About NZ

I'd thought I'd take it upon myself to describe a little bit of New Zealand and its people. Since I seem to be the only 'kiwi' I've come across so far. If there are other kiwi's out there then please feel free to contribute, or dispute it or just point and laugh saying .. 'oh thats so true!'..

Consider this a little cultural sharing if you will.

Alright, so New Zealand is made up of two large islands and thousands of little ones dotted around it. The big islands are known as 'North' and 'South'. Theres a legend about how the islands came into being and one day when I have more time on my hands, I'll be happy to hub it.

The North Island holds this country's capital - Wellington. Its a city well known for its cosmopolitan ways, yuppy-like professionals and where we house our greatest criminal minds.. yes I'm referring to our politicians. While Wellington seems quite content to have them there, the rest of the country keeps well away.

The South Island is well known for it's amazing landscapes and beautiful scenery and of course the hilarious funny and practical 'Mainlanders' (thats the folks down thataway)

Its about here where I think its great to have a few definitions. Most people I've run into from the other side of the planet only seem to have one definition for 'kiwi'.. the ever tasty 'kiwifruit'. Ironically, that I'm just a tad 'fruity' myself isn't lost on me, but I digress.. back to the definitions.

Another 'kiwi'.. is of course our national bird. Where some countries get a really cool bird thats majestic and intense looking. We are fortunate enough to have something that looks like this... (I thought I'd get the pic of the guy holding one so you could get a idea of actual size.. aren't I helpful?)

Lastly, we have the people. The folk of the country. The good ole kiwi 'blokes' and 'sheilas'. Descriptively, I will say that we're not tiny people with oversized hairy feet, curly locks and wide innocent eyes, nor do we all walk around with sheep tucked under our arms. In fact we look pretty much like everyone else. Our point of difference, well as with any culture is exactly that.. our culture. And its quite lengthy to have to go into full detail.. and honestly after fighting with this site to get pictures on thus, far I'm getting a wee bit 'hoha' - (a cute term that means - 'frustrated to the point of tearing out half my hair') with it.

Auckland is my home town and to which I bring your focus. Yes, mostly because I don't really know the other cities but also because its something I can waffle on about without looking like I'm merely guessing.

Auckland is broken up into 4 areas. Like the Planet its quite simply split into, North, South, East and West. Surprisingly the people that live in those areas seem to reflect the way of the world. Or it seems to in my opinion.

Lets start north. Here we have mostly European. They can be professional, to surfer types. Usually more middle class to upper live in the North. Apparently they are the sporty, outdoorsy types, which with this city being called the 'City of Sails' for all the yachts in our harbour, they're the ones that own them. The 'city' is also in the North sector, which kind of explains a lot.

South we have the 'mini- Pacifics'. People from all around the Pacific rim congregrate in packs in this area. This area is well known for its high number of gangsta wannabe's, fry bread, flea markets and grafetti. Here, is the lower end of the social economic range.

In the East we have a large number of Asian family's. It could be that they like being close to the 'rising sun'.. I just think its a little odd that they came from the East only to settle in the East. Some people just don't like change! To get in this country you have to have a lot of money and they do, but act like they don't. These guys are very smart in that they've set up Emporiums, Bakery's and Takeaways all over South Auckland that help increase the money they 'don't' have and assist the increasing diabetees levels amongest South Aucklanders.

Lastly we have West Auckland. The 'westies'. There are no adequate words to describe the Westie. Possibly the best description is in the following: Holdens, rusting cars on bricks on the front lawn, mullets, black grunge, pale skin, gingahs, bohemith, artsy fartsy and Lion Red.

Aright, now this is just a little snippet of New Zealand. Aotearoa. The Land of the Long White Cloud. Should you ever find yourself down this way, remember that the people are friendly and you don't have to Tip. We enjoy our beer, our sports and bagging other cities around the country. We love to hate the Aussies but have a healthy respect for them kicking our arses in sporting events. Our meats are tasty, our cheeses expensive and our seafood unparalleled.

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit of NZ.