From cute sheep to incredible kai, kindhearted people and profoundly beautiful scenery, it can be easy to forget just how incredible Aotearoa is.
A post on social media has amassed 300 comments after asking tourists to share joyful memories from their visit.
Shared to the private Facebook group “New ZealandTravel Tips” (NZTT), the post asked the almost 107,600 members: “What was your happiest surprise when visiting New Zealand?”
Unsurprisingly, our natural landscapes were a highlight for many, many describing New Zealand as the trip of a lifetime or a bucket list destination.
The view of Queenstown from the Queenstown Hill walk. Photo / Destination Queenstown
“Profound beauty at every turn,” one person wrote, while dozens commented on Queenstown’s snowcapped mountains.
“The amazing view from the plane as we came into Queenstown,” one shared, while another said the best surprise was the morning view of “The Remarkables in all their glory” after arriving the previous night.
Some people mentioned activities such as the Shotover Jet in Queenstown or witnessing a Scottish festival in Dunedin and many people said their happiest surprise was the culture.
“Coming into a hotel restaurant in [the] Bay of Islands to a large group spontaneously doing a haka and later singing in perfect harmony. They were just celebrating a birthday,” one person wrote. Another loved Auckland Airport’s Māori music and tomokanga (carved gateway).
Many visitors to NZ said their happiest surprise was the culture. Photo / Getty Images
One person loved the lack of a tipping culture.
“I felt like the interaction between ourselves and various servers at restaurants was more genuine, especially at the end of the meal,” they wrote.
Our cute and fluffy animals also received many shout-outs, whether it was goats at the deer park in Queenstown, flocks of sheep in the Catlins or watching penguins on Otago Peninsula.
Queenstown’s “singing dog” brought one visitor joy, while another loved the lack of spiders compared to Australia.
Some visitors were overjoyed by the little things, like seeing a little fantail on a footpath or a massive rainbow over the ocean.
Food impressed many people, who said they didn’t expect the wine to be such high quality, or to try lavender ice cream at the NZ Alpine Lavender farm in Ben Ohau.
One coeliac traveller was thrilled at the number of gluten-free options and how accommodating cafes were. Others mentioned delicious pies, Kiwi burgers, cheap beer and “Ferg everything” referring to the famous South Island eatery.
“The coffee here is better than Melbourne. I said it,” one person joked.
The coffee is better in NZ than Melbourne, according to one visitor. Photo / 123rf
Some commented on “the delightful feeling that when you looked out to sea there was nothing for miles and miles”, and another was happily surprised by how uncrowded Aotearoa was, even around popular attractions.
Family reunions were a popular highlight, whether it was meeting extended family members, future lifelong friends, grown children or new in-laws. At least three people said their engagement in New Zealand was the happiest of surprises.
Kiwis themselves got more than a few mentions by visitors, who described us as beautiful and wonderful, friendly and helpful.
“All the people in hospitality and the service industry did their jobs with a smile and genuinely seemed to want you to have a good time,” one person wrote, commenting on how shop assistants often gave recommendations for other cities, packed grocery bags and offered to fill the car with gas.
Another said they were surprised by “how amazing, lovely, and genuinely nice the people are” adding that the scenery was “exquisite” but the service was “next level”.
Other joys were a little more bizarre but heartwarming nonetheless.
Almost a dozen people commented on the cleanliness of our public restrooms and one visitor was stoked when his wife won big at a casino and another said they couldn’t believe they bumped into their next-door neighbour from overseas in Mt Cook, especially as neither of them knew the other was visiting New Zealand.
