About New Zealand - Culture, Heritage, and Unique Experiences

About New Zealand

History of New Zealand

History

As stated, New Zealand belonged to the Maoris before anyone else. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman first found the lands and annexed it as Holland in 1642. This name was later changed to New Zealand. Tasman was in search of a great land to the south which was rich in minerals. There was also a skirmish once Tasman touched the shore and the battle saw the death of four of his men. He could walk the lands and was quick to sail back home and his mission to find a great land was deemed unsuccessful by the Dutch East India Company.

Captain James Cook, who was overseeing the transit of Venus from Tahiti also had the same mission as Tasman. He spotted and mapped the continent before leading two more missions in New Zealand. He later died in 1779.

The British Colonised the lands during 1840 by establishing the Treaty of Waitangi which was made in consultation with the Maoris. This treaty is also considered as one of the founding pillars of the country. Before 1840 New Zealand only saw sailors, whalers and missionaries. On arrival, the Europeans also traded with the native Maoris and gave them guns. The inter tribal wars then started seeing many deaths which led to the fall in Maori population.

Culture of New Zealand

Culture

Maoris believe that New Zealand was fished from under the sea by Māui. As the legends say, Māui was left behind by his four brothers while going fishing, or so they thought. But he hid under the floorboards of the boat and only revealed himself once they were far enough at sea. He then took out his magical fish hook which he had carved from an ancestor,s jawbone and tossed it far away while chanting magical words.

Once he felt a pull, he realised that he had caught something huge. With the help of his brothers, he started pulling it in. Much to their astonishment, they had actually pulled in a huge piece of land which is known as Māui,s fish or the North Island today.Whereas the South Island is known as Māui,s canoe. It is believed to be the canoe Māui and his brothers fished from.

You can learn more about Maori culture once you interact with them. They are excellent storytellers who love to talk and teach people about their history. You can also take many guided tours to the many Maori sites which will reveal a lot more.

Language & Communication

Languages

New Zealanders mainly speak in English but it is far from being the only language people speak in on this island country. Languages like Samoan, Te Reo Maori, Hindi and Mandarin are also spoken by a decent chunk of the population. All in all there are about seven languages, apart from English, that are spoken by over 50,000 citizens.

The official languages of land are English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language. Earlier it was just English but 1987 saw the inclusion of Te Reo Maori and 2006 added the New Zealand Sign Language. You can also find speakers of other popular languages from around the world like French, Chinese and Tagalog.

Currency and Payment

Currency

The official currency of New Zealand is New Zealand Dollars which is denoted by 'NZD$'. Similar to the American Dollar, NZD$ is also made up of 100 cents which is denoted with the letter ‘c’. The denominations of cents are 10, 20 and 50. One and two NZD$ also have coins. The paper notes are available in $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations.

If you prefer cashless transactions, you can use your credit cards issued by either MasterCard or VISA. They can be used at the numerous ATMs scattered across the city as well. Alternatively, you can use applications like ApplePay and GooglePay as well.

Restaurants, hotels, boutiques, etc will gladly take credit cards. However, if you wish to shop for some local artisan goods from the many small markets, it is advisable to carry some cash. Traveller’s cheques are not accepted in this country, but you can get your money exchanged at many hotels or the many Bureau de Change kiosks.

To offer you more clarity regarding the currency exchange value, below we’ve created the table. You can refer to it while travelling to marvellous New Zealand. However, it may change in future.

New Zealand Dollar (NZD)	Indian Rupees (INR)
$5
$ 10	INR 53.16
$ 20	INR 996.98
$ 50	INR 2492.44
$ 100	INR 4984.89

Note: The exchange rate may fluctuate with time due to various factors

Shopping in New Zealand

Shopping

Shopping in New Zealand is a mix of native designers, popular global brands, luxury brands, and many locally made products like jewellery, arts and crafts. You have a wide range to choose from when in the island country. There are large malls, quaint boutiques and many departmental stores as well.

Although shopping in larger cities like Auckland or Wellington may give you a wider variety to choose from, it is the smaller towns that can let you in on authentic New Zealand stuff made by the locals.

Souvenir enthusiasts have a lot to choose from starting with clothes, jewellery, and much more. You can even pick up hand-carved gemstones, New Zealand honey and other Kiwiana items.

Local Customs

Customs

New Zealanders are known to be very friendly and open. They do understand that people from far away lands need time to adjust to their ways. You should always be curious and ask any localite about something you do not understand and they would happily explain it to you. Sharing food in New Zealand is a way to bring friends and family closer and you can see a lot of this. Whether it is a barbecue by the beach, a friendly picnic or a school outing; sharing food is an important custom here.

While drinking in New Zealand is very common and most citizens do when they are of legal age; smoking is frowned upon. Fewer and fewer people partake in the activity and it is even banned at public places. A few practices have even transferred over from the Maoris. For instance, it is common to take off your footwear while heading indoors. Also don't be alarmed if Maoris greet you with a kiss on the cheek, it is common.