In our pilot, Sarah (played by Canadian Meghan Heffern) finds herself stranded in Invercargill. A journalist, Sarah is fresh out of university and wants to tell the extraordinary tales of ordinary Kiwis. Beni (played by Nua Finau) is a laid-back Tongan whose Mum (played by his real mum, Valeti Finau) decides he can give Sarah a lift to Auckland. The last thing Beni wants is a talkative Canadian in the car.
The Road Trippers meet a couple who wed in 12 days. But will Beni and Sarah's road be as easy?
Talk about a tough night. After Beni's inappropriate comment (or was it just accent confusion?) it's time to get gas and hit the road again. Sure, Beni may have won the petrol battle but Sarah has a little surprise in store for him when they hit Christchurch. For a boy content on looking after his mum and staying put in Invercargill for, like, EVER, he sure is going to get a shake up when he meets Audrey, the WILD performance artist. How will this Tongan cope with burlesque, drawing and nakedness? And if that's too much to deal with, Beni better think quick when something happens to his cousin's wedding present... His mum ain't gonna be happy...
So, car stolen... excellent. What next? Surely not more car problems? And whose fault is it exactly? That Canadian guy Mike, Merv or whatever his name is knows how to make a painful road trip even more painful. Beni also has a bad feeling about that guy. Looks like it could be a rocky drive through Arthur's Pass to Hokitika. Thank goodness for Jacquie, a fascinating woman who found herself living on the West Coast after living an extraordinarily wild life. She'll have some great stories to help chill these two feisty travellers. It's all fun and games until Beni meets someone at the local cafe who could well change his life forever.
Watching Beni squirm has made this trip to New Zealand all worth while for Sarah. Looks like he dodged a bullet on the West Coast. Or is he hiding from his fear of commitment? And why would Sarah care? It's time to get to Nelson to meet the uber cool Graham who is rocking retirement like no other. He has some words of wisdom for them both. Things are looking up, until Sarah makes a decision that she soon wished she hadn't...
Yikes, looks like Sarah needs some cheering up after THAT phone call from yesterday's episode. Beni's just the man to offer some advice but another phone call to Mick, Mitchell.. or whatever his name is doesn't go to plan. Jeeez, can't she see what is going on right under her nose? Time to get back to basics and catch up with Steve and Jenny and their wonderful take on life in Otaki. Maybe Sarah and Beni can learn a couple of things from these two on how to relax and take things easy. Things thaw between them a little, so much in fact that a phone call to Beni's mum reveals more to Sarah than he anticipated.
Oblivious to the fact Sarah overheard the phone call with his mum, Beni is excited about getting to the mighty Taranaki. He's really getting into this project of Sarah's and can't wait to meet DJ Sydnie in New Plymouth. Heck, he might even run this next interview. But there's a surprise in store for him after Sydnie suddenly disappears from the studio. There is also a surprise for Sarah, which will only lead to more chaos between our two travellers. It's all too much for Beni. He's about to make a drastic decision.
After finding Beni on the side of the road, and an offer of an olive branch, Sarah is totally stoked to be back on the road. She's pleased to have Beni back with her too, a trip without him doesn't feel right for some reason, even if she isn't entirely sure what caused him to bail on the trip in New Plymouth. Who cares though, because the two of them are about to go swimming with stingrays in Gisborne. That's going to totally freak Sarah out, or will Beni be the one who can't cope? It'll be an adventure they will never forget, an adventure with the most shocking end.
Beni and Sarah count their lucky stars after a narrow escape from a dangerous accident. Perhaps a lesson was learnt? But was Beni really checking out that runner or simply covering something up? Two more stories to go, and the next is about the wonderful John and Karam from Otorohanga. These boys are old school cool and will surely be able to sort Beni out with some nice threads for the wedding. He might just scrub up OK. But will he lose the socks and jandals? This trip might just end on a perfect note. Just as long as Beni doesn't bring up the issue of Mark and Mel from Canada again...
Beni will have to pull out all the stops to convince Sarah to finish this road trip after her complicated call to Canada. Can he get her to travel to the Hokianga and meet Wiremu? Perhaps an encounter with the mighty Tane Matuta will show her that life ain't so bad. Could meeting the God of The Forest also inspire Beni to tell Sarah how he really feels about her? Will Beni get the car to the wedding on time? Will these two unlikely travellers complete their mission? Or is there one final twist in this Road Trip?
