This story was originally published on The Spinoff.
Conan O’Brien is standing in front of a large statue of a donut in the small Canterbury town of Springfield. Apart from the giant pink cake behind him, it’s an otherwise unremarkable moment, until O’Brien is approached by a man holding a plate of crepes and a pair of blue snorkelling flippers. O’Brien doesn’t flinch. “I’m a big fan,” the stranger says, explaining that he grabbed the two items closest to him as soon as he unexpectedly laid eyes on the American comedian. “Thank you for sharing your C+ pancakes with me,” O’Brien replies, his mouth still full as he theatrically wipes his greasy hands on the stranger’s jacket.
It’s not your typical New Zealand tourist experience, but it’s one of the more delightful moments from Conan O’Brien Must Go, the travel series that sees O’Brien roam the world to meet his fans. In the latest episode, O’Brien is lured to our shores by Riley, a fan from Hokitika who reveals on O’Brien’s podcast that he lives in a container house and poops into a bucket. “It’s a journey that would bring me to the brink of madness,” O’Brien tells us, as we watch him dramatically hack his way through New Zealand’s thick native bush.
