Travel Guide New Zealand - What NOT to do in New Zealand - 12 Tips for Visiting NZ
My name is Rosie and I'm a New Zealander who lives in France and I make videos about New Zealand, France and all the travel we do in between. One of the questions that I get a lot from both French people but also the Europeans around me in general is what are the kind of rules for going to New Zealand? Can you give me some tips? That's kind of tough for me because New Zealand generally you know is full up of really laid-back easygoing people and I would almost say that anything goes, they are open they're friendly and I think for most people travelling or even moving to New Zealand it will be a relatively easy integration I think compared to what it could be in some countries.
However as with any country as with any culture there are definitely some sort of social norms and things that you do not do either because it will be offensive culturally inappropriate or you'll just come across looking like a bit of a dick this is what this video is about today all the things you do not do when you go to New Zealand. So the first thing not to do in New Zealand is disregard or disrespect the Maori culture. Maori people of New Zealand are I guess what you would call our indigenous people of the country and their rituals. And their culture may not have really had the respect it deserves you know during the first wave of colonization in everything but today Maori culture, Maori language is becoming an integral part of the New Zealand society and as part of that culture there are some really important things that you need to know when you're travelling to New Zealand. So Maori people have a very special relationship with the land there are many things to them that are absolutely sacred: mountains, forests, lakes, river,s all these kinds of things and New Zealand was actually the first country in the world to give a river the same rights in terms of basic human rights around dignity and respect etc - as a person so we take it pretty seriously.
Concretely, respect the environment you're in, don't litter, leave things as you found them and you know the basics would be never enter a ma unless you have been invited or unless someone as a company news you enter M and this is kind of leaked over and to dim your society therefore into
someone's home always take off your shoes another big thing not to do coming from moldy culture as well is to sit on tables because that's taboo sitting on tables are seen as something that's incredibly disrespectful another thing that you definitely do not want to do in New Zealand is mess with the All Blacks you know our national rugby team you may have heard of them as kind of like a local religion and you may say it's just a game it's just a bit of sport but for a lot of New Zealanders it's so much more than that it's rugby is there really inherent part of our culture I wouldn't openly be like oh such a waste of times that's a stupid game I've had people be like oh why do you guys like rugby so much it's so boring and that kind of thing beware that may have some negative reactions from people if you do that another thing to not do in New Zealand is go there without reading the New Zealand road code and understanding a little bit about the driving rules because we drive on the left-hand side of the road which not everyone's used to our roads can be very windy going through mountains and hills
they can be very remote you may be driving and be all alone for hours and hours and hours and they may not always be in you know perfect condition especially in the more remote areas.
I would be the first to admit that I think New Zealanders do get road rage, we've grown up there, we're used to driving on these kinds of roads we can go quick we get very frustrated if people are driving slowly, so if you do feel uncomfortable and new roads like that's fine but just own it and pull over regularly to let other people go past you because otherwise the road rage will start to build I'm sure. And it sounds stupid but don't think that you can fly all the way to Auckland, hop in a rental car and drive to your destination we've had quite a few new stories of people coming you know over to New Zealand for business from Asia for example and you think oh Asia it's just next door but depending where you are it can be 13 14 15 hours away so they'll fly in, hire a rental car and there'll be a big accident on the road so don't underestimate how deep leg you're feel like stay somewhere close to the airport the first night or have a sleep or something.
Another thing, pretty obvious, but please don't think that we're Australians! New Zealand and Australia are different countries yes we both speak English but we've actually got different accents
different cultures different outlooks and completely different scenery. People think that New Zealand's right next door to Australia but the closest possible point is still a three hour and 45 minute flight. If you had to take an almost four hour flight from Paris you could end up Stockholm, you could probably get to Moscow like it's it's really not the same thing so if you come up to us like 'ah g'day mate hey have you seen the kangaroo?!' we'll be like New Zealand's not Australia we don't have kangaroos we don't have koalas we don't have snakes we don't have Wallabies... you know even in
France I've had someone say to me Where are you from? And I'm like from New Zealand
and they'll be like ah I loved Sydney! like come on guys! I kind of touched on it before but something that's really important that you don't do in New Zealand is litter my gosh we grow up learning to be a clean green Kiwi we learned to recycle from a very young age, we are very careful about our environment we want to preserve it as much as possible and of course we're happy to welcome tourists and we see you littering like you will get called out and just it's just such a dick move.
