Tonight I’m going to watch the Hobbit movie at the cinemas. I know lots of beautiful New Zealand scenery’s going to grace the screen and I’m going to feel a pang of homesickness. As much as I love exploring other countries, New Zealand is probably the prettiest country I’ve ever stepped foot on and it’s quite special to call it home.
Beyond the obvious things I miss about home, such as friends and family, there are a few little bits and pieces I wish I could find elsewhere. Or I wish that New Zealand was closer and I could just shimmy home for a weekend, but alas for now I’ll just keep day dreaming about these random things.
1) New Zealand Customer Service
I’ve had the pleasure (and misfortune) of experiencing customer service in countless countries. I’m not going to say that New Zealand customer service is the best, because it’s not, but I like it. I like that when I’m in a shop at home I’ll get greeted and then left to my own devices to browse the clothes. In America the customer service is overbearing, even in places that don’t seem to be tip-focused. In Latin America, customer service doesn’t exist. New Zealand has my sweet spot of customer service and I miss it.
2) New Zealand Coffees
We’re serious about coffee. I spent way too much on coffee while living back at home and going out for coffee was one of my favourite ways to catch up with friends. I had specific cafes for specific types of coffees. Now when I travel it’s all a gamble. Sometimes I’ll wind up with a delicious coffee that tastes like a dream, other times it takes like something a devil vomited up.
3) New Zealand Roads
Yes, other countries have great roads but many of them are boring, lacking in scenery. Not the case back home! And often in places where there may very well be fantastic scenery, such as on my recent trip to Burma, the roads are so bumpy you are constantly being thrusted about. We have great roads.
4) Meat Pies
Why aren’t meat pies a big thing anywhere else in the world? The delicious combination of golden flaky pastry and delicious meaty treats is too good. Perhaps one day I will open up a bakery somewhere specialising in meat pies and share the glory with the rest of the world.
5) Clean Air
Ah, New Zealand air. It’s beautiful. That’s one of the benefits to being extremely isolated and having a relatively small population size, our air is gorgeous.
6) Soft Grass
If you’re reading this and wondering why I might just miss soft grass then you’ve never spent long enough in Central America. Sitting on grass here is a gamble; you’re very likely to get stabbed in the butt by a blade of grass. It’s hard, and crunchy and it’s just not nice. Back home we have excellent picnic grass.
7) Nothing’s Gonna Kill You
I remember one night I was really drunk on Koh Phangan in Thailand making my way back to my hotel across the sand. I saw a scorpian on the sand, burrowing into it. It was the first time I’d seen one and I freaked. In most countries around the world outside of New Zealand (and especially in Australia) I assume that all bugs and creatures harness the ability to kill me. This makes camping and wandering through forests particularly terrifying. New Zealand is super safe, you’re probably your biggest risk there!
8) Seeing Stars Even When in the Cities
I guess because our air is so awesome, you can almost always see the stars no matter where you are. I used to love walking to one of the big parks at night, laying on the (soft) grass and looking up at the crystal clear skies.
NZ is pretty great and it’s a country worth missing. I’m looking forward to visiting home sometime this year and making the most of all the things I love about my home country.
What do you miss about home when you travel?
You’ve mentioned two things I love about living in New Zealand. The meat pies and the fact that nothing is going to kill you! We’re going to Australia next, and I’m not looking forward to all the snakes and spiders. 🙁
As an American, the only gripe I have is that iced coffee isn’t a thing here. Or if it is, I don’t know where it’s at! (And I don’t mean the blended stuff with whip cream on top.) Just filtered coffee poured over ice cubes. It would be the perfect treat to complement the hot summer.
We’re not so big on ice coffee – you’re right. If we do it, it’s generally blended, rammed with sugar and smothered in delicious treats. Where in New Zealand are you based? I can maybe suggest some great cafes. Good luck with the move to Australia… at least you wont be too far from NZ 😉
Though you know that I don’t eat meat pies any more, I’m quite sure that the ones I used to eat in the UK were probably enough to rival your Zealander pies. Maybe you need a trip to England?
Ah, this is true. I am planning to visit London this year so I’ll need your suggestions on where to find a delicious meat pie. Haha.
Cornish pasties! 🙂
It’s great that you can recognize all of these wonderful things about your home country! Honestly New Zealand sounds wonderful, you had me at clean air, beautiful scenery and starlit skies. I can’t wait to visit!
Make sure you do visit Nikita! It’s lovely. This post has made me so homesick ha ha 🙁
All of these things just make me want to visit New Zealand even more! Just waiting to have the time (it’s soooo far away from anywhere else!) and the money. Growing up in London, but being really interested in astronomy, I’m really jealous of #8!
New Zealand must be one of the best places in the world for looking at stars. I don’t know if it’s a fact, but really… considering how isolated we are and the fact we don’t really have big cities (on an international scale). Check it out and let me know what you think!
The water, being able to drink from the tap. The grass, the rivers, the mountains, ginger crunch, munchos and buzz bars 🙂
I totally miss being able to drink from the tap. It drives me crazy when I forget to buy bottled water in Central America and everything’s closed.
I haven’t had buzz bars in YEARS!
Can’t wait to get to NZ. Unsure if I should go there BEFORE australia… pretty darn tempting!
Hey Alexis! What time of year are you thinking of going and for how long? They both have their merits. Maybe go to New Zealand second… save the best for last 😉
Great read Izy. Even though I’ve only ever traveled through New Zealand, I miss the same things 🙂 New Zealand is definitely one of my favorite countries in the world and if I had to pick one country right now where I could live it would be NZ hands down. Cheers 🙂
I hope you guys move there so I can visit you two when I visit home. Haha 🙂
🙂 Done and done! haha
Agreed! I miss the stunning landscapes, glacial lakes and the roads too. NZ is definitely a country to be missed. I also miss the hot chocolate which is strange, but I love how everywhere you go, it’s always prepared the same way with those colorful fluffy marshmallows. After living in Japan though, I too miss the customer service there too! It was truly over the top.
We’re off to New Zealand in September. My family – a mix of Americans and Aussie – moved from Texas to Sydney 2 years ago and since then have been (re)discovering Australia. Now it’s time for New Zealand. I can’t wait, although is should be interesting with my American mother-in-law in tow. Nevertheless, your post has inspired me to have a kick-ass trip. I also can’t wait now to compare the Aussie meat pies to the Kiwi version. =-)
I married a Kiwi way back in 1988 and lived there for 9 months. We ended up returning to my country of Canada, where we have been since.
Reading this has reminded me of many things I have missed. Love the dairy products there, and yeah the hokey pokey ice cream. 🙂