10 things NOT to do in New Zealand 😬

If you are coming to New Zealand this training hub is for you ! www.kiwiamericans.com/new-zealand-training-hub

Top tip: Don't mess up the onion dip 😂

Another tip for restaurants: don't expect your server to bring the bill to your table unless you explicitly ask for it. Most restaurants in NZ expect you to go up to the counter to pay. Most NZers would be a bit offended if their server just brought the bill to the table. Also, don't expect to just hand your credit card to your server and have them take it away. That isn't a thing here. You should just go to the counter as you're leaving and pay through the eftpos terminal. Your card stays in your hand. That's how we do it.

Good tips.. I'm an Aussie living in NZ.. and loving it.. One important tip I should add is if you are driving through tight country roads and you have a whole lot of traffic behind you, try and pull over safely somewhere and let them all pass..

The thing that stood out to me, from UK, on my last trip in NZ, was how people are so open and friendly. People started conversations with me all the time. Rather like rural Ireland. Talking seemed a national pass time. It was wonderful and welcoming. Sincere and straightforward.

Hi I’m a kiwi and I just want to add that it has become polite to offer a drink to guests when they visit your home but it’s not always tea that they want. We don’t all drink tea, a lot of us like coffee too. So I recommend you have a few choices of types of drinks to offer not just tea.

No Crowds: In the late 1970s my wife's sister and her fiance from New York came to New Zealand so they could marry with her family around her. My wife and I arrranged to stay a few days at a beach house with the two of them and it was a simply glorious time. My new brother-in-law went berserk. He wouldn't ocme inside except for meals and to go to bed. He was sooo excited. He kept saying "I"ve never been on a beach before where I couldn't see a single other person!!! No one!!! And no one charging me money to get down to the sea!!" He was giggling and dancing around like a mad thing.

I'm a kiwi and this is all absolutely correct, I would also add that kiwis are generally super polite and friendly so it's important and appreciated to greet people in general including staff anywhere warmly with a hello and a smile.

Just a quick note to help Americans and Canadians understand the relationship between Australia and New Zealand immediately: Our relationship is akin to yours. If I was to call a Canadian an American, or an American a Canadian, or say they are the same country, etc etc, they would be rightly offended. Same goes here.

Don't litter🚮 or take it with you and only leave footprints in the sand if your visiting beaches, cheers

When invited to dinner and asked to "bring a plate" it doesn't mean the host or hostess is short of cutlery, it means it's a potluck dinner where everyone brings a different food item to stock a buffet table. Usually in a smaller community who brings what is pretty settled already, everyone has some speciality, so it's not a case of ten lasagnas and a bowl of bean salad... As a newcomer, try bringing something from back home, like pumpkin pie or smoked BBQ brisket as an american maybe.

I'm a kiwi and I love your videos. Another one of those hidden rules lots of Kiwis observe, is don't sit on a table, or any surface where food is ever prepared.

If you are driving in New Zealand and need a toilet (a restroom), you will find them for public use (free) at the gas stations, also most if not all towns and cities also have public restrooms avaiable.

An addition to Meg’s comment, especially in the bush and nature reserves ‘Take only photos, leave only footprints’

A big no no in NZ when out in the countryside, there are few cars about and we don't have interstate highways. Don't stop your car in the middle of the road to take a photo. Park it on the side of the road where it can be seen and avoided. I have come round a corner and found a group of tourists milling around taking photos with their car parked in the middle blocking the road.

To french people: don’t expect dessert to be offered to you at the end of a meal at any given restaurant. Dessert is optional and you need to explicitly ask for it if you want one.

Canadians here. My son and his kiwi partner live in NZ and we visited just before Covid - Jan. 2020. Loved it immensely. One thing we noticed in all our driving that you didn't mention - Public washrooms on the main streets. No need to find a gas station or a restaurant for that. All very clean too. You're right about the speeding. We got a ticket in the mail...😄

OK so you get off the plane and feel the need for coffee - DO NOT walk up to the counter and say "I need a coffee" well maybe in an airport you might get away with it, but most places you will end up with a pissed off (annoyed) kiwi making your coffee. You come to the counter, You say "Hi - nice day" or "Hi - How's it going?" Then ASK (dont demand) your coffee "Can I have ...." is way preferable to "Can I get ..." Also you'll have no idea what to order (coffees have different names here) so dont be afraid to ask - we don't usually bite. Use the above everywhere in NZ and your trip will be a way more pleasant experience for all concerned

Tipping encourages business owners to not pay staff a living wage. If you want to tip, keep it subtle.

My husband is American and he found it funny hearing people say "sweet as" 😅 I never thought of it how he heard it... Is interesting the cultural differences between the US and NZ.