On the other side a thing that really gets to New Zealanders a lot is spitting as well I've seen you know some cultures it's normal to spit and stuff in their countries and if they come and spit in New Zealand I've definitely seen New Zealanders like calling people out on that like hey mate we don't do that here please don't do that again it's I think it's seen as kind of being maybe dirty on the streets and
it's almost got the same qssociation as littering as well. Another thing is don't go without learning
little bit of kiwi slang because New Zealand kind of has its own language going on sometimes, it's a bit of British English, American English a bit of Australian English and then we've got our whole you
know a whole nother category happening as well with the influence from the Maori culture and all of that so it's really important that you learn some Kiwi slang so that you can understand what's being
said around you but don't worry I've got you sorted I've done two videos on this topic and I'll leave them down below!
Next don't assume that we all know each other my god site I know we have a small population 4.5 million but guys over in Europe whenever I say that I'm from New Zealand like oh I have a second cousin that was in New Zealand and she was living with Maria White, do you know a Maria White?
I know the chances of us knowing each other are relatively high maybe but it's definitely not a given. Another thing that doesn't go down super well culturally is haggling and bargaining. It's just not really in the culture you can give it a go I guess but don't push and push and push because if
they say no you know maybe once, twice it's probably not gonna happen.
I remember I used to work in retail in a jewelry store and the prices on sale for example were the final prices there was nothing I could do I could not sell that item I could not scan it through the computer for a lesser price I could not modify the price like the sale items were fixed and I'd have people that
pushing and pushing and pushing to get a discount and it's just not gonna happen. It's not because I don't want to but it's like literally nothing I say like the prices are fixed we don't have a negotiation
bartering haggling kind of culture and so we literally don't have the systems in place to give you the discounts that you desire.
Another what not to do in New Zealand is do not assume that we've got good public transport because we don't we really really don't and you know if you want to travel around New Zealand you're gonna need a car for sure within the big cities there are buses but we don't even have Underground trains. In Auckland City for example you fly to the airport the only option you have to get from the airport to the city center is bus or taxi / car there's no train it's not ideal and so just plan that because you can get a lot of cheap buses and transport and you can you know buy vans from other backpackers and you can hire cars but you're probably gonna need a driver's license if you want to see a lot of the country. Another what not to do is don't come to New Zealand and not go off the beaten track I've got a country where some areas are just so well preserved you feel like it's the beginning of time it's really really incredible and you know I know that logistically it's it may be easier for tourists to stay around Queenstown and Rotorua and Auckland and Wellington and that kind of thing but it would be such a shame to waste a trip to New Zealand on the cities. The cities aren't very good lookin, they don't have that European architecture so it's they're just full of semi modern buildings but the nature in New Zealand is pretty insane so you know as I said just before you know you may need to hire a car but do what you've got to do go to the more remote areas because that's where the magic happens.
On the other hand I want to just advise don't try and see too much New Zealand as a country that's incredibly diverse so I can imagine it's super tempting because you've got a more like tropical beaches vibe at the top of the North Island you've got glaciers and Alps and fjords down in the South
Islands the cool thing about New Zealand is that you can drive for two hours and you'll see a completely different look a completely different landscape and I mean honestly I think if you want to do both the North and the South Island you need at least four weeks and that would be rushed stick to one Island because as I said the landscapes will change so rapidly it's not like Australia where you need to drive for like hours and hours of the landscape to change.Don't stress too much you'd be much better off going deeper into the area that you're based in or the island that you've selected than trying to see absolutely everything in the one trip.
Another thing that you don't have to do in New Zealand it's not necessarily don't do it but you don't have to tip and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the service in New Zealand I find people compared to the European/French normal anyway so friendly and kind and genuine obviously if you have excellent service, it's up to you what you want to do with your money but people in hospitality roles and customer service are getting paid a base salary so you don't need to tip them it's not like the US for example.
