[Caroline and Dave]

I have been looking into various topics re New Zealand and thought it an idea to give people who are thinking of coming over a bit of background.
Apologies to those who already know all this'
I will start with a History lesson (Empty the class straight away)

New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific Ocean( The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa) 2000 kilometres south east of Australia. (Still with me?)
THe land area of NZ is 269,000 Kilometres and consists of 2 main Islands, the North and South, plus Stewart Island and a few other smaller Islands.
The Capital is Wellington and Auckland is the largest City. The population is just over 4 million with about 80% of European descent. 1 in 6 are Maori ,1 in 15 Asian and 1 in 16 Pacific Islanders. I got these figures from an 2005 survey so it may be a bit different now.

New zealand was first settled by people from the South East Pacific over 1,000 years ago . The Maori society consisted of a system of Iwi (Tribes) Hapu (Sub tribes) and Whanau (Extended families) This system continues today. Maori social structure was centred around agriculture,textiles, hunting,fishing and trade.

The first contact with Europeans was when Dutch Navigator Abel Tasman visited in 1642. James Cook did not visit until 1769.
Settlement by Europeans was initialy associated with the activities of Sealers,Whalers,Traders and Missionaries. It was not until the 1840's that more organised settlement started.( And by the look of it quite a lot of the houses are still around today :) )

New Zealand became a British Colony in 1840 when Maori and British representatives signed the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement between Maori and the New Zealand Government. The Treaty is an agreement in which the Maori gave the Crown rights togovern and to develop British settlement .The Crown guaranteed Maori full protection of their interests and staus and full citizenship rights.

The impacts of expanding European settlement and conflict over land caused Maori economic strenth and population levels to decline.Since the mid 20th Century there has been a growth in the population size and role of Maori in national life.Recent Governments have begun to recognise the principles of the Treaty,make redress to Maori for breaches of the treaty and tried to reduce differences between Pakeha( Newzealanders of European descent )and Maori.

Representative government was established in the late 19th century,with the right to vote being extended in 1893. New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote.
New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth 2nd is the Queen of New Zealand and the Head of State.The Governor General represents the Queen in New Zealand and has the same powers of the Queen in relation to New Zealand.
New Zealand Government consists of 3 branches.
The Legislature,
The Executive,
The Judicary.

Power is divided between these branches.Although each branch has a seperate role they are not seperate from each other. The Queen has no control over Government matters.
There is a single chamber of Parliament known as the House of Representatives. The main functions of Parliament are

Enact Laws
Provide a Government
Supervise the Governments administration
Allocate funding for Government agencies and services.
Redress grieviances by way of petition.

The Government is answerable to Parliament for its actions and policies.Ministers are also answerable to Parliament in the same way.
This is only a brief insite into NZ History
If you would like to know more go to www.nzhistory.net
I will be following this topic with a look at Cultural differences if you are not too bored

Kindest regards

Dave and Caroline

[Caroline and Dave]

Maori
As mentioned above Maori make up about 16% of the Population.

Whakapapa (Genealogy) is a fundemental principle which involves the whole of Maori culture.
It is important to Maori as it is a source of identity,confirms family relations,connects Maori with the land,is the heart of Maori culture.

Both Maori and English are official languages in New Zealand. English is the main language. To learn about Maori customs go to www.maori.org.nz

Every Country have their own cultural differences.New Zealand is no exception. I would like to point out some of the differences you may encounter.
On the whole,New Zealanders are casual and relaxed and dress informally on most occasions. It is quite the norm to see people in supermarkets etc bare footed.

Some New Zealanders have a very direct and frank way of speaking. Please do not interpret this as them being rude.They are not.

If you are holding an event at your house do not expect people to be punctual or if you have an apointment with someone and they are late,do not panic. this is normal. If you have to leave at a set time for an important reason make sure they are fully aware of this and maybe tell them a time a bit earlier.

If you have a question and you would like to know something do not be afraid to ask someone as New zealanders love to help

New Zealanders find spitting and littering offensive. Hence the lack of litter in NZ.
New Zealanders are passionate about sport,especially rugby.Playing sport is a great way to make friends.

Tipping is not expected in New Zealand. Some cafes and restaurants have a container for tips.

Personal privacy is important in NZ. Subjects such as salary,age,mortgages are not often discussed outside family.

Newzealanders carry very little cash as electronic methods of payment are widely used

When you first arrive you will have to blend in with the culture and this can be hard at times. When you first arrive you are at a buzz and suddenly the buzz can go and you find youreself in a strange country which is totaly out of your comfort zone. Some possible symptons of culture shock are
a) You may feel isolated
b) you may become homesick
c) You may feel anger towards your new home
d)You may become overly dependendent on other people
e)You may doubt your decision to come to New Zealand.

