Lyn McNamee - New Zealand - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Adapted from Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past.

ISBN 978 1 78702 308 6

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

First published in Great Britain

by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd

59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440

www.culturesmart.co.uk

Inquiries:

Design Bobby Birchall

Printed in Turkey

The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand. All Culture Smart! guides are available as e-books, and many as audio books. For further information and latest titles visit www.culturesmart.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LYN MCNAMEE is a New Zealand teacher and writer who has lived in and explored many of New Zealands most beautiful locations. She currently lives on a sheep, grain, and hops farm in the mountains near Queenstown. After working with children for 30 years, Lyn turned to her second passion and began a new career as a writer. Having written a childrens novel, she began blogging at lynmcnamee.com and writing articles for magazines, businesses, and Web sites at home and abroad. Lyn adores traveling, but having explored in the US, Europe, Singapore, and the UK, as well as New Zealand, shes discovered just how unique it is in the land that Kiwis call home.

New Zealand, or Aotearoa (the Land of the Long White Cloud), as it is known by the Maori population, is a land of myth and reality, contrast and contradiction, rolling hills and glacial mountains, native bush and gentle farmland. Turquoise lakes, fast-flowing rivers, boiling mud, and leaping geysers add drama to the landscape, as do its unique flora and fauna.

New Zealands culture is rich and diverse because of the numbers of people of different nationalities who have immigrated to the country. Britains position as the main source country, which it held since early settlement in the nineteenth century, has been superseded variously in the intervening years by China, the Philippines, and India. New Zealand is also greatly influenced by its Maori heritage and today it is proudly recognized as part of its identity. Wherever you go, youll see Maori art, traditions, place names, customs, and hear Te Reo Maorithe Maori language.

The New Zealanders are a friendly and welcoming people, who will go the extra mile to help you without expecting anything in return. As a nation of immigrants, they themselves have blended to form a unique persona, the Kiwi, who is used to newcomers and will be happy to accept you at face value. Kiwis are usually polite, gentle (off the playing field), trusting, and honest. They are also unpretentious, and are not impressed by airs and graces, preferring a more down-to-earth attitude. This comes from their roots in the early settler days, when men labored long and hard to earn a crust, and luxuries were few. A memory of those early times remains, particularly in rural areas and among the older generation who did not have it so easy.

The renowned mountaineer, Sir Edmund Hillarybrave and pragmatichas often been held up as an example of the spirit of New Zealand. He is quoted as saying: In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander. I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed.

Whanau, or family, is influential in Kiwi culture. Many relatives live in the same towns and socialize as friends as well as family. When they have to move away, Kiwis will go to great lengths to travel home for holidays and special events. On the flip side, many immigrants left their families behind when they settled in New Zealand. These Kiwis congregate together, actively keeping their own cultures and customs alive while learning to live the New Zealand way of life.

New Zealanders love their land and the natural environment and passionately believe that everyone should be able to enjoy it. Aotearoas moderate climate, relatively clean and green environment, reliable public services, and general safety make it an easy country to visit. Culture Smart! New Zealand explores the human dimension, offering tips and vital insights into Kiwi customs, values, and attitudes to help deepen your experience of this country and its fair-minded people.