Cool guys well I hope you found this video useful if you're a Kiwi watching this and I missed anything out just let me know down below or if you have any questions about life in New Zealand visiting New Zealand all that kind of stuff ask me down below in the comments because I may know the answer and if you like videos about New Zealand New Zealand culture travel vlogs in New Zealand, do think about subscribing because content like that comes up on my channel quite often
but until the next video Wednesday I'll see you guys next time! A bientôt!
However as with any country as with any culture there are definitely some sort of social norms and things that you do not do either because it will be offensive culturally inappropriate or you'll just come across looking like a bit of a dick this is what this video is about today all the things you do not do when you go to New Zealand. So the first thing not to do in New Zealand is disregard or disrespect the Maori culture. Maori people of New Zealand are I guess what you would call our indigenous people of the country and their rituals. And their culture may not have really had the respect it deserves you know during the first wave of colonization in everything but today Maori culture, Maori language is becoming an integral part of the New Zealand society and as part of that culture there are some really important things that you need to know when you're travelling to New Zealand. So Maori people have a very special relationship with the land there are many things to them that are absolutely sacred: mountains, forests, lakes, river,s all these kinds of things and New Zealand was actually the first country in the world to give a river the same rights in terms of basic human rights around dignity and respect etc - as a person so we take it pretty seriously.
Concretely, respect the environment you're in, don't litter, leave things as you found them and you know the basics would be never enter a ma unless you have been invited or unless someone as a company news you enter M and this is kind of leaked over and to dim your society therefore into
someone's home always take off your shoes another big thing not to do coming from moldy culture as well is to sit on tables because that's taboo sitting on tables are seen as something that's incredibly disrespectful another thing that you definitely do not want to do in New Zealand is mess with the All Blacks you know our national rugby team you may have heard of them as kind of like a local religion and you may say it's just a game it's just a bit of sport but for a lot of New Zealanders it's so much more than that it's rugby is there really inherent part of our culture I wouldn't openly be like oh such a waste of times that's a stupid game I've had people be like oh why do you guys like rugby so much it's so boring and that kind of thing beware that may have some negative reactions from people if you do that another thing to not do in New Zealand is go there without reading the New Zealand road code and understanding a little bit about the driving rules because we drive on the left-hand side of the road which not everyone's used to our roads can be very windy going through mountains and hills
they can be very remote you may be driving and be all alone for hours and hours and hours and they may not always be in you know perfect condition especially in the more remote areas.
I would be the first to admit that I think New Zealanders do get road rage, we've grown up there, we're used to driving on these kinds of roads we can go quick we get very frustrated if people are driving slowly, so if you do feel uncomfortable and new roads like that's fine but just own it and pull over regularly to let other people go past you because otherwise the road rage will start to build I'm sure. And it sounds stupid but don't think that you can fly all the way to Auckland, hop in a rental car and drive to your destination we've had quite a few new stories of people coming you know over to New Zealand for business from Asia for example and you think oh Asia it's just next door but depending where you are it can be 13 14 15 hours away so they'll fly in, hire a rental car and there'll be a big accident on the road so don't underestimate how deep leg you're feel like stay somewhere close to the airport the first night or have a sleep or something.
Another thing, pretty obvious, but please don't think that we're Australians! New Zealand and Australia are different countries yes we both speak English but we've actually got different accents
different cultures different outlooks and completely different scenery. People think that New Zealand's right next door to Australia but the closest possible point is still a three hour and 45 minute flight. If you had to take an almost four hour flight from Paris you could end up Stockholm, you could probably get to Moscow like it's it's really not the same thing so if you come up to us like 'ah g'day mate hey have you seen the kangaroo?!' we'll be like New Zealand's not Australia we don't have kangaroos we don't have koalas we don't have snakes we don't have Wallabies... you know even in
France I've had someone say to me Where are you from? And I'm like from New Zealand
and they'll be like ah I loved Sydney! like come on guys! I kind of touched on it before but something that's really important that you don't do in New Zealand is litter my gosh we grow up learning to be a clean green Kiwi we learned to recycle from a very young age, we are very careful about our environment we want to preserve it as much as possible and of course we're happy to welcome tourists and we see you littering like you will get called out and just it's just such a dick move.
