# Tell me what your perceptions of New Zealand are. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625 "2007-06-11T21:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/1 "2007-06-11T21:54:42Z")
After reading this thread on foreigner misconceptions of your country: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424389&page=1&pp=50](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424389&page=1&pp=50) I realised that other than Sydney Harbour Bridge linking Australia to NZ and that we don’t have any cars (both which seem very farfetched), I don’t know too many foreigner misconceptions about NZ, even having lived in many other countries myself. In my experience NZ was often more of a mystery/unknown/unimportant country on the backside of the the world. In recent years, I guess more people know about NZ thanks to the movie industry etc. So tell me what your perceptions are of New Zealand (I’m happy to let you know if I think they are on the money or not and I’m sure the other kiwis on here will chime in). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/2 "2007-06-11T22:01:18Z")
I’ve been told it’s like Ireland only bigger, wilder, and has Maori names instead of Gaelic names. I’ve also been told NZ is kinda sleepy. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/3 "2007-06-11T22:14:57Z")
Um. . . Impressions. . . good mountain biking, some sheep, an odd relationship between whites and maori, grumpy about being mistaken for Aussies, odd wildlife, a strange film culture (Tongan Ninja? Navigator? Braindead? Meet the Feebles? Bad Taste (ok, those last 3 are of a kind) . . . What are you people ON?!), small cute cities, climate sort of like British Columbia or SE Alaska, and. . . Katherine Mansfield’s great. And it’s overrun with orcs, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/4 "2007-06-11T22:19:11Z")
The Canada of Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/5 "2007-06-11T22:26:49Z")
Socialist, &, if Heinlein is to be believed, a place where petty regulations & hustlers will peck you to pieces. [http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/works/articles/tramproyale.html](http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/works/articles/tramproyale.html) > [@](#): > > Apparently, the pit of misery, the region without hope, the most god-awful place in the whole southern hemisphere circa 1954, was New Zealand. The chapter dealing with this unhappy visit is called “The Dreary Utopia,” and its dreariness was of varied kinds. This is the only piece of travel literature I can recall in which the writer truly, deeply hated a Post Office system. The problem was not that Heinlein was a free-market ideologue hostile to New Zealand’s welfare state and tightly-controlled economy. Uruguay had a lot in common with New Zealand politically and economically in those days, but Uruguay also had restaurants that served non-poisonous food, and not everybody there shortchanged visitors all the time. Such were the petty vexations of the country that Heinlein spluttered even at the famous narrow-gauge railways, which in a better mood he would have liked. No doubt part of this antipathy was due simply to the fact the tourist industry was not yet well-developed, but for once the Heinleins forbore to seek private hospitality. They did have a letter of introduction, to a former prime minister no less. Heinlein would not use it, however, because it would have been so difficult to stop himself from telling his host how much he hated his country and everything in it. I admit, it could have improved since then… ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/6 "2007-06-11T22:27:38Z")
Hubby called it “Denmark with mountains”. I missed the trip there on accounts of being heavily pregnant two years ago. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/7 "2007-06-11T22:28:16Z")
All shattered after I [visited](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=2610678) there. Prior to that I thought it was more or less exactly like Australia, which I had also never been to, so I’m not even sure why I thought that. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/8 "2007-06-11T22:35:15Z")
As far as I know: - it’s a couple of islands about 1500 miles E of Australia - they speak English - their sporting passion is Rugby Union; the team is known as the All Blacks and their symbol is a silver fern; the top players from Fiji, Samoa and one other Pacific island\* play for NZ because the club money is far better; they have a Maori team which plays touring sides - they also play cricket (Daniel Vettori is their best spinner) and Rugby League - ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was filmed on locations throughout NZ and a company\*founded by Peter Jackson did the special effects - there are more sheep than people \*can’t remember the names :eek: ---