This is quite normal and something that can take a little time to overcome.

Some ways to overcome your feelings are

a) Air your feelings on this forum. There are loads of people on here who have been through this and are willing to advise you.
b)Do not put too much pressure on yourself. Adapting will take time.
c)Be open minded about the way people are behaving. Remember ,this is a different country to what you are used to and people may seem odd or against you but they are not. You have to learn to blend in the same way that they would have to in your home country.
d)Although it is good to spend your time with other ex pats from your own country it is a good idea to make friends with Kiwis as they will help you blend in to their way of living.
e) Keep yourself busy and active.Keep your mind occupied.
f)Try and exercise or take up a hobby.
g)Keep a Diary of all the positives and negatives and you will find as time goes on the positives should outweigh the negatives. Take special note of all the good things New Zealand has to offer.
h) Establish simple goals and evaluate your progress.
i) There are many clubs you can join and if you have children then you can usually meet up with other Mums and become part of the comunity.

Once you begin to understand New Zealand Culture you will not feel as lost and begin to gain a sense of direction. Please remember that there is always someone willing to help you.

I do hope that what I have put her is of some help and feel free for others to add advice to this thread

Kindest regards

Dave and Caroline

[srivett]

Great posts! What a wonderful idea! I thought I knew most of the basics, but you've made a few new points already. Looking forward to the next installment :clap

[marcia]

What brilliant information - I enjoyed reading it, and learnt a few things too!:clap

[Gio]

thanks, really thans.... all very useful.

GIO

[kanatakiwi]

thanks caroline and Dave

A well thought out presentation that should be made into a "sticky" for new members to read, maybe in the introductions area?

only had one tiny comment ;) I've yet to be convinced that Kiwis hate littering. I see enough of them doing it around Auckland.
Gloria

[stu70]

thanks caroline and Dave

A well thought out presentation that should be made into a "sticky" for new members to read, maybe in the introductions area?

only had one tiny comment ;) I've yet to be convinced that Kiwis hate littering. I see enough of them doing it around Auckland.
Gloria

Could it be as bad as what we see in some American and Canadian cities?

[kanatakiwi]

Could it be as bad as what we see in some American and Canadian cities?

Not sure! Just came back from a visit to Victoria Canada and was amazed at how clean it seemed. (however I was awakened at 6 am by the streetsweeper machine, a sound I have not heard in auckland!. never been so happy to be awakened by a noise:laugh ) Got me thinking that maybe its cleaner there not because people DON'T litter but because there are processes in place to clean it up? Is Canada the only place in the world that sweeps its streets? I had never given it any thought before.
G
sorry dont want to hijack this excellent thread.

[Ana&Steve]

Another excellent info thread, Caroline and Dave!

Is Canada the only place in the world that sweeps its streets? I had never given it any thought before. Nope, we get 'em every Monday morning....unfortunately they don't "sweep" nearly as much as they "redistribute"!:roll
Could it be as bad as what we see in some American and Canadian cities?NO! (IMO:o )
Ana
Edit: I can't give any more rep to you right now, how 'bout a toast?:cheers

[jen]

thanks caroline and Dave
only had one tiny comment ;) I've yet to be convinced that Kiwis hate littering. I see enough of them doing it around Auckland.
Gloria

I really enjoyed the original post, but that was the one thing that caught my attention, too! Speaking only for my experience here in Wellington there is considerable litter on the beaches and I've been rather horrified at how any empty land near a road seems to attract garbage - from beer bottles to full trash bags thrown over the side of the road. There's a view overlook on the street right above our house with a couple benches and there's always empty bottles and bags/wrappers left there.

[Caroline and Dave]

I do intend to add more to this thread but I thought it might be a good idea to bring some of my other posts into this thread so that you find it easier to locate
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9378 Housing information
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11995 Shopping comparisons
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11931 Driving in NZ
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10641 Departure checklist
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9961 NZ Websites
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12529 New Zealand: A Background
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12574 Life in NZ Poll
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9242 Airline recommendation poll
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12667 NZ background :Health
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13292 UK Regions and Ireland Poll

Although this one is easy to find I thought I would put a link here
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9357 Avalons Money thread

If anyone else knows of an informative thread on this forum,feel free to put the link here as it puts the informative threads together to make it easier for newcomers

[Caroline and Dave]

New Zealand Public Holidays

For those of you who are not here yet and for others who like a reminder here are the public holidays in New Zealand

Queens Birthday : First Monday in June
Labour Day : Last Monday in October
Anzac Day : 25 April ( This is a half day holiday although a lot of firms give the full day off. Commemorates New Zealands and Australias forces in WW1)
New Years Holiday : 1-2 Jan
Xmas Day : 25 Dec
Boxing Day : 26 Dec
Easter : A Friday and a Monday in March/April
Waitangi Day : 6 Feb (Celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi)

There is also an aniversary holiday which each region has which is usually on a monday. These differ in each region and can be checked locally

[Dave1965]

Great thread !....I learnt some stuff and I am a Kiwi ! :laugh ...granted I've been out of the country for more than 20 years.

