Jack untamed 'IT'S GOOD MUM ISN'T ON INSTAGRAM!'

The newshound’s hair-raising travel tales aren't for the faint-hearted

- Fleur Guthrie

Before heading back into the political jungle hosting another year of Q+A, Jack Tame thought he’d like to spend time with wild beasts of a different kind – ones, he jokes, who are much less intimidating than those he interviews each week.

For three weeks in January, Jack and high-school mate Matt Bishop rented a 4WD and enjoyed an adventurous road trip through South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).

The pair hiked up 3000 metres to take in incredible views along some fairly precarious bluffs, scuba-dived with tiger sharks and went on safaris where they saw a white rhino that had tragically been shot for its horn merely two hours earlier.

But for the 36-year-old news junkie, he’s always keen to get a sense of a new place by doing the ordinary things like visiting the local supermarket.

“When you go to famous tourist sites, you know what to expect. I find supermarkets fascinating because I’m so interested in seeing what products are stocked in different places,” says Jack.

“In southern Mozambique, when you go down the cleaning aisle, half of the products are detergents for hand-washing clothes because so many people there don’t have access to washing machines. It’s the sort of thing you totally take for granted living in New Zealand.

“I also love getting a haircut in a foreign place to engage with some of the locals and ask a little bit about their lives. I think it’s fair to say the barber hadn’t cut the hair of many Pākehā before either!” he laughs.