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 5,310 ReviewsOur goal for this trip was a stress free honeymoon where we did not have to think about anything! GoAway made that successful. Everything was planned and ready for us. We just had to show up. Brooke recommended fantastic accommodations that were in great locations, clean and comfortable. The tours were took with Thompson's Africa were incredible as well. Brooke was helpful throughout the entire booking process process & we wouldn't have had such an incredible experience without her. We really loved our South African holiday and hope to travel there or other locations again with GoAway.TaylorOctober 9, 2026, was our 50th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, I wanted to take my bride to Europe for 50 days. Also, other than the flight over, I wanted to make the trip by train. I contacted Farnaz at Goway. The trip we planned ultimately extended to 60 days. It was absolutely flawless. We had great hotels, great tours. Even though this trip was complex and had a lot of moving parts, there were no problems. Farnaz and the folks at Goway done a great job. I highly recommend them and will definitely use them on any future tripsDaniel GraffWe had a fabulous Croatia vacation with a cruise from Dubrovnik to Split, followed by land tours on Split and Opatija. Lodging was always comfortable and conveniently located. Tours and activities were perfectly suited to our interests. We have used GoWay for 2 vacations and are currently working on another. KarenWe would like to thank our travel specialist, Bijal for all the planning and coordinating that was done to make our Tanzania trip as spectacular as it was from start to finish!
Everything went so smoothly from our transfers, to our accommodations, to all of our tours! The people we came into contact with were exemplary!
There were so many highlights on our trip from the animal sightings, to the balloon flight and champagne breakfast, to all the incredible scenery.
Our accommodations were stunning! The level of service was remarkable and the locations were beyond our expectations. To think we would be having dinner and seeing the zebras and the elephants in the distance was amazing!
Our tour guide/driver was very knowledgeable, friendly, passionate and had a keen eye for spotting animals in the distance. He made sure that we saw all the animals that we had hoped to see. it was truly a pleasure to spend the week with him.
Thank you again to Bijal for all the work in making this once in a lifetime trip so exceptional!! We look forward to having Bijal help us plan our future trips.The Chadwicks and WilliamsI wanted to do a once in a lifetime vacation but had no idea where to start, other than knowing where I wanted to go. I reached out to goway.com and Jessica (shoutout!), who is an expert on our specific destination, sent me an itinerary quickly! She had me going into the jungle one day, so I requested to swap that nonsense for a fishing charter, and before I knew it, my trip was ready.
We just returned and it truly was a once in a lifetime experience! The resort service was top notch and (according to locals) we had all of the BEST activities the island has to offer.
If you are up in the air at all as to whether or not going through goway is worth the money, I'm here to tell you: If it's peace of mind and a perfect vacation you're looking for, do it now.therealitgirlWe recently worked with Jacqueline to plan our trip to Greece and had a wonderful experience. We made several revisions to our itinerary and Jacqueline was patient, understanding and prompt in responding to our needs. In addition to the specific tours she booked, she provided extra options and local suggestions for each place we visited in Greece. Her attention to detail and responsiveness made our trip incredibly memorable. Mark MendellWe have used Goway several times to plan simple & more complicated trips. The last 2 trips we worked with Brooke Theron who is extremely customer focused. She listens well & is alway flexible to look at alternatives. We will continue using this representative & Goway.
Our only criticism is that they do not break down the various costs of a trip which makes tipping very awkward. It can also create a sense of " mistrust" when all the costs are not transparent. Cheryl HayesOur trip to Switzerland was an amazing experience. Our travel agent at GoWay, Bo was so helpful in helping my husband Louie plan just what we wanted to do on this trip. Taking the trains thru the county was easy by the many hours Louie and Bo worked on this. Also our helicopter ride in Zermatt on my birthday was just unbelievable. Flying around the Matterhorn and the Alps is one flight we will never forget. Thanks Bo for setting this up. The trip was one incredible adventure that we will never forget. Thanks again Bo, Lynn Gerber. Lynn GerberWe booked a Goway tour to Botswana and Zimbabwe and it was excellent. We worked with Brooke, the Goway represntative, to set up the tour and she was an outstanding agent who answered any questions we had very quickly and completely. Her hotel recommendation for the additional night we stayed was pefect.
Goway hires a local tour group, Jenman Safaris, to lead the safari in the 2 countries. The tour itself was amazing...the lodges that we stayed at were very nice and the food was great (except for one lodge's food). The Goway itinerary was slightly different than the actual Jenman Safari itinerary but most of the sites that we went to were the same as listed on the Goway itinerary. I would use Goway again because their choice of a local tour group was very good...nice lodges/camps and good food and knowledgeable tour guides.Ma FaOur GoWay tour representative, Michael Keon, was on top of all of our concerns and questions in a professional manner and we look forward to working with him in the future. Michael was very easy to work with and treated us like family.Thomas
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