The weird thing is some stuff is strangely familar ( barefoot in the supermarkets..:yes ) and other stuff completely new...

I feel as though I am also an (intending) immigrant and infact I've only just decided to return home.

Dave


PS I'm sure if some found me barefoot in the shops here they would ring the guys with the white coats ! :laugh ;)

[Myrkk]

Excellent thread. thanks

We saw someone here in the UK in their jammies and slippers wandering around the supermarket.... at around 7pm:confused:

[The Hodges]

Hi

Good info Caroline & Dave (Hope you plans are going well)

We also found alot of the information we needed in a book called 'Living & Working in New Zealand'. Its got everything you need to know from housing, schools, jobs, immigration, income tax, wages, mortgages, public holidays, general information on kiwis, etc etc. Everything you need to know there is something in there.

Also 'where to live in Auckland' for those of you planning on moving to Auckland, but you can get them on different areas. Great info for house prices renting and buying, population in each area, schools. It gives you a rating for each area.

These books helped us greatly whilst we were still in the UK and we still refer to them now.

Clare

[liamnrach]

I do intend to add more to this thread but I thought it might be a good idea to bring some of my other posts into this thread so that you find it easier to locate
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9378 Housing information
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11995 Shopping comparisons
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11931 Driving in NZ
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10641 Departure checklist
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9961 NZ Websites

Although this one is easy to find I thought I would put a link here
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9357 Avalons Money thread

If anyone else knows of an informative thread on this forum,feel free to put the link here as it puts the informative threads together to make it easier for newcomers

Caroline and Dave....

This is an excellent post and well deserving of some rep!! When we first visited this forum it would have been so handy to have all this information in one area, as you have done. It should assist new forum members with compiling an excellent database of information that they require when starting the emigration process. We will certainly keep this one handy! We agree with the other guys and join them in recommending that this thread becomes a sticky in an area where newbies will first look.

Cheers guys....as always you are full of useful gen!!:nice1

Liam n Rach

[liamnrach]

Caroline and Dave....

This is an excellent post and well deserving of some rep!!

Sorry guys....

It wouldn't let us give you any rep:mad: Told me off by saying we should pass it around a bit!:o

We'll try again later....

Liam n Rach

[Caroline and Dave]

Continuing on with the theme ,a background to New Zealand I thought I would look into post and phone services.
From now on all these posts can be accessed in my signature thanks to the help of ENZ and should help people to find info more easily.

Mail

The main postal company in New Zealand is the New Zealand Post and it seems to provide a very efficient local and overseas postal service.
Stamps are readily available at all post shops,bookshops,petrol stations and some dairies(Local convenience stores)
For delivery of international post the world is divided into 2 zones.Depending on what zone you are sending to, the costs will vary.
For letters, there are 2 options, International Air or International Economy .
For parcels there are 3 options .Int express,int air or int ecconomy. I will put in a bit more detail.
International Air
This service takes 3-10 working days.You can also have this service with track & trace.
International Ecconomy
10-25 working days. This is a lot slower but it is also a fair bit cheaper .
International Express
This is for small packages and takes 1-5 working days.

There is also an option to have International Ecconomy Courier which takes 2-6 working days. This is only available to the following Countries.
Australia,
Canada,
China,
Hong Kong,
Ireland,
Japan,
South Korea,
Singapore,
Taiwan,
USA,
UK.

To find out more re New Zealand Postal Services, look here www.nzpost.co.nz

[Caroline and Dave]

Phone Services

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most public phones will take phone cards. These are available from 5$ from many stores,dairies,newsagents.They work out a lot cheaper than paying Telecom prices.You can also purchase international phone cards starting from $10. Check the per min charges on these cards as they do differ considerably.