**Author:** ![recessiveMeme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@recessiveMeme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/recessiveMeme)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/9 "2007-06-11T22:38:15Z")
Just a few things I’ve gleaned (probably erroneously) from the collective consciousness:[ul][li]Dramatic natural beauty (mountains and such)[_]Sheep everywhere[_]Deeply religiousSomewhat insular and a bit “backward”[/ul][/li]No offense intended. I speak from a position of ignorance and these are just the first things that popped into my head. Also, despite it being surrounded by water, I can’t imagine what a beach in New Zealand would look like… almost to the point that I can’t imagine New Zealand having beaches at all. Weird, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/10 "2007-06-11T22:40:52Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Socialist, &, if Heinlein is to be believed, a place where petty regulations & hustlers will peck you to pieces. [http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/works/articles/tramproyale.html](http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/works/articles/tramproyale.html) I admit, it could have improved since then… [/QUOTE] Improved from 1954? You think? From the perspective of nutjob-Heinlein? It’s likely easy enough to get a bank loan there though. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/11 "2007-06-11T22:53:44Z")
The way I imagine it: - Beautiful scenery, much like the way I imagine Rocky Mountain Canada - Plenty of rain, lakes, and rivers (see above) - Climate significantly colder than most of Australia; don’t expect people go to the beach much - Major cities not too big, clean and attractive, with some cultural resources but not like huge world-class cities (think Vancouver). - Everyone speaks English and I would probably think they were from Australia, until I’m told otherwise. Though even there I’ve been known to mistake an Englishman for an Australian. What I know: - LOTR was filmed there - The aboriginal people are the Maoris - There used to be giant birds (Moas) there, until relatively recent times. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/12 "2007-06-11T23:12:39Z")
[QUOTE=recessiveMeme] Also, despite it being surrounded by water, I can’t imagine what a beach in New Zealand would look like… almost to the point that I can’t imagine New Zealand having beaches at all. Weird, huh? [/QUOTE] [Waiheke Island](http://www.flickr.com/photos/williwieberg/249283203/) had some of the most gorgeous beaches I’d ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/13 "2007-06-11T23:13:53Z")
Most people thus far are somewhat close. The things I must take acception to are: [QUOTE=recessiveMeme] [li]Deeply religiousSomewhat insular and a bit “backward”[/list][/li][/QUOTE] Along with Australia we have a vast majority of Athiests compared to religous people and we have total separation of state and education - so ‘deeply religious’ is a bit of a laugh. The NZ of the 50s may have been a bit backward, but I don’t think NZ has ever been insular. Bare in mind our TV, News and Film is a combination of US, Britain, Australia and our own and we have a large number of new immigrants. There are certain areas such as (off the top of my head) honey research, meat research, diary production, IT, film animation where we lead the world, so only ‘backward’ in some areas (as are most countries I have lived in). ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/14 "2007-06-11T23:25:43Z")
New Zealand has legalized gay marriage and universal health coverage, two big plusses in my book. I’d love to visit, maybe even emigrate. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/15 "2007-06-11T23:28:01Z")
[QUOTE=recessiveMeme] Deeply religious [/QUOTE] This one surprised me too. I mean, just about everything else mentioned in this thread might have some basis in reality, but _deeply religious???_ I just can’t see it. Sure, there are plenty of Christians around, but as a society we’re about as secular as you’d expect a modern-day liberal democracy to be. **recessiveMeme** (or anybody else who perceives NZ this way), I’m very curious now: can you think of anything in particular that might have contributed to this perception? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/16 "2007-06-11T23:59:32Z")
Never been, but my impression of NZ is: Profound natural beauty Remote Hate being grouped with or mistaken as Australians Lots of sheep Peter Jackson is the patron saint of the promotion of tourism ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/17 "2007-06-12T00:18:08Z")
Well, sheep, of course. Mountainous Has a funny little bird for a state critter Giant squid in the vicinity Jet boats up shallow rivers Usually offered as a free stopover on most fares to Australia (well, at least they used to be.) Native people stick their tongues out a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/18 "2007-06-12T00:19:18Z")
Sheep, rain, mountains, aborigones, rocky beaches, and Australian-like accents (that I’m sure are quite distinct from Australian accents to people who live there). In terms of movies my notions are probably informed more by _The Piano_ than by the LOTR trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/19 "2007-06-12T00:25:51Z")
I’ve been to New Zealand and I liked it a lot. It reminds me a little of England, a little of southeast Alaska, and a lot of itself. I want to go back. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/20 "2007-06-12T01:00:43Z")
Beautiful, with Maori who sing like angels (a couple groups sang here) and people whose accent can be almost unintelligible. I really want to visit one day. [Whale Rider](http://imdb.com/title/tt0298228/) added to some of my impressions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625.md?page=2)