# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/21 "2007-06-12T01:42:35Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] - The aboriginal people are the Maoris [/QUOTE] NZ doesn’t really have any aboriginal people. The exact dates are not certain, but the Maori arrived around 1000 years ago, in what were pretty much the last of the great voyages by which the Polynesians settled the Pacific islands. Compare this with Australian aborigines, who have been there for something like 40,000 years. > [@](#): > > - There used to be giant birds (Moas) there, until relatively recent times. They went extinct around 500 years ago (though there seem to be plausible reports of remnant survivals until 150 years ago). Basically, the Maori did them in through hunting and habitat modification. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/22 "2007-06-12T02:20:19Z")
Hobbits live there. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/23 "2007-06-12T02:29:12Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Hobbits live there. [/QUOTE] Actually an awful lot of short people got jobs as extras on LOTR - my family were too damn big and tall (and good looking…well, I like to think that). ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/24 "2007-06-12T02:32:16Z")
[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. [/qUOTE] The first beach I saw in NZ was red and this color red I’d never before seen in nature. It was gorgeous beyond belief. (And I have no pictures because Kodak color corrector “corrected” them all. Sadly, that happened to a lot of the pictures I took of colors that were amazing.) Before I went, I was expecting it to be small and kind of crowded (more population density). Kind of a suburb of Australia (sorry). I was also expecting less water. Now, it actually reminds me a lot of home (Pacific NW, USA). ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/25 "2007-06-12T02:32:43Z")
They say sex for six, chilli buns for eskies, and drink ellen pay soft drinks. They all move to Queensland, despite the fact that New Zulland is a lovely place I’d never want to leave. They have better laws than Australia. They don’t have John Howard. They hate Yanks. Cheers, G ---
**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, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/26 "2007-06-12T02:37:43Z")
[QUOTE=Gleena] They hate Yanks. [/QUOTE] Really? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/27 "2007-06-12T02:47:19Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] Really? [/QUOTE] No. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/28 "2007-06-12T02:59:17Z")
[QUOTE=Gleena] They hate Yanks. Cheers, G [/QUOTE] I think perhaps what Gleena was trying to say was that we don’t tend to like other countries trying to boss us around or ignoring our voice. We also aren’t that keen on peoples who say they live in the best country in the world without qualifying it with a comment such as ‘for me’ etc. We’re not that happy with foreigners buying up huge areas of land which we can’t afford to buy (rich American singers and actors but other nationals too) We’re not that keen on Bush and US foreign policy (but then, who is?) We are fairly well informed about the rest of the world and can be prone to eye rolling if an American (or anyone) shows incredible world ignorance but we really don’t hate Mercans. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/29 "2007-06-12T03:04:43Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] The first beach I saw in NZ was red and this color red I’d never before seen in nature. It was gorgeous beyond belief. (And I have no pictures because Kodak color corrector “corrected” them all. Sadly, that happened to a lot of the pictures I took of colors that were amazing.) [/QUOTE] Where was this? We have black sand beaches but I’m not aware of any red sand beaches. The outback of Australia has the most gorgeous red sand and blue blue sky…you wouldn’t be mixing up NZ and Australia now would you?? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/30 "2007-06-12T03:20:27Z")
Good at rugby, sheep, great scenery and must never be called “Australian”. 🙂 And has a sensible dislike of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, though, didn’t you invent bungee jumping? Not something I would fancy doing. Hmm, I find I have a lot of ignorance now: right, note to self - read up on New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/31 "2007-06-12T03:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=MelCthefirst] Actually an awful lot of short people got jobs as extras on LOTR - my family were too damn big and tall (and good looking…well, I like to think that). [/QUOTE] My aunt’s a hobbit. She’s in a couple of pub scenes. [QUOTE=recessiveMeme] Deeply religious… [/QUOTE] You’ve gotta pop back in here and explain this one. It’s just so left field it leaves one gobsmacked. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/32 "2007-06-12T03:28:01Z")
I think (mostly from this board) that it’s frustrating for people from New Zealand when other people say “oh, so you’re Australian!” I also always think of beaches and nature, and (sorry, this will be frustrating) I often think of it as a place that people go to on vacation. Perhaps I coincidentally know a lot of people who have gone there on vacation, but in my personal experience I feel like the terms “New Zealand” and “on vacation” come up a lot together. Oh, and something I actually _know_ as opposed to a perception is that your colleges and universities have recently become significantly more competitive in the global education arena. So congratulations on that. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/33 "2007-06-12T03:35:49Z")