On the other side a thing that really gets to New Zealanders a lot is spitting as well I've seen you know some cultures it's normal to spit and stuff in their countries and if they come and spit in New Zealand I've definitely seen New Zealanders like calling people out on that like hey mate we don't do that here please don't do that again it's I think it's seen as kind of being maybe dirty on the streets and
it's almost got the same qssociation as littering as well. Another thing is don't go without learning
little bit of kiwi slang because New Zealand kind of has its own language going on sometimes, it's a bit of British English, American English a bit of Australian English and then we've got our whole you
know a whole nother category happening as well with the influence from the Maori culture and all of that so it's really important that you learn some Kiwi slang so that you can understand what's being
said around you but don't worry I've got you sorted I've done two videos on this topic and I'll leave them down below!
Next don't assume that we all know each other my god site I know we have a small population 4.5 million but guys over in Europe whenever I say that I'm from New Zealand like oh I have a second cousin that was in New Zealand and she was living with Maria White, do you know a Maria White?
I know the chances of us knowing each other are relatively high maybe but it's definitely not a given. Another thing that doesn't go down super well culturally is haggling and bargaining. It's just not really in the culture you can give it a go I guess but don't push and push and push because if
they say no you know maybe once, twice it's probably not gonna happen.
I remember I used to work in retail in a jewelry store and the prices on sale for example were the final prices there was nothing I could do I could not sell that item I could not scan it through the computer for a lesser price I could not modify the price like the sale items were fixed and I'd have people that
pushing and pushing and pushing to get a discount and it's just not gonna happen. It's not because I don't want to but it's like literally nothing I say like the prices are fixed we don't have a negotiation
bartering haggling kind of culture and so we literally don't have the systems in place to give you the discounts that you desire.
Another what not to do in New Zealand is do not assume that we've got good public transport because we don't we really really don't and you know if you want to travel around New Zealand you're gonna need a car for sure within the big cities there are buses but we don't even have Underground trains. In Auckland City for example you fly to the airport the only option you have to get from the airport to the city center is bus or taxi / car there's no train it's not ideal and so just plan that because you can get a lot of cheap buses and transport and you can you know buy vans from other backpackers and you can hire cars but you're probably gonna need a driver's license if you want to see a lot of the country. Another what not to do is don't come to New Zealand and not go off the beaten track I've got a country where some areas are just so well preserved you feel like it's the beginning of time it's really really incredible and you know I know that logistically it's it may be easier for tourists to stay around Queenstown and Rotorua and Auckland and Wellington and that kind of thing but it would be such a shame to waste a trip to New Zealand on the cities. The cities aren't very good lookin, they don't have that European architecture so it's they're just full of semi modern buildings but the nature in New Zealand is pretty insane so you know as I said just before you know you may need to hire a car but do what you've got to do go to the more remote areas because that's where the magic happens.
On the other hand I want to just advise don't try and see too much New Zealand as a country that's incredibly diverse so I can imagine it's super tempting because you've got a more like tropical beaches vibe at the top of the North Island you've got glaciers and Alps and fjords down in the South
Islands the cool thing about New Zealand is that you can drive for two hours and you'll see a completely different look a completely different landscape and I mean honestly I think if you want to do both the North and the South Island you need at least four weeks and that would be rushed stick to one Island because as I said the landscapes will change so rapidly it's not like Australia where you need to drive for like hours and hours of the landscape to change.Don't stress too much you'd be much better off going deeper into the area that you're based in or the island that you've selected than trying to see absolutely everything in the one trip.
Another thing that you don't have to do in New Zealand it's not necessarily don't do it but you don't have to tip and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the service in New Zealand I find people compared to the European/French normal anyway so friendly and kind and genuine obviously if you have excellent service, it's up to you what you want to do with your money but people in hospitality roles and customer service are getting paid a base salary so you don't need to tip them it's not like the US for example.
Cool guys well I hope you found this video useful if you're a Kiwi watching this and I missed anything out just let me know down below or if you have any questions about life in New Zealand visiting New Zealand all that kind of stuff ask me down below in the comments because I may know the answer and if you like videos about New Zealand New Zealand culture travel vlogs in New Zealand, do think about subscribing because content like that comes up on my channel quite often
but until the next video Wednesday I'll see you guys next time! A bientôt!
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