Hilary Barry on Viva Expedition's Africa by Rail trip in August.
New Zealanders have grown accustomed to seeing Hilary Barry in their lounges Monday-Friday, 7pm, for the past seven years, as the host of TVNZ’s Seven Sharp.
This means that when the presenter is absent from the couch, there’s a flood of queries from loyal viewers wondering where she’s gone.
Is Barry unwell? In a contract dispute? Enjoying a pina colada on a tropical island? What is she wearing, and are her shoulders covered? The Seven Sharp Facebook page bears the brunt of the questions and theories.
The broadcaster veteran takes it all in her stride.
“I’ve kind of got used to that side of my job,” Barry tells the Herald.
“We invite ourselves into people’s homes every day. And so I get that when I’m not there, people might ask, ‘Oh, hang on a minute, where’s Hilary?’ because Jeremy [Wells] and I are part of their daily routines.”
So when Barry was away for two weeks in August, travelling on a luxury train safari of Africa, she made sure to give viewers notice and updates to save them from guessing.
“I do try to give a hint of where I am, so people aren’t worried. But with the Africa trip, it was easy to share some photos of where I actually was, so that people would know and not be concerned,” says Barry.
But does it ever irk the host that she can’t even take a rail trip without letters to the editor?
“No, it means people are watching. I look at it from the other point of view, which is, it’s lovely that people are watching and that they care,” she says.
And they need not be concerned; the host was travelling on an exclusive charter, with all the bells and whistles: fine dining, luxe private cabins and surprising amounts of glamour in the heart of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Barry and husband Michael explored national parks, including Chobe and Hwange, where they woke to giraffes and baboons outside their room on board, and witnessed mother elephants caring for their babies at waterholes.
For Barry, these weren’t just incredible sightings to snap a pic of and move on – they were bucket-list encounters she says she will never forget.
“I’ve always wanted to go and do some of the game parks in Africa,” says Barry, who had previously been to Africa three times before with work, but never as a tourist.
“It was great to go as a tourist, and also to spend some time in the game parks too. And also to have an amazing time on the luxury train that was like something out of a movie – if you’ve seen Murder on the Orient Express, not that there was any of that going on," she says, with a laugh.
“We actually did have a little murder mystery game, though. But you honestly felt like you were in some sort of movie set. It was that old worldly kind of train experience.”
Barry says the trip was made particularly special by the route the train took, which allowed them to explore the enormous game parks by train and safari vehicle and reach areas not widely populated by tourists.
“There was one case where the train stopped and we were skirting the edges of the game park. So from the train, I saw a giraffe and baboons and things – you’re right there.”
“I guess that proximity was really an incredible thing for me to experience,” says Barry, noting the train’s slow speed also forced her, a naturally busy person, to slow down and question if her usual style of travel would translate to the Viva Expedition.
“I’m a person who lives her life at 100 miles an hour. I work, work, work. I’m doing this, I’m doing that – I’ve got a lot on my plate and being on a trip like this forces you to slow down and take time and everything.
“I adapted to that amazingly quickly. So that surprised me about myself.”
The 55-year-old says favourite spots included Kruger, a 19,485sq km game park in South Africa, and Chobe, bordering Botswana and Zimbabwe, where she was able to tick off a bucket-list experience.
“I came back from that trip [Chobe] absolutely fizzing because I’d seen lions. I’d gone away wanting to have one animal that would make my day, and for me, it was definitely lions.
“So the anticipation built and then suddenly on the last trip to the last safari park to see lions, I was fizzing like a child, just overexcited,” says Barry.
Now she’s back on our shores, with the stories to tell and photos to prove it, Barry admits it’s been hard to settle back into normal life after some life-altering encounters and seeing conservation efforts in action.
“It’s always a bit of a downer, isn’t it?” Barry says with a laugh, “When you’ve been on a lovely trip away and then it’s back to the coalface. But I can see the end-of-year horizon is just down there, tantalisingly close.”
And what are her summer plans, and are there any more trips on the horizon for the broadcaster that viewers should be warned of?
“My husband is a big David Gray [the British singer] fan, and David Gray is sadly not coming to New Zealand, but he is going to Australia. So there will be a couple of concerts that we go to in Australia.”
As for summer, Barry is mostly staying put and, like most Kiwis, trying to find a good beach, some good weather and a touch of hope in 2026.
“A summer holiday is next. But we were talking to an economist on Seven Sharp, and the phrase used to be ‘Survive ‘til 25′, and now it’s ‘Let’s get this fixed in 26′, so I’m focused on that. Come on, 2026 – let’s have a great year!”
Hilary was hosted on Africa by Rail by Viva Expeditions as part of a paid partnership