What it means
A tiki tour is when a quick drive turns into a whole accidental mission and you end up taking the long, scenic, completely unnecessary way round. It can be on purpose for a nosey look about, but most of the time it's said with a laugh when someone swore they knew a faster route and absolutely did not.
Usage examples
"Took a tiki tour through the Coromandel because Dad reckoned the back roads would be quicker. Two hours later we still had not found the beach."
"My uncle drove us on a tiki tour through every back road in the Coromandel before we found the campsite."
"Sorry I'm late, the new GPS sent me on a tiki tour around three industrial estates."
"We were meant to be at the bach by six, but Mum missed one turn and suddenly we were doing a full tiki tour through half the Waikato."
"Thought it'd be a quick run into town, then roadworks sent us on a tiki tour and now I've seen suburbs I didn't even know existed."
Where it comes from
In New Zealand English, tiki tour first referred to organised sightseeing trips sold to tourists, especially in the mid 1900s. From there it slid into everyday Kiwi speech for any rambling detour or long way round, usually when a trip that was meant to be quick turns into a full scenic saga.
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