[QUOTE=MelCthefirst] Where was this? We have black sand beaches but I’m not aware of any red sand beaches. The outback of Australia has the most gorgeous red sand and blue blue sky…you wouldn’t be mixing up NZ and Australia now would you?? [/QUOTE] To the best of my knowledge (and according to my passport) I’ve never been to Australia - so I definitely hope not. I was in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/34 "2007-06-12T03:42:32Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] To the best of my knowledge (and according to my passport) I’ve never been to Australia - so I definitely hope not. I was in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. [/QUOTE] So a sort of reddy colour ? - check out pictures of the outback, that red sand will amaze you. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/35 "2007-06-12T06:51:25Z")
[QUOTE=recessiveMeme] [ul][li]Deeply religious[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] Well, recent censuses have shown that a lot of us are Jedi. 😛 [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon) ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/36 "2007-06-12T07:08:52Z")
[QUOTE=MelCthefirst] I think perhaps what Gleena was trying to say was that we don’t tend to like other countries trying to boss us around or ignoring our voice. We also aren’t that keen on peoples who say they live in the best country in the world without qualifying it with a comment such as ‘for me’ etc. We’re not that happy with foreigners buying up huge areas of land which we can’t afford to buy (rich American singers and actors but other nationals too) We’re not that keen on Bush and US foreign policy (but then, who is?) We are fairly well informed about the rest of the world and can be prone to eye rolling if an American (or anyone) shows incredible world ignorance but we really don’t hate Mercans. [/QUOTE] Heh, well…I was mostly being flippant, sorry. I will say your exports don’t like them much, as they tend to tell me the minute they hear my accent (we say cooler, BTW, instead of eskie or chilli bin). NZlander in Sydney: “Are you Canadian?” Me: “No, American, but I live here now.” NZIS: “Really, well, it’s good you live here now because let me tell you why I hate Yanks…blah blah blah…but not YOU, of course, just in general.” Drives me mad, but I’ve learned to ignore it. I get that from Aussies, too. Sometimes from my own husband! Cheers, G ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/37 "2007-06-12T07:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Hobbits live there. [/QUOTE] Damn, you totally ruined my joke. I was going to ask if the hobbits really lived in holes or do they just go about their lives the way everyone else does? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/38 "2007-06-12T07:45:27Z")
Pretty, lots of sheep, not very heavily populated. My mom’s best friend’s husband is from New Zealand and they go back to visit his family every couple years or so. I’ve seen their pictures and such. Also, a couple of my friends went to Australia and New Zealand for their honeymoon and while they liked Australia a lot, they _loved_ New Zealand, said it was amazingly beautuiful. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/39 "2007-06-12T07:58:58Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] … and Australian-like accents (that I’m sure are quite distinct from Australian accents to people who live there). [/QUOTE] I’ve been in the UK for 6 years, and my native and (formerly) well honed ear for distinguishing Aussie from Kiwi is sorely faded. They say that the Kiwi twang is actually broadening, not fading under the influence of US and British TV/Music. I just know that when I heard the Mayoress of Palmerston North defending the town against allegations of boringness (by John Cleese) on the radio, I cringed. And I do want to go back… Si ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625/40 "2007-06-12T08:04:49Z")
[QUOTE=Gleena] They say sex for six, chilli buns for eskies, and drink ellen pay soft drinks. [/QUOTE] This “sex” for six thing has always baffled me. When I was living in NZ (my home country) we used to make fun of Australians who say seex for six. As someone who has lived in Australia now for over seven years and can definitely hear an NZ accent when I come across one, it doesn’t sound like sex, it sounds like sux. This is what I’ve always thought the correct stereotype is, sux for six. On hating Yanks. I think some New Zealanders dislike the stereotypical American (and enjoy doing so.) Of course they generally find that the ones they actually meet are much like normal people. Definitely not deeply religious. People don’t really talk about religion much in public and it is something about the USA that is quietly mocked. Interesting the comment about it being perceived as fairly densely populated. Although it is a small country, it still has more land than the United Kingdom with only the population of Sydney (about 4m.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-your-perceptions-of-new-zealand-are/407625.md?page=3)