Literally Just A List Of Some Awesome Kiwi Stuff We’d Like To Claim As Our Own
Share the lamb this summer.
Life in Australia is pretty good, most of the time (when the sun’s out, the beers are cold, and when funnel-webs are hibernating). But as the old adage goes, the grass is always greener on the other side…of the Tasman.
See, our Kiwi neighbours are just better at some things, like making chocolates, electing (and not ousting weeks later) leaders, and turning on the inland beauty. And don’t even get us started on that classic, laconic NZ sense of humour.
Here’s an ode to everything New Zealand does really, really well (read: everything Australians want to shamelessly pass off as our own).
#1 Jacinda Ardern
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This one’s a no-brainer, because unlike some countries we know, New Zealand seems to have somehow elected an actual thinking, feeling, literate human being as its leader, as opposed to an amoral lizard-person. Just this week, it was revealed that Ardern’s decision to freeze MPs pay will save regular Kiwi taxpayers around $750,000.
Jacinda Ardern for PM/President/our mum, PLEASE.
#2 The All Blacks
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Any sports team that kicks off every rugby match with a dance signifying pride, unity and strength, and an unbreakable connection to indigenous cultures is one we want for ourselves, thanks. Did we mention they’re actually pretty good at rugby, too?
#3 Whittaker’s Chocolates
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We’ve successfully co-opted Cadbury as our own (it’s actually British, you guys!), now, it’s time we bring Whittaker’s into the delicious, chocolatey fold. These tasty little treaties have been made in New Zealand since 1890, but if they’re looking to relocate in the near future (or, you know, ever), we know just the place.
#4 The Entire NZ Music Industry
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Neil Finn, Kimbra, Dragon, and Ladyhawke are pretty much ours already, so let’s just make it official, shall we? All 10/10 talented New Zealand-born musicians are hitherto Australian. Thank you and goodbye.
#5 And Some Of Their Filmmakers, Too
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Actor, writer, director and deadest legend Taika Waititi’s already proven himself to be one of those people you’d want at every dinner party, always and forever. Throw Jane Campion (writer and director of Top of the Lake) and Jemaine Clement (actor, and one half of the comedy music duo Flight of the Concords) into the mix and you’ve got an enviable line-up of filmmaking nationals that Australians straight-up adore.
#6 Just Really Good Ideas
Kiwis don’t just have pretty faces, excellent sweet potatoes and cute accents, clearly. Tauranga-based surfer Paul Barron accidentally discovered he could make a surfboard out of wool, and now he’s teamed up with Kelly Slater’s surfboard company to take over the world with the invention. Why didn’t we think of this?!
#7 Wonderful Natural Wonders
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Sure, we’ve got Bondi, Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef, but have you SEEN New Zealand’s stunning panoramas? The Lord of The Rings wasn’t filmed there for nothing, people. Between Lake Taupo, the Fiordland National Park, and PIha Beach, New Zealand’s got the landscapes to make most Australians think seriously about an extended holiday.
#8 Kumara, Manuka Honey, And L&P
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Serious question: where would we be without Kumara, New Zealand’s native sweet potato? Still eating plain old French fries, probably. Kumara has changed our pub menus (and our lives) permanently, and we could not be more grateful.
Manuka Honey and L&P (Lemon & Paeroa, named after the town where it was invented), the soft drink with a unique lemon flavour, are two other items for which we have our friends across the pond to thank.
One thing we’re all set for on the food front is lamb. Wherever you’re from and however you cook it, it’s been on Aussie plates for eons, and we’re always happy to share our prime lamb.
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(Lead image: Paula May)
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Share the lamb this summer.