He’s the curly mopped Brit that has become a fast favourite among us Kiwis, sharing his personal take on our people, places, pies, fish ‘n’ chips, and cheese prices to name a few.

‘Curls’ is his name and he’s now made it to Tauranga and given our CBD its very own crown – ‘New Zealand’s Abandoned City’.

With an audience of more than 110,000 across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and having appeared on ‘The Project NZ’ earlier this year – you may recognise the rising social media star for yourself.

Simply, Curls is a Welly-based Brit that loves all things Aotearoa. Taking a break from the windy capital last Wednesday, Curls made a flying visit to Tauranga for a day trip. The result? A YouTube video titled ‘New Zealand’s Abandoned City’ that’s amassed more than 25,000 views and counting.

Eager to hear our town being humbled even more, The Weekend Sun caught up with Curls to get the goss.

First impressions

“I tend to do very bad, very minimal, if any research before going somewhere. I try and go fresh,” says Curls.  

So what was his first impression of Tauranga city?

“Obviously I have travelled around the majority of cities in this wonderful country, and I think there was definitely a noticeable surplus of empty units and business space.”

Curls making his way down Willow St in Tauranga CBD. Photo: Supplied.

Watching the video, we see Curls making his way into the depths of the CBD, noticing more and more vacant buildings with ‘For Lease’ signs.

“I knew that Tauranga was one of the bigger cities, but having been to the other four of Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, and Hamilton, I guess there was a noticeable lack of people.

“Maybe it was a combination of things that I was there at the wrong time of year but it just feels like a wasted opportunity…I left with sort of a sense of emptiness because I thought this seems like such a wonderful place but perhaps lacks a bit of buzz.”

‘Sign me up!’

It’s important to note Curls is by no means a Negative Nelly and had lots of positive reviews of our town as well.

“It was so beautiful but I’m imagining summer is the time the place comes into its own.

“So believe me, a full occupancy Tauranga – oh my god – sign me up! It was lovely. It just needs that extra push…it has so much potential it really does.”

While our town surprisingly doesn’t have any tumble weed, one piece of vegetation stood out to Curls too during his mosey.

“I did kind of get the impression with the tall palm trees and the lovely sunny waterfront, that if you’re in the right spot with a nice glass of white wine, you could so easily be in Miami.”

Reviews of review

Perhaps we can even bank on the title of ‘New Zealand’s Abandoned City’, a unique ghost town that desperately awaits a Miami kiss of resurrection! Tauranga Business Chamber’s CEO Matt Cowley shared his thoughts on Curls’ review.

“The saying that ‘all publicity is good publicity’ is particularly true on social media,” says Matt. “He [Curls] also noted good things about the CBD, including the level of construction activity happening.”

Curls sharing his thoughts on Tauranga looks out over Tauranga Moana. Photo: Supplied.

Tauranga City Council Commission Chair Anne Tolley gave her two cents – or millions – on the video too.

“Curls will be glad to know that council’s $306 million investment in Te Manawataki o Te Papa will transform the civic precinct into a vital culture, heritage and lifestyle hub for our region and with the upgrade of the waterfront reserve and an estimated $1.5 billion of planned private sector investment in the city centre, prosperity will return to what has been a neglected asset,” says Anne.

“Tourism Bay of Plenty wholeheartedly supports these projects and is eager to showcase the positive changes as they unfold,” says Tourism Bay of Plenty’s general manager Oscar Nathan.

“As this commenter says, the CBD has so much going for it, and we’re pleased that he experienced the manaakitanga (friendly hospitality) that the region is known for as he travelled around our streets.”

He’ll be back!

Of course it wouldn’t have been a visit to the CBD without a stop at infamous Bobby’s Fresh Fish Market. Curls gave one of his classic reviews on the kai in a standalone video, which has a combined viewing of more than 550,000 across his social media platforms.

“I really thoroughly enjoyed Bobby’s. It was really nice fish,” says Curls. It won’t be the last time he comes to town either.

“Genuinely, Tauranga was full of kind, humble people who had nothing but good things to say to me and about their city, and based on that welcome, I can’t wait to be back!”