Hamish and Andy’s Perfect Holiday

Australian comedy duo Hamish Blake and Andy Lee are two of the nicest guys in show business. Not only did they call me themselves to talk about their new show, Hamish and Andy’s Perfect Holiday, a gracious – and empathetic – Lee called back when I discovered my recorder had failed.

‘‘In one of our first interviews, we got flown to Cannes,’’ says the now 38-year-old Lee. ‘‘We were both 21 and we had our first interview with Robert Downey Jr and I walked out and pressed delete instead of save.’’

They are no strangers to travelling together. In the series Caravan of Courage, they visited the UK and the US, and Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year took them on an adventure through Europe, Asia and South America. They have even spent time in New Zealand, hunting moose in the far south and organising sheep races in pubs.

Perfect Holiday takes Blake and Lee back to America – but with a difference. Instead of arranging their travel itinerary together, the guys planned locations and activities for each other on alternate days.

‘‘It’s so hard to agree on what to see and what to do so we just decided not to agree on it,’’ Lee says.

‘‘We decided one person could have one day and the other person could have the other and you just have to go with whatever is being done. That made it quite easy.’’

Easy, maybe, but not always comfortable or predictable.

‘‘The great thing about this wild world is people are always doing strange things – or what we perceive as strange – because it’s probably perfectly normal for them,’’ Lee says, adding Americans are particularly partial to wacky activities.

‘‘There’s 30,000 people in the Rocky Mountains searching for one old man’s treasure. He sold all his possessions about 10 years ago and has buried $5 million out there somewhere.’’

Other experiences – like when Lee decided to source the world’s hottest chilli for Blake to eat – were more personal and painful.

‘‘There’s a guy who tries to crosspollinate chillies to manufacture the hottest chillies possible,’’ Lee says.

‘‘He managed to do that with a chilli called the Carolina Reaper – which holds the current world record for hotness – but he’s just bettered it with a chilli called Pepper X.

‘‘He was happy to fly to Vegas to meet me where I surprised Hamish with the news that he’d be the first person in the world to eat it raw.’’

To say the next day was uncomfortable for Blake is an understatement.

Lee says the duo have kept many of their experiences under wraps from their nearest and dearest.

‘‘There are certain things that you choose not to say in advance that you are doing,’’ he says.

While Lee and Blake were blown away by the recreational choices of some Americans, their hosts were just as bemused by the audacious Aussies.

‘‘They’re surprised that anyone had ever got to where they are because they never consider leaving,’’ Lee says, adding most Americans were amazed they were prepared to spend 20 hours on a plane to watch them take part in what they considered a normal Sunday afternoon activity.

‘‘I think they were also grateful to be able to show off because, let’s face it, all Americans excel in that area.’’

Meanwhile, he says it was great for him and Blake – who have worked together for 16 years – to discover they could still surprise each other.

‘‘But the people that we found were so unique, that’s what made it feel different and that’s what made it feel surprising and, hopefully, people feel the same when they watch it.’’

– Kerry Harvey, TV Guide

Hamish and Andy’s Perfect Holiday, 8.30pm, TVNZ 2, Wednesdays.