If you are calling New Zealand from the UK use this website(Courtesy of the Hodges) to find the best rate to call NZ. Please note some of the cheapest rates are not very clear but they are improving them We use 0844 calls and find it very clear. http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert...ntcallchecker/

For calls to emergency services dial 111 toll free.
The country code for people calling New Zealand is 64.
To call NZ from overseas dial the international dialling code of the country you are in(For UK it is 00) followed by 64 then the area code and then the local number.
Within New Zealand local phone numbers have 7 digits. Area codes have 2 digits the first of these is 0. You do not need these 2 digits when dialing within the same region.People calling from another country do not dial the 0. for instance if you were dialing Auckland from the USA you would only dial 9 after the international code and 64 followed by the number you require.

The area codes for New Zealand are

Northland/Auckland : 09
Waikato/Bay of Plenty : 07
Central/Southern North Island:06
Wellington/Kapiti :04
South Island/Stewart Island :03

Calls inside your local calling area are free. Calls outside of your own area
are chargeable. Calls to numbers starting with 0800 or 0508 are free.

To locate New Zealand phone numbers look here
www.whitepages.co.nz alphabetical listings
www.yellowpages.co.nz Buisness listings.
__________________

http://canddtonz.blogspot.com

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Last edited by Caroline and Dave : Yesterday at 11:28 PM.

[Caroline and Dave]

As everyone knows,New Zealand is a great country for experiencing outdoor life.However,something you will have a job to find in a travel guide etc,is the harmful effects the sun in New Zealand can have. I am not trying to scare anyone,just making you aware that you need to be a bit more cautious of the sun's rays.
As a country in the Southern Hemisphere,New Zealand is more exposed to the suns ultra violet rays. There is less pollution to block out the suns rays than other countries and the ozone layer is decreasing.
UV radiation is responsible for burning and damaging your skin. UV radiation does not provide heat so you can still burn even on a cloudy day.
This sounds pretty bad but if you are sensible then there is little problem.
Sunscreen should be worn at all times when outdoors.
Wear a hat. Wearing sunglasses will help to protect your eyes. The higher sunscreen factor you wear the better, although No sunscreen can fully protect you.
Be extra careful if you have sensitive skin.
Avoid being in direct sunlight at the hottest times ie: 11am to 4 pm.
In the summer stay in the shade as much as you can.
If you take sensible precautions then you will be able to have the full enjoyment New Zealand has to offer.
Look here for more details http://www.dermnetnz.org/treatments/sun-protection.html

Rambling on from this, New Zealand is famous for it's outdoor enviroment and there are many bush walks and places for ramblers.One thing to be aware of is that New Zealand weather can change very quickly particulary in mountainous areas so make sure you have some waterproof clothing with you.
To find out about local walks in your area you can either visit your local Dept of Conversation or log on to www.doc.govt.nz and explore.


Kindest regards

Dave and Caroline

[Caroline and Dave]

Bump.
Bumped this for the benefit of new members

[shakyle2906]

Again, a brill post.

Wished i could have found them when we were deciding to move over, but have learnt bit more tonight!

Thanks again

Sharon

[Caroline and Dave]

Please note,
these posts were done a year or so ago and some of the info may be out of date but the basis of it is the same. I will attempt to research any updates. All links I provide should inform you of any updates.

[Lupin]

Perhaps you could expand more on The Treaty of Waitangi. I was quite disappointed in your treatment of such an important document- you omit to mention the controversy or the lasting implications of the document.

[Belmont Babes]

I would love to know how to pronounce AOTEAROA. Can anyone be clever and spell it like it sounds :D
Thanks

[JandM]

Approximately: Ah-oh-tay-ah-row (like a boat)-ah. But the syllables run together a little more than that. You can hear it here. http://www.maorilanguage.net/pronounce/pronounce_lesson.cfm?learningsubcategoryid=18

[Caroline and Dave]

Approximately: Ah-oh-tay-ah-row (like a boat)-ah. But the syllables run together a little more than that. You can hear it here. http://www.maorilanguage.net/pronounce/pronounce_lesson.cfm?learningsubcategoryid=18

Thanks for finding this,well done :clap

[JandM]

Thanks for the thanks. We've both always been interested in other languages, so were interested to see/hear the automatic inclusion of bits of Maori in the kindy routine, greetings on the news bulletins, etc. last year. Then, there was a Maori/English dictionary in the house we rented, and it was interesting to use it to make sense of some of the place-names. It's going to be all round us - I couldn't just ignore it.:)

[britzy]

Really great post.Interesting and informative. Thanks Caroline and Dave.

[Belmont Babes]

Cheers and thanks very much you clever people!

[Asli&Mark]

Great Post, very informative and on the contrary to your belief very interesting.:clap :clap

Thank you.:nice1

Ps: I am ready to take the 2nd lesson :exit