Tips for Visitors to New Zealand

If you have been thinking of visiting New Zealand, but you don’t know anything about this small country, then this article is the perfect for start dipping your toes into what you need to be aware of.

Perhaps you've seen mentions of this tiny Pacific archipelago consisting of two and a half islands on John Oliver's hilarious monologues, but the truth is that Kiwis have a pretty rich culture that many people around the world don't know much about. Or – worst of all – think that NZ is a part of Australia!

Nice climate, good coffee, chill people, exhilarating rugby matches and actual living wages for people on the service industry: New Zealand has a population of just 4.794 million people, living on 268,021 km2.

Want to know more about New Zealand’s culture? Just keep reading.

Food

Since they have rich volcanic soils and are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Kiwis boast all types of grass-fed meats, fresh seafood, the highest quality dairy products, and plenty of organic fruit and vegetables.

Almost every town has a weekly farmers market with all these delicious produce, as well as artisan products like olive oils, bread, honey and many more.

Going out to eat, you may find as many types of cuisines as you can imagine, no matter your preference or dietary requirements: Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian... Also, while you’re there, you should try the Kiwi specialties, such as mince pies, hokey pokey ice cream, paua fritters, pineapple lumps, lamingtons, feijoas, kumara, pavlova, manuka honey, and their beloved typical kina.

New Zealand cuisine is a blend of all their western influences with a cheeky twist. You also can’t miss and the Maori traditional cooking, known as Hāngi, a must-try as it's a communal, special event. They leave layer trays of meats and veggies for hours in an earth oven to steam, on top of hot rocks and covered by wet cloth and soil.

Language

The country has three official languages: English, Māori (Te Reo), and sign language. English is the most popular amongst its inhabitants.

Accent

The Kiwi accent is quite unique, or like Damien Barr once said: “Anyone attempting to speak Kiwi [needs to] simply swap ‘e’ with ‘i'”. Maybe ‘eggs’ would become ‘iggs’, and so on or, just like saying “there was six on the deck”, or “he may be dead”, as shown by Flight of the Conchords can be a mental tongue twister for the uninitiated. Our advice? Get used to it before coming! It’s not that hard.

Nature

New Zealand has many beautiful natural landscapes. Since it’s a wee country, the furthest any place can be from the beach is only 120 km, and they could even be close to some river. We have great natural reserves filled with woods and most urban centres are closer to some sort of natural environment.

Our native animals, and especially our many species of birds, are quite respected. We recommend you avoid touching them, shoot pictures only and be careful of not traipsing around the Maori sacred places (known as “tapu”). You can even enjoy the view by watching whales, dolphins, and penguins frolicking in their natural habitats. Isn’t that better?

Fashion

New Zealand’s #OOTD is always casual, with their exceptions, as you never know when you will be visiting the Parliament or attending a fancy party (even our Prime Minister can be seen with trainers while shopping). Corporate people dress in businesswear, but since every major city or town is close to the beach, people wearing flip flops or even barefoot can be seen at every hour of the day.

Middle Earth

Hobbiton movie set is just west of Wellington, in Matamata and is quite the National Treasure, just like Mordor, also known as the Tongariro National Park. This multi-billion dollar movie franchise put New Zealand in the spot some years ago but that doesn’t mean that Kiwis dress or look like hobbits. If you want to feel like an adventurer, you can traipse these sites with a cloak and a crosier. Don’t worry, we don’t judge, but the powerful wizard is not guaranteed.

Why We’re Famous For

We can be famous for our sheep-to-person density but also some trailblazing facts and discoveries: we were the first country to allow women to vote, split the atom, climb Mount Everest, walk-on Antarctica, and started the bungy jumping fever. Kiwis invented the aeroplane, jogging, and the jet unit. New Zealand is the home of lamingtons, pavlova, and beef Wellington. Famous Kiwis include Bruce McLaren, Sam Neill, Lorde, Taika Waititi, Stephen Adams, Sandro Kopp, Karl Urban, Jean Batten, J.K. Baxter, Rachel Hunter, Burt Munro, and more people that you could even remember.

Rugby

How could we start describing our national pastime? We won’t. It’s better if you enjoy a match just like we do, be it live or in a café with your mates.

Visiting New Zealand

There are several options for visiting New Zealand. You can visit simply as a tourist, or you can stay a bit longer. To find out how to get a New Zealand work visa here and experience first hand, everything this wee country has to offer.