The former US President likened his Hawaiian roots to Maori and told Wahine Toa that he ‘felt right at home’ in NZ.
The long-awaited visit by former US President Barack Obama was the equivalent of reports of the infamous Fiordland moose.
Sightings were hard to come by and the photos were distant, grainy and hard to verify.
If not for a powhiri and meeting with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Government House,some may have doubted he had been here at all.
He was a blur in the peripheral vision of most of New Zealand. They were outside looking in but could not see through the tinted windows of his car in the motorcade.
He was the teal blur in the far distance on a golf course and the sirens as his motorcade swept through.
Outside the Sofitel at the Viaduct where he stayed a fellow guest reported spotting him in the gym. He had been swimming.
There was an occasional tweeted photograph by Air New Zealand by way of proving their investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars was worth every cent.
Obama was all but a silhouette in one and in the others his back was turned to the camera as he took a swing at a golf ball. The final photo was of a signed golf glove.
Former US president Barack Obama tees off at Northland's exclusive Kauri Cliffs golf course in a photo posted to Air NZ's Twitter account. Photo / Air NZ, Twitter
That investment was worth it for former Prime Minister John Key at least. Key spent two days playing golf with Obama and beat him twice. Key also got a chance to relive the glory days of being in the media day in and day out for a week.
Key's hope of reward in advance of the visit had been one solitary tweet.
Obama had 101 million followers on Twitter. "You put up one picture of a New Zealand golf course and him having a bit of fun, that's got to have a fantastic value for us," Key said.
Every effort was made to secure that one tweet. Key (and Air NZ, Westpac and MasterCard) shovelled New Zealand wine and New Zealand food down Obama's mouth at every opportunity.
But by the time his jet took off for Australia at about 1.30pm yesterday there was no tweet. Not one in three days.
Key may now be ruing beating Obama at golf for there is a suspicion Obama is withholding that tweet as punishment for beating him - and letting everybody know.
As for Obama, he learned the hongi and took to it with such alacrity that the 20 Maori women leaders he met the next day were all greeted with a hongi and got a quick kiss in farewell.
He learned how to handle a kiwi - a useful skill for any international dignitary.
Wee learned something of Obama too. We learned he enjoyed his stay in New Zealand, because other people told us he had. We learned he hoped to return because other people told us he did. We learned he understood the Kiwi sense of humour because other people told us he did.
From those who saw and heard the man in person, there were mixed reviews.
After his speaking event, he was variously described as dynamic, electrifying and half-asleep. He over-delivered and underwhelmed. He was a drudge and a virtuoso.
The Maori women who met him yesterday morning had a more intimate audience and were uniformly positive, speaking of his mana and ability to put them at ease.
If not for a powhiri and meeting with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Government House, some may have doubted Barack Obama had been here at all. Photo / Pool
Of what was reported from his speech, we learned Obama values female leadership. He said if every country had a woman leader for at least two years it would ease conflict and child poverty.
We learned he was capable of sledging President Donald Trump through pure silence. He told those at his speaking event that unlike some people he liked to take his time to think before speaking - followed by a long pause which made it quite clear he was thinking of someone else who did not think before tweeting.
Alas for Key, it seems Obama likes to think for a long, long time indeed before he tweets.
Key is not giving up on getting that tweet that easily. He has followed Obama to Sydney for his appearances there and will follow him to Tokyo after that.
