It’s amazing how much you forget about a country when you haven’t been there in more than ten years… Here are the things that I had forgotten about the wonderful country of New Zealand.

1. Maori culture is everywhere.

New Zealand in different from other countries that have been taken over by Westerners (and by that, feel free to read ‘countries that have been invaded by the British’), as the Maoris had a peaceful treaty with their invaders that has led to a more integrated way of life. This means that, unlike Australia or the USA where the native inhabitants have been swept away into compounds or reserves, the European settlers in New Zealand built their lives around the existing Maori ones. Don’t get me wrong, there are still tensions and problems, but the Maori way of life is evident everywhere you look. Schools have welcoming Maori carved gateway at their entrances, signs welcoming you to towns are both in English and Maori and, of course, a tourist can buy pretty much anything they want engraved with a Maori carving.

Maori marae (meeting house) in Waitangi

Maori carvings in Waitangi

2. It is acceptable to walk around without shoes, particularly if you’re a child.

The first day I was in New Zealand, I was in a Department Store and there was a family in front of me in the line to pay. The two children were wearing their school uniforms but they boy was barefoot. I had forgotten how common it is to see people, particularly children, not wearing footwear. It’s common to see gaggles of children walking home from school or playing in the park, a mixture of shoe wearing and barefoot. I’ve seen people, both children and adults, walking barefoot around town, in the supermarket and paying for fuel and it never ceases to catch my eye.

3. It rains…a lot.

This I had truly forgotten yet whenever I see a picture of New Zealand, with its lush green mountains and beautiful waterfalls, I really should remember this fact. It rains a lot. Look, I’m from the UK and if I’m saying that it rains a lot, that means that it rains a whole bunch. In the last two months, I’ve had every type of rain: thunderstorms, hail attacks, stair rods and drizzle. But when it stops and the sun comes out, it dries pretty quickly, leading to an odd phenomenon of steam rising from the ground making it look like the forest is on fire and heating your ankles as you walk through it.

4. They use the Swedish rounding system for money.

What does this mean? It means that when your total is calculated in a shop, they round it to the nearest 10c, e.g. a total NZ$ 7.14 means that you pay NZ$ 7.10 for your purchases and a total of NZ$ 27.58 means that you pay NZ$ 27.60. This eliminates the need for any coin less than a 10c coin, which frankly is a brilliant idea because, let’s face it, anything smaller than that is just a pain to carry around and generally ends up either down the back of the sofa or in the ubiquitous ‘change jar’. Other countries should really take the lead from New Zealand on this one.

5. There is a lot of volcanic and earthquake activity.

Again, I mean…a lot. We all heard about the massive Christchurch earthquake of 2011 but New Zealand, as part of the fabulously named Pacific Ring of Fire, records around 20,000 earthquakes a year! Of course, most of them are minor, but around 200 of them are strong enough to be felt, leading to ‘What to do in case of an earthquake’ information posters being a common sight in hotels and campgrounds. There have been six earthquakes in the last three years that have measured a 6 or above on the Richter Scale. Coupled with all this earthquake activity, there are the volcanoes. Yes, they look amazing in The Lord of the Rings and they provide an amazing backdrop for holiday snaps, but I don’t think I remembered how active they are. Almost everywhere you go in New Zealand, you can see evidence of volcanic activity, whether it’s bubbling sulphur pits, hot springs or lava fields. In 2013 alone, there were eruptions on White Island and Mount Tongariro (both popular tourist areas) that made the news. For travellers, there are plenty of places to visit to learn about the volcanic and earthquake history of New Zealand and they are definitely worth a visit.

Craters of the Moon geothermal field outside Taupo.

Hot Water Beach

Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest

6. The driving is tortuous.

Because it is a country of mountains and farming, the roads are narrow, winding, on the edge of a drop off and frequently closed in one direction because of a wash out. Add to that the fact that sheep are driven down main roads and New Zealand’s enthusiasm for single lane bridges that seem to come out of nowhere, especially when you don’t have the right of way and there’s a massive logging truck coming directly at you, and it can be pretty hairy at time!

Driving in the Coromandel Peninsula

Sharing the road

7. It is stunningly, amazingly, jaw-droppingly, beautiful.

This one speaks for itself, but there are very few places in New Zealand that don’t make you want to whip out your camera and start taking pictures.

90 Mile Beach

Cathedral Cove

Lake Taupo

Huka Falls

Whanganui National Park

Rimutaka Forest Park

Gisborne

Eastern coast of the North Island