be wholly elected by the public, perhaps in the American style of a set number of members from each province.
That would not only safeguard New Zealand from a threat to democracy, either deliberately or by accident, but would provide an even-handed representation of interests throughout the country and limit the influence of areas, such as Auckland, with big political clout.
We might have our own Supreme Court but we need to remember that Parliament remains the country's ultimate court. It can, the way we have it set up, pretty much do what it likes.
There are insufficient checks and balances as things stand, opposition parties and triennial elections notwithstanding.
Irreparable damage can be done in three years by self-interested politicians, as we well know.
