Kiwi culture can probably be summarised by the coffee they drink the most: the flat white. It's basically a "café au lait" but with milk froth, or a cappuccino without the cinnamon sprinkle. It's usually soft with plenty of dairy and not much coffee taste. Everyone knows how to make one and no one wants anything else.
Joke aside, we did discover that coffee is a big deal in NZ. Barista coffee is available anywhere, even in the most remote places. You can't find petrol stations but you will be able to have a flat white on the side of the road next to the beach or bush.
So how does one identify Kiwi culture? Well, without having to go into the definition of what culture means, its ramifications and how to distinguish between Māori and Kiwi and NZ European cultures, I venture here to expose some elements of daily Kiwi life that we've noticed are out of ordinary from our point of view. We start off with food, obviously, the prime ingredient when discussing cultures and mismatches of culinary arts. We'll follow it with art, another mot valise or big word encompassing everything and anything. Here, we'll focus on a specific painting displayed at the Christchurch Art Gallery, in the Arts Centre. Finally, we'll review briefly some quintessential Kiwi practices.
Firstly, I need to emphasise greatly on the importance of reading this entry as a mere scratch on the surface of Kiwi culture and lifestyle. There are hundreds of places, foods, anecdotes and trivia that have simply not made it here, and thousands more we simply know not about. We haven't even covered Māori culture. What has made it is what stood out to us, for whatever reason, and thought that these need to be here. Neither of us are positioned well enough to judge, critique, or even talk about Kiwi culture. We've simply lived there for a year, and loved it so much that we shared these ideas here. Having said this, let's jump in!
Culture as food
New Zealand isn't famed for its food and culinary arts. We found that an "authentic" Kiwi experience in terms of food would be a pie. Pies are a quintessential element of Kiwi culture. They can be found anywhere in any form, whether frozen, cold, hot, with a salad or just on its own. There are pie competitions with different categories and are generally small enough that you can hold them like a sandwich, but big enough to have enough filling of chicken, beef, of potato. Many shops show pride in their achievements and display their trophies with a small line on every packed pie: "Best Pie of the 2017 Chicken & Mushroom competition". Pies are by definition, a Kiwi staple food, served with an L&P lemonade (for Lemon&Paeroa, the town it sources its water from, another Kiwi classic).
Food is highly multicultural in NZ with families coming from across the globe to open restaurants and shops showcasing their cuisine. Sushi is another staple food here with a myriad of small sushi shops selling rolls for as cheap as 9$ for 8 sushi sometimes! There are plenty of Thai restaurants and other Asian cuisines all around the country, with Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, and Lebanese.
New Zealand is also a new producer and exporter of wine and has its own array of local craft beers, and both industries are growing rapidly. The wine industry is in a boom and many vineyards are trying out new different blends and types of wine from Europe or the Americas, although most of them are of French variety. They relish their Saeve (or Sauvignon Blanc), and have an excellent panel of oaky and/or buttery Chardonnay that are worth trying out in the Hawke’s Bay region. Their other classic is the Pinot Noir from the the Central Otago area, the southern-most wine producing region of the world. This red wine is light and balanced, unlike other varieties that are more pronounced in flavour.
We found that the beers they produce are usually tasting all the same: bitter, hop-flavoured with little to no barley content and hard to drink more than one. Though they do mass-produce some quality Lager and some local breweries do craft some really good brown barley-only beers. As said previously, coffee is the power source of New Zealand and much of Australia. Although a nascent industry, the country has produced its own twists and blends. Even though most Kiwis know how to create a perfect flat white from an authentic Italian barista machine, not many dare to try out other forms of coffee, such as an espresso, long black, cappuccino, ristretto, or other varieties.
Culture as art
When walking through the city of Christchurch, you’re hit with both a sense of loss and becoming. The loss relates to what they’ve lost after the 2011 earthquake shook the city. Christchurch had a great deal of Gothic architecture buildings such as university halls, chapels, the main cathedral and gothic wooden cottages. It had, as many locals say, been completely wiped clean of its history, save for part of the cathedral. Its sense of culture and meaning was profoundly shaken, especially as the main urban hub for the South Island. With the loss of urban character came unfortunately as well the loss of lives. Many people carry traumatic memories of the events that unfolded 7 years ago. Many still shiver at the memory of the devastating day, and have left the city for a more sane lifestyle for themselves and their children.
Yet with loss came later on (and especially recently) a becoming and a “renaissance” of the city. It’s becoming a centre for the arts and a chance to refurbish the urban landscape. Māori artworks dot art galleries alongside medieval pieces brought in from Europe, and “classical” New Zealand artists depicting scenes from rural colonial areas. One recent Māori painting at the Christchurch Art Gallery was depicting a fiery haka dance done by women, painted in bright red and yellow colours on a big rectangular canvas, by Robyn Kahukiwa. Haka dances are traditionally performed only by men (with some exceptions), showing off their determination to defend the maraē (village) and scare opponents by gesticulating aggressively and showing their tongues (usually performed before a rugby game by the All Blacks). Drawing women dancing the haka is a powerful signal of empowerment for women across the country, and making space for women in New Zealand society as a whole. Women (whether Māori or Pakēha (white European descent)) are usually more likely to work in hospitality than men are and they’re also the ones cooking and tiding around the households. We found that Kiwi girls’ character and resilience in the workplace or at home is outstanding compared to men, who usually are useless when it comes to cooking or remembering stuff. They’re a fiery half of the nation proving they can dance the haka just as well, if not much better.
