Most Kiwis live within half an hour’s drive of the coast and like to spend their weekends swimming, boating, diving and fishing. New Zealanders tend to be sports-mad and the most popular sport is golf - there are more golf courses per capita in New Zealand than anywhere else in the world, and Kiwi golfer Michael Campbell recently brought the country to a virtual standstill as people sat by their TVs to watch the playoff which won him the US Open. Tennis, touch rugby, rugby, cricket, netball, surfing and sailing are also popular. In winter there is skiing, heli-skiing and snowboarding to keep you busy. As far as cultural activities go, there are many Maori and Pacific festivals during the year, as well as a New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

New Zealand cuisine has come on in leaps and bounds to match the renown of the country’s wines, and takes its inspirations from other countries in the Pacific Rim such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan as well as Europe. Local produce includes wonderful pork, lamb, venison, crayfish, Bluff oysters, abalone, mussels and scallops. New Zealand’s wines are famous all over the world, particularly the whites, although the reds are catching up fast.