National party leader Christopher Luxon travelled to Hawaii last week for a week-long family holiday during a parliamentary recess.
His social media said otherwise, with Mr Luxon declaring in a video posted on Thursday "Today I'm in Te Puke, the heart of kiwifruit country".
In the clip, he meets with IT workers, shares a morning tea with community leaders, and describes a "special" automated logging process at a timber business.
"All in all, a fantastic day in Te Puke. I even got to sample some kiwifruit briefly. A wonderful, wonderful time," he says.
On his return to parliament on Tuesday, he admitted his holiday, saying "I went to Hawaii with my family as I tend to do in July".
He denied misleading Kiwis, blaming a miscommunication with his social media team.
"I take responsibility for it," he said.
"We made a mistake. We own up to it, we front it. We should have captioned the post differently."
When rising to speak in parliament, Mr Luxon was greeted from Labour seats with a cry of "Aloha".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern refused to criticise Mr Luxon but her deputy, Grant Robertson, accused him of dishonesty.
"Every politician needs to take a break. This is a very stressful place to work. However, when you take a break, you probably should be honest about where you go," Mr Robertson said.
The blooper recalls a defining moment from Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, who covered up his own holiday in Hawaii taken during savage bushfires in December 2019.
While Mr Morrison's mistake was a millstone that hung around his neck for the rest of his political career, Mr Luxon's transgression is nowhere near as serious.
It still overshadowed his party's announcement on Tuesday, a proposed inquiry into the Reserve Bank for its stimulatory response to COVID-19 lockdowns.
"We've got a government which is addicted to spending and we've had an unprecedented amount of printing of cash by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand," he said.
"It's put a heap of cash into the New Zealand economy and I think it's right we call for a an independent public inquiry."
Also on Tuesday, two long-serving National MPs Ian McKelvie and David Bennett announced their retirement at next year's election.
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