Visiting

New Zealanders like to have friends over for dinner. Garden barbecues are especially popular at weekends. Dinner guests take a gift: good wine, a potted plant, a box of chocolates or a koha (gift money). Guests are expected to feel at home. They may remove their shoes. Even a repairman will be offered a drink. Visiting unannounced is quite common. Inviting people for afternoon tea (3:00 p.m.) is also popular. Common refreshments include coffee, tea, soft drinks, finger sandwiches, cakes, biscuits and cookies.

Eating

New Zealanders eat a light breakfast by 8:00 a.m. in the early afternoon, and dinner (“tea”) is around 6 p.m. People eat in the continental style - fork in the left and the knife in the right hand. Hands are kept above the table. When finished with a meal, a person places the utensils parallel on the plate. When people eat out, dinner is close to 8 p.m. In a fine restaurant, the staffs let diners take their time. New Zealanders don't tip.

Lifestyle

Family. A traditional Pakeha family has two parents and two children. It is common for both parents to work. Family ties are looser then they once were. Most families own their homes. Among Polynesians in some cases several generations live together in one house.

Dating and Marriage

Most New Zealand parents restrict one-to-one dating until their children are 15 or 16. Group social activities began at 12. The youth enjoy going to movies, dancing and having parties. Older teens may go with a group to the local pub for dancing and drinking. People usually marry in their mid-20s. Weddings can be lavish wit a home or garden ceremony, sit-down meal and a dance.

Diet

New Zealanders eat much butter and meat. Lamb is a favourite meal. Kumaras (sweet potatoes) may accompany lamb. A special treat is toheroa soup made of native green clarno. Tea is the favourite drink of the most New Zealanders. Beer and wine are popular alcoholic beverages. In the NZ diet kaimoana (seafood) and fresh vegetables play great role. Beef, pork, roast lam and fish are common. Now people prefer hamburgers, pizza and chips. Vegemite (yeast extract is used as a bread spread), but peanut butter, honey and jam are also popular. Fruits include apples, bananas, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, strawberries, and tomatoes. New Zealanders believe their cheeses and ice cream are best in the world. A ceremonial Maori meal is the hungi, a combination of meat, seafood, potatoes, kumara (sweet potatoes) and carrot cooked in wire racks lined with cabbage leaves. The dish is steamed for hours in an umu (earth oven).

Recreation

Many New Zealanders love sports. Cricket is a favourite sport in the summer. Girls and women often play netball, a half-court game similar to a basket- ball. Tennis, law bowling, and athletics are enjoyed too. There are many opportunities for mountaineering, tramping (hiking), fishing, hunting, swimming, jogging and sailing. The climate makes it possible in any season. Snow-capped mountains attract many skiers. Yachting along the coast is popular activity. Fishing for marlin, shark or swordfish is popular too. Lake Taupo provides year round trout fishing. Gardening is one of the most popular leisure activities. Many city families have small cabins in resort areas where they go on weekends.

Holidays

Official public holiday include New Year's (1-2 January), Waitangi Day (6 February, for the 1840 treaty), Easter, Anzac (25 April, to honour the armed forces and war dead), Queen Elizabeth's Birthday (first Monday in June), Labour Day (fourth Monday in October), Christmas and Boxing Day (26 December). Boxing Day comes from the old British tradition of giving small-boxed gifts to service workers after Christmas. It is now a day to visit and relax. Each region celebrates an Anniversary Day.

Gardens

New Zealand is a gardener's paradise. A visitor's first impression of this country is one of green. 800 New Zealand gardens open to visitors. Kiwis (as New Zealanders call themselves) like to show off their gardens. In this small country the open gardens add a social aspect to a favourite pastime. Most of the people live on the North Island where it is warmer and drier with golden beaches, thermal areas, ancient Kauri pines and large cities.

Pukeiti, located on the west coast of North Island, is a grand expression of Kiwi passion for gardening. It was established in 1952. Here one can see miles of grassy walkways on an ancient volcanic hill to explore one of the largest collections of rhododendrons in the world.

South Islands are of more striking climatic contrasts. Climatic diversity with long isolation from other continents has resulted in the evolution of a unique native flora, which Kiwis call “the bush”. Christchurch, a city on the east coast proudly lives up to its title of "garden city". Each February the Christchurch Floral Festival is celebrated with a garden show. A number of private gardens are open to visitors for the occasion. Extravagant floral floats are set a drift in the Avon River to delight local residents and visitors from around the world. A spectacular floral carpet is set up in the gothic Christchurch Cathedral.

Kiwis accept nature as a partner. If an area is wet, they create a garden of bog primulas. In many Kiwi gardens, the foliage is more important than the flowers. New Zealand gardeners are masters of microclimate. They are able to grow a very wide range of plants in small gardens. For them gardening is a way of life.

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