Your 10-Point Briefing & Introduction To New Zealand

G’day.

Never heard of New Zealand? Alright then. Here’s the quick facts to help you understand what New Zealand is all about, who we are, and how we do things.

 

1. New Zealand is made up of the North and South Island. More people in the North, bigger mountains in the South. We’re over 4,000km from Australia.
Cathedral Cove, Coromandel
Abel Tasman, Nelson
2. The Maori’s are the natives of New Zealand, we were settled by the English and now we’re a multi-cultural nation made up of all sorts. We all claim to be ‘kiwis’.
3. A kiwi is also our national bird. It can’t fly. Or protect itself.
Kiwi, our National Bird
4. With a small population for our land size, we’re known for having beautiful nature. Oh and sheep. Lots of sheep. And then there is Lord of the Rings, that was directed by a New Zealander and filmed around the country.
5. We drive on the left side, and we measure things in metres/kilograms/etc. The correct way of doing things =)
Driving in New Zealand
All Blacks, Rugby
6. Rugby is the most popularly watched sport. You might have heard of our national team, the All Blacks.
7. Our Prime Minister is Jacinda Ardern. She just had a baby while in office. Yep. Follow her on Facebook if you want to keep in touch with NZ politics.
Jacinda Ardern, NZ Prime Minister
Kea, Native NZ Bird
8. We’re nice people, just ask someone if you need help with anything. Corruption and crime are low, but still use your common sense to stay safe, especially in big cities at night.
9. Translations for beachgoers: You say ‘flip-flop’, we say ‘jandal’. You say ‘swimsuit’, we say ‘togs’.
Beach. Jandals. Togs.
Appropriate location to eat fish & chips
10. Fish’n’Chips are pretty much our national food. Serving suggestion: eat it at the beach and drown everything in tomato sauce.

Yeah that about sums us up. Now you’re ready to jump on a plane and come visit!

Why should you visit?

Well because we’ve got all the beautiful things close together. Within 2 hours you can be at the beach, the top of a mountain, a lake, hiking, or brunching in a city café.

So that means, when you visit New Zealand, you can do and see more things in a week (by car, bus, motorhome or train), than in any other country. Cruise through fiords, eat real-fruit ice-cream, hike volcanoes, swim with dolphins and spot some whales. It’s all here.

Mt Cook, NZ’s highest mountain
Hobbiton, Matamata

The only complaint visitors have about their NZ holiday is that they haven’t set aside enough time.

When we’ve been around the world to the best and most beautiful spots, we always say to each other “oh yeah that looks just like New Zealand”. New Zealand is basically a world highlights reel, and we think you’ll love it =)

Don’t forget to have some adventures while you’re here! Bungy jumping, rock climbing, skiing/ snow boarding, windsurfing/ kitesurfing, hang gliding, sky diving, parachuting, river rafting, jet boat riding, mountain climbing, jet skiing, cave-rafting, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking and much more!

Milford Sound, Fiordland
Travel NZ by Campervan

Reach out to us if we can help answer any trip-planning questions for ya!

– Alex & Michelle

NZ Fern