Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
You'd hardly know it, given how often he appears in the media, but Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has done some serious air miles this year.
He's visited 31 countries on 12 separate trips, racking up 85 days offshore and 182 political engagements.
Across the term, he's been to 51 countries (78 if you count repeat visits) with a total of 201 days offshore and 511 political engagements.
"It's been exhausting," Peters chuckled in his Beehive office during a sit-down interview with RNZ before the summer break.
"We've been flat to the boards and we are very pleased to be going to Christmas, but it's been absolutely exhausting.
"We've travelled mainly at night, during the parliamentary breaks or when Parliament's not sitting and as a consequence I spent half a year offshore."
Victoria University of Wellington's centre for strategic studies director David Cap
Continue Reading on RNZ
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.