Game of Thrones star rates Mount Maunganui's Mauao climb as most beautiful

Game of Thrones star Daniel Portman loves the views from the top of Mauao but you are unlikely to see a selfie of him from the top on social media.

The actor, who plays Podrick Payne in the fantasy television series Game of Thrones, was one of the celebrity guests at Tauranga's Armageddon Expo at the weekend and described the Mauao climb as one of his best.

"It's one of the most beautiful walks I've ever done," he told the Bay of Plenty Times.

He walked up on Friday and, despite describing the views from the top as "beautiful", he was unlikely to post a selfie to social media like many others did on their first visit because "I didn't take a selfie".

"I took a lot of pictures ... I'm trying to take less selfies, not that I take many anyway."

"I saw the views, went for a long walk around town and along the beach and everything," he said.

He said before being invited to the expo he had not heard of Tauranga and was glad to be visiting a part of the world he had never thought to have visited.

Portman arrived in Tauranga on Thursday and said he had enjoyed his time in the city

"It's been great," he said.

As Podrick, Tyrion Lannister's squire, Portman is quiet and unassuming. In real life, he comes across as quick-witted and laid back.

As a celebrity guest at Armageddon, held at the ASB Baypark Arena on Saturday and Sunday, Portman was part of a question and answer panel where fans asked him many questions about beer, Game of Thrones and his career.

He also spoke about his "unrealistic expectations" of wanting to play rugby in his younger years but a health issue forced to him to slow things down. That's when he found the art of performing on stage.

"When I got on stage for the first time and got applauded I didn't want to do anything else."