The rest of the central CBD area in Christchurch remained closed off to the public for nearly 7 years after the quake, and only recently did they reopen it. After such a long time living without its centre, Christchurch adapted by relocating its shops, restaurants and malls from the centre to its suburbs, such as Riccarton, Sydenham, Merivale, Barrington, New Brighton, etc. Though this is a phenomenon present in almost all cities in New Zealand. Auckland notably has a similar pattern of suburbs with their own “centre” and shopping mall. Christchurch has merely increased their size to accommodate the businesses from the city centre.
Christchurch:
The Arts centre in the CBD is now one of the central areas of the city, with the University of Canterbury, the City Council, the Canterbury Regional council, and the Christchurch Art Gallery having reopened. Close are the Botanical Gardens and the huge Hagley Park that takes about half of the CBD.
Not far from it is New Regent Street, a small colourfully paved street filled with pubs, restaurants and cafes from all sorts of cuisines and backgrounds. Hospitality is the primary pillar of NZ lifestyle, alongside the primary industry (wine and agriculture). The hospitality industry is huge and many kiwis start working as baristas, kitchen hands, front of house staff or simply waiter at cafes, restaurants or special events. Many of these businesses had to relocate either to the suburbs, or exceptionally recently on to New Regent Street. On average, there’s a new cafe or restaurant opening every few days in Christchurch.
Whether rocked by a natural force shaking both the physical and social foundations of individuals, we found that New Zealanders keep opening shops, “dairies” (small supermarkets), cafes and businesses around the country, being more than just the driving force of the national economy; they’re the core and pumping heart of New Zealand’s economy. Hospitality is a de facto form of “military service” where any Kiwi (though mostly girls it seems) are working as front of house staff during high school from the age of 15, until the age of 20+.
Along older buildings’ façades and walls of these cafes are now paintings and grand graffitis depicting giant elephants, skeletons of huge kiwis, people swimming in aquarelle colours and rugby players. It gives the city a colourful and joyful look, whilst rebranding old buildings that have been damaged or where buildings used to stand. These paintings upend the viewer and the individual walking the streets giving them “food for thought”. As these artworks multiply, they also become a social landmark of Christchurch, and a work of art, depicting scenes and elements Kiwis can relate to individually. In the same way a Gothic building in Western Europe with its bent arches and trifold windows, its thin tourets and pale white bricks give western Europeans a sense of belonging and a social landmark linking them to a distant medieval past where the roots of the nation-state lay, so do these beautiful graffiti bring a new light to the city, and a new sense belonging. Beauty may be subjective, but it’s much more pleasant to walk to work or the gym (or run a marathon as many do) alongside painted walls and colourful displays, than through a grey scale town. Each individual will see and understand something different, and will relate uniquely to the artwork.
Simply put, a simple form of urban art in this case rejuvenates the city, once shaken to its core, by lifting up morale and defining common features and landmarks for people to identify with, and relate to. The art portrayed will hide its meaning from you, and it will be up to you to seek its significance.
Napier, a city on the North Island, has a similar pattern. Many of its buildings are build in Art Deco style, both outside and inside. For years now, Napier has been known globally as the Art Deco capital of the world and provides cafes and restaurants with a richest decorated buildings. Oamaru, south of Christchurch, is yet another example. The town kept most of its Victorian-era buildings, houses, and port. Walking through its streets in the centre is very much like walking through history, as one would in Brussels or Rome. Supporting the Victorian feel is a Neo-Victorian Steampunk community and museum producing and displaying metalworks and moveable sculptures relating to ancient myths or Kiwiana (Kiwi common beliefs).
Culture as a practice
Many New Zealanders will have chickens (called “chooks”) roaming in the garden, a vegetable patch, a compost, and a water tank and septic tank if it’s in a rural area. They strive as much as possible, whether in cities or rural areas to limit their wastage and live as harmoniously as possible so as to not harm the environment and keep the pristine water the same quality for future generations. They recycle plenty and sort their rubbish too. Having said this, a few cities have started chlorinating their tap water as a form of treatment. Consequently, drinking tap water in those areas isn’t fun (it’s fine, just tastes nasty) and having showers usually ends up in smelling like after going to the swimming pool sometimes. Most Kiwis find it absurd too and have installed filters to have clean water in the household.
None the less, committed to protecting the environment they are indeed! There are even adverts on national TV reinforcing these ideals of keeping the country healthy and devoid of harmful substances, so that future generations can enjoy the beautiful and lush countryside and landscape of Aotearoa. Vineyards and farms are generally more environmentally friendly than city folk, but in a country where most people aren’t that far from a farm, or where one of the biggest industries is farming, it has a lot of influence over domestic policy. This can lead on the other end of the spectrum to more “alternative” lifestyles, such a hippie towns and communities.
Overall, like many countries in the world, New Zealand incorporates many contradictions and takes controversial decisions many inhabitants don’t agree with. There are protests and scandals, urban and rural lifestyles, colonial and aboriginal cultures co-existing. Above all though, the people living here are all kind, welcoming, eager to help and listen. We have a huge thanks to send to everyone who helped us on our way, and who provided us with a comfy bed, great stories and good food. New Zealand has truly become special thanks to everyone we met along the way, whether locals, foreigners, or travellers. Far from being a place of perfection and a haven from the busy polluted city lives from abroad, New Zealand is a country like any other, with its positive and negative sides. Though one thing few countries can compete with NZ on is landscape and great hospitality. As said before in previous blog posts, these two islands, remote as they are, are extraordinary in both the natural beauty and in the hospitality offered to others.
May they keep it intact for years to come, for it is a gem, and a unique privilege to be allowed to walk such stunning lands, with such special people. Kia ora.
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