Travel With Kesh

New Zealand:

The Wool Journey

Tracing the world's finest fiber from sheep to garment. A 12-day immersion into the land, the culture, and the craft.

When
June 7–20, 2026
Where
North & South Islands
Group
4 Travelers
Led by
Kesh

Before a garment can become an heirloom, someone has to stand in the field where the fiber was born. Someone has to touch the wool while it's still warm. Someone has to sit with the farmer and understand what a hundred years of breeding for fineness actually means. That someone is me — and I'm inviting you to come.

I'm building BKSM — a clothing line made from the world's finest natural fibers, designed to last twenty years. New Zealand produces the most extraordinary merino wool on earth: traceable to individual farms, certified by the ZQ standard for ethics and quality. I'm going to the source. Not to a showroom. To the land.

But this is not a business trip dressed as a vacation. This is Travel With Kesh — which means we go slow, we go deep, and we let a place reshape us. We'll walk merino farms in the Southern Alps. We'll experience Māori welcomes and earth-oven feasts. We'll soak in geothermal hot springs under winter stars. I'll cook most evenings — recipes from my upcoming cookbook Kesh's Table, adapted to whatever the New Zealand earth offers us that day.

Three Threads

What makes this journey different

The Fiber

Walk merino sheep stations in the South Island. Meet the farmers who breed for fineness. Touch ZQ-certified wool at the source — the same fiber that becomes the world's most coveted luxury textiles.

The Culture

Experience Māori pōwhiri — a traditional welcome ceremony. Learn about harakeke, the sacred New Zealand flax. Walk geothermal valleys, soak in hot springs, share hāngi feasts cooked in the earth.

The Table

I cook most evenings — drawing from Liberian heritage recipes and 48 countries of wandering. Meals are shared at long tables with honest conversation. Food is how strangers become family.

The Shape of the Journey

Not a rigid schedule — a rhythm. Some days are structured. Some days we follow what calls us.

Days 1–3
Auckland & Coromandel Peninsula
Arrival and grounding. Hot water beaches, cathedral sea caves, native bush walks, kiwi sanctuaries. The jet lag burns off in salt air.
Days 4–5
Rotorua — Geothermal & Māori Immersion
Bubbling mud pools, steaming vents. Te Puia cultural center. Traditional hāngi feast. Redwood forest treetop walk. Hot springs under stars.
Days 6–8
Wairarapa & Wellington
Wine country. Rolling farmland. Regenerative farms and local makers. Then Wellington — coffee culture, waterfront, Te Papa museum, Cuba Street.
Days 9–11
South Island — Merino Country
This is why we came. Walk merino stations in the high country. Meet the farmers. Touch the wool. Lake Wanaka. Central Otago vineyards. The Southern Alps holding everything.
Day 12
Return & Integration
Final hot springs. Reflection. The question that matters: what are you taking home? Departure from Auckland.

This Journey Is For You If

  • You want to understand where beautiful things come from — not just own them
  • You travel to be changed, not to collect destinations
  • You're curious about fiber, craft, and the slow work of making something that lasts
  • You'd rather eat at a table with four strangers who become friends than at a restaurant with a hundred tourists
  • You've felt the pull toward New Zealand and haven't been able to explain why
Dates
June 7–20, 2026
Kesh will be in New Zealand for the full month. Early arrivals or extended stays can be discussed.
Group Size
4 travelers maximum
Travel With Kesh is intimate by design. Small groups, deep connection, no spectators.
Investment
$5,500 per person
12 nights boutique accommodation, most meals (Kesh cooks), ground transport, merino farm visits, Māori cultural experiences, wine tastings, and complete ease. You just show up and receive.
Not Included
International flights to/from New Zealand
Lunches on your own (gives breathing room and autonomy). Personal expenses and optional activities.

Space for Four

This trip is offered by personal invitation. If something here stirred you, reach out. We'll have a conversation — and you'll know if this is yours.

Express Interest
or
DM @chefkeshasme on Instagram
In precise stride.

In Precise Stride