Patrick Gower tries kava while interviewing Kiwi musician Melodownz

Newshub National Correspondent Patrick Gower says he was feeling "wavy" after trying Polynesian drink kava for the first time.

The journalist sat down with Kiwi musician Melodownz on The Project to talk about his motivation for making music, as they downed a whole bowl of the therapeutic drink.

"I'm feeling good… actually, I'm feeling great," Gower says.

"I mean I'm a big believer in the old saying: once you start on the kava, don't stop until it runs out, have you heard that saying?"

"I mean, I just kinda made that up but ah, I mean it," he added.

Kava is a drink made from the roots of the Piper methysticum shrub. In the south Pacific, kava is a popular social drink often used for sedative, hypnotic and muscle-relaxant effects, and in ceremonies and cultural practices.

Melodownz tells Gower he was inspired to make hip hop music after his friends passed away at a young age.

"We were just going through like trauma - and for me to get all this built-up emotion up, I would write about it, for me that was the perfect outlet for me," he says.

"I try to have fun, like with my videos, just be creative like, we got alpacas and llamas in there."

"When you start yarning about alpacas it's time for another kava - it's one of my rules in life," Gower replies.

"I'm feeling pretty wavy man, I'm not gonna lie," Melodownz says.

"Wavy. Yeah, I feel wavy too. Sort of crinkly," Gower responds.

And Gower says he's learnt an important lesson from his experience on kava.

"This is what I've learnt today," Gower says. "If you are going to do interviews while consuming kava, you need to have questions written down here, like don't leave them in your head."