Quirky New Zealand

 Traveling in New Zealand is easy but can be quirky.

The people are friendly, they speak English (mostly), towns are small, traffic outside of the cities is manageable. But you are in a foreign country, so things are different. Here are some of the quirky things I noticed most on our recent trip.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way crossing the streets! Be careful to cross the street at the designated crosswalks.  If there is a zebra-striped crossing, cars are supposed to stop for pedestrians, but stay alert as you venture into the street. Also, please remember to Look Right before stepping off the curb.

On the Road

There is frequent use of the exclamation point road sign. This is a warning that there is construction or some change to the road ahead.  If you are planning to rent a car, I highly recommend going on the New Zealand Automobile Association website. This site has a good Visiting Driver Training Program with videos to get you used to driving in New Zealand.

Coffee

New Zealanders take their coffee pretty seriously. Locally roasted coffee is prevalent and there are coffee shops everywhere who advertise their coffee roasters. There are fewer than 20 Starbucks stores in the whole country. (By contrast, my city has about 50.) Ordering coffee can be tricky, however. My order is “Decaf Skinny Flat White.” Doug’s is “Long Black.” If you just order “a coffee” you may get a small espresso.  A “Long Black” is like an Americano-espresso with hot water. A “Flat White” is usually 2 shots of espresso with water and hot milk-not foamed.  A “Latte” is usually served in a glass, and has more milk.

Menus

At nicer restaurants, there are generally Entrees, Mains, Desserts and Sides listed on the menus and sometimes also “Bites’ or “To Share” at the top. Entrees are smaller, appetizer-sized portions. Mains are the main courses, dinner-sized portions. Some mains come with a vegetable or potato on the side. Usually salads are a side dish, sometimes they are on the entree section. It’s perfectly ok to just order an entree and often we will split a main course. Sandwiches and breakfast meals are usually large, easily shareable. We found that restaurant meals can be expensive, about what we would pay for a nice meal in the US. We noticed a great emphasis on locally grown and sourced food throughout the country. We’ve hardly had fresher or tastier food anywhere else. This can get expensive! There is great food from many cultures, here, especially from Asia and the Pacific.

Food Items

Snacks and cereals are mostly British, Aussie or European, with a few New Zealand companies in the mix. Ricies are a form of Rice Krispies, Weetbix is the pressed cake of flaky cereal Weetabix, Light ‘n’ Tasty is from The Sanitarium brand of healthy cereals. Skippy is a brand of corn flakes.  Candies are mostly English, and there a lot of Cadbury brand chocolates. Whittakers is a NZ brand of chocolate-the Peanut Slab is excellent. My favorite black licorice brand is Black Knight, although it’s make by Nestle now.

I can’t say enough great things about New Zealand and will be thrilled to go back and explore more. Knowing some of New Zealand’s quirks only makes travel there that much more enjoyable.

Contact me when you want to visit wonderful, quirky New Zealand!