Here is a common question: ‘Why do New Zealanders and Australians sound so similar when they are separated by a sea that takes three hours to fly over?’ The answer is straightforward. The first English-speaking settlers of New Zealand were Australian seal-hunters from the penal colony of Port Jackson (Sydney). Later settlers were mainly British. The New Zealand accent grew from an Australian foundation spiced, with inputs from the different regional accents of the British Isles – English, Scots, Welsh and Irish.
There is a tendency in New Zealand English to shorten the long ‘e’ sound found in beg, said and leg, into a short ‘ee’ sound of the type found in seek, leak or peak. So when a New Zealander tells you to do something ‘ageen’, you know they want you to do it ‘again’.
A true clincher to decide whether you are listening to an Australian or New Zealander lies in the pronunciation of the letter “i” in the famous fish and chips test. If your companion likes eating “feesh and cheeps,” he or she is Australian. If, on the other hand, they prefer “fush and chups,” you are undoubtedly hearing a New Zealander.
| Term /Expression: | Meaning: |
|---|---|
| A feed | A meal |
| All good | This basically means ‘everything’s fine’ or ‘no problem’, |
| Angus | Someone with an anger problem |
| As | Commonly use “as” as an amplifier to the preceding adjective. For example, “cheap as” = "really cheap" |
| Aye | It has many different uses so you will need to listen carefully to know meaning in each particular situation. |
| Bro | Use it in place of ‘man’ or ‘mate’ or ‘dude’. It can be used towards anyone. |
| Buggered | Very tired |
| Can’t be bothered | Used when someone is too lazy or just simply doesn’t feel like doing something. |
| Chilly bin | A cooler bin, used for keeping drinks cold. |
| Chocka Block | Crowded/busy |
| Choice | Simply means “good” or “cool” and is used similarly to “sweet as”. |
| Chur | Generally used in place of “cheers” or “thank you”, but in some situations can also mean “OK” or “No problem”. |
| Cuppa | A hot drink, usually short for “cup of coffee” or “cup of tea” |
| Cuz | While technically short for “cousin” this is mostly used as a term of friendship or to casually address someone |
| Dairy | A convenience store, corner store, or mini supermarket. |
| Faa | Considered as shortened version of “far out”, express both excitement and disappointment. |
| Fizzy drink | Soda |
| Gap it | Can simply mean “to leave” or can also mean to “run away”. |
| Gizza | Short for “Give us a”, which actually means “Give me a” |
| Hardout | Has many translations, it can amplify an adjective, shows something is awesome or amazing |
| Heaps | Means ‘a lot’ or ‘very’. |
| Honest to who? | Loosely translates to “Really?” Often the response will be “Honest to G”, which means Honest to God. |
| Hot chips | French fries |
| Hungus | Someone who eats too much |
| Jandals | Flip flops. e.g. Havaianas |
| Jumper | A jersey or sweatshirt |
| Kai | Maori word for food |
| Kiwi | Can refer to either a New Zealander, or the country’s national bird. |
| Macca’s | McDonald’s |
| Mean | An adjective to describe something as really amazing or awesome. |
| Mince | Ground beef |
| Mint | Loosely translates to “cool”, or “awesome”. |
| Not even | Loosely translates to “No way” or “That’s not true”, but can be used in various different contexts. |
| Ow | This can be combined with “Not even” and is used somewhat like an exclamation mark. |
| Reckon | It is a synonym for the word “think”, for example instead of saying “I think so” you could say “I reckon”. |
| Scull | To drink a usually alcoholic drink in one go without stopping. |
| Shot | Has various meaning like, expressing thanks, expressing joy, or to give encouragement. |
| Shout | This is the Kiwi form of the verb ‘to treat’, such as treating someone to a meal or a drink. |
| Suss | Has 2 different meanings, 1- To take care of a task. 2- To describe something suspicious. |
| Sweet as | Means ‘no problem’, or sometimes can just mean a simple “OK”. |
| The wops | Really far away, the middle of nowhere. e.g. She lives out in the wops. |
| To the days | This is pinned to the end of a word or phrase, and means ‘extremely’ or ‘very’. |
| Togs | Swimsuit |
| What a sad guy | This is said when someone does something super uncool. |
| Yeah nah bro | Basically means “Umm” or can just be used to fill space, can be used to start a convo if nothing else to say |
What do the experts say?
The food in New Zealand is incredible, and New Zealanders are rightly proud of their paddock to plate cuisine. Almost everything is sustainably grown and processed, from lamb and seafood to vegetables and fruit.
About 20 percent of New Zealand is made up of National Parks, Forests, and Nature Reserves. And they’re all free to enter!
The Māori cultural experiences and performances offered throughout the North and South Islands are well worth seeking out. If the opportunity presents itself, definitely take part in a hāngī
Looking for a great restaurant in New Zealand? Try The Bunker in Queenstown, Plato in Dunedin, Manu in Christchurch, and Oppies Fish & Chips in Rotorua
All Blacks rugby is huge in New Zealand. If you’re a sports fan, be sure to check out a home game. The All Blacks typically play their home test matches during the months of July, August, September and sometimes October
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ExcellentBased on 5,192 ReviewsShalini at Goway Travel was super helpful arranging our dream trip to Greece. We suggested locations and sights we wanted to see and she modified the trip perfectly for us. Working with local guides, securing transfers and accommodations as needed. Great hotels, private transfers, perfect locations, and she listened to all of our "wants" to make sure our trip was truly customized. Made for an amazing trip!Lorena BarettaEasy to work with . The reservationist gave me several options in a timely manner.Rita AllenWe used Goway on our 32 day vacation to New Zealand and Australia. The person I worked with on planning the vacation was really helpful. The way they let you plan a vacation allows for lots of flexibility. You don't have to go with one tour the whole time. We saw a lot and they tailored it to what we were interested in. All the hotels were great and in good locations. Most of the tours were good but we would have preferred to spend a little more time exploring on our own in Sydney. The only thing we were not happy with is the customer service while we were there. Hard to get a hold of and some of the instructions were not clear/ accurate. That was a little stressful. Good value for the money. Dawn Krafft HawkinsWe travelled to Morocco for 10 days, 9 nights, booked through GoWay- they used an excellent local tour company- Cynab. GoWay booked our flights with a stopover Paris, so we did a weekend on our own with family, then transfer to Morocco. Because dates of small group tours didn't work, we booked a private tour for 2, and it wasn't much different in price from small group. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. We were picked up in Casablanca and dropped at Marrakech airport 10 days later with the same driver the whole way. He was a very good driver, always told us what time to expect him next morning and was there like clockwork. Local guides were met along the way for tours of Medinas of Fes, Marrakech and Essouria. The trip was spectacular. Saw many beautiful sites. All the hotels were great- first night at Villa Mandarine in Rabat, with orange trees in the garden, the Oz Palace in Ouarzazate and the Merzouga luxury desert camp were paticularly special. The Jaal Riad in Marrakech was a beautiful hotel and a good one to relax by the pool our last day after our busy travel days. In Fes, the Merides up on a hill was a great respite from the intensity of a day walking through the Fes Medina. NIce to sit on the terrace and watch the sun go down and the lights come up. Although the days were packed, the hotels were always an oases of calm at end of day, and because we didn't need to do any navigating, it was very relaxing. Be prepared to be shown alot of artisan shops- its interesting to see and important to contribute somewhat to the economy, but I sometimes felt a bit pressured to buy, but we ended up with a reasonable amount of souvenirs and not a big cost compared to the trip. Overall a highly memorable trip, we felt very welcome in Morocco, people are very warm and hotel staff treated us royally. We felt very safe and comfortable the whole time. As someone with IBD, I was impressed I had no tummy troubles the whole time. The driver stopped at great places for lunch, and with the private tours in the city we could tell the guide when we wanted to stop and they always suggested a great place. Food was excellent throughout. A tour arranged dinner on a roof top restaurant in Marrakech was particularly special, with a gorgeous sunset and the waiters sang! The meal in the Sahara desert camp was also particularly special. Highly recommend this tripTWHello and Happy Travels.
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