New Zealand Culture and Etiquette

Māori arrived from eastern Polynesia by voyaging canoe around 1250 to 1300 and today make up about one in six New Zealanders. Society is organised into iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes), each with its own marae, history and ways of doing things. Tikanga means the correct way of doing things, and it varies from iwi to iwi, so the best rule for visitors is to watch and ask.

Two concepts explain most protocol. Tapu means sacred or restricted, and noa means ordinary or free from restriction. The head is the most tapu part of the body, so don’t touch anyone’s head, including children’s, and don’t pass things over someone’s head. Food is noa and must be kept apart from tapu things: don’t sit on tables, put a hat, bag or comb on a table or kitchen bench, or wash hands or clothes in a sink used for food. Burial grounds (urupā) and other wāhi tapu (sacred places) are off-limits unless you are invited.

Two values you will hear often are manaakitanga, the duty of hospitality and care for guests, and kaitiakitanga, guardianship of land, water and people. The law reflects the second: Te Urewera, the Whanganui River and Taranaki Maunga now have legal personhood, recognising them as ancestors of their iwi.

A marae is the communal heart of an iwi or hapū: an open courtyard (marae ātea), a carved meeting house (wharenui) that represents an ancestor, and a dining hall (wharekai). Visitors come only by invitation or on an organised visit, and are formally welcomed in a pōwhiri. Most travellers experience one through a cultural tour in Rotorua or at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, at Te Papa, or on a school, work or community visit.

The hongi is the traditional greeting: you take the person’s right hand and gently press your nose and forehead to theirs, usually once, sharing the breath of life (hā). Look down or close your eyes, don’t kiss, and don’t bump hard. At a pōwhiri it marks the moment you stop being a visitor (manuhiri). Outside formal settings most people simply shake hands, hug or say kia ora; let the other person lead.

Haka are posture dances performed with chanting, stamping, slapping of the body and facial expressions such as the pūkana (wide eyes) and the protruding tongue. They are not only war dances: haka are performed to welcome guests, at funerals, weddings and graduations, and in protest. The best-known, Ka Mate, was composed by the Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha around 1820, and an Act of Parliament in 2014 recognised the iwi’s guardianship of it. The All Blacks perform Ka Mate or their own haka, Kapa o Pango, before test matches at grounds like Eden Park. As a visitor, watch quietly, and don’t perform or mock a haka for photos.

Te reo Māori is an official language alongside English and New Zealand Sign Language, and you will see it on signs, in place names and in the news. Pronunciation is regular: vowels are short as in Italian (a as in “car”, e as in “egg”, i as in “eat”, o as in “or”, u as in “you”), and a macron (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) makes the vowel long. “Wh” is usually said like an English f, “ng” as in “singer”, and the r is a light tap. So Whakatāne is “fah-kah-TAA-neh”, and Taupō is “toe-paw”.

The Treaty of Waitangi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, was signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands by Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson for the British Crown and Māori chiefs, and later by about 500 chiefs around the country. The English and Māori texts differ: the English version ceded sovereignty to the Crown, while the Māori version, which most chiefs signed, granted kāwanatanga (governance) and guaranteed tino rangatiratanga (full chiefly authority) over lands, villages and treasures. Land loss and war followed in the decades after.

Since 1975 the Waitangi Tribunal has investigated breaches of the Treaty, and settlements with many iwi have returned land, money and apologies. The Treaty is still debated in politics today. For visitors, the place to understand it is the Waitangi Treaty Grounds near Paihia, with the Treaty House, the carved meeting house Te Whare Rūnanga, a large waka taua (war canoe) and two museums; guided tours and a cultural performance are included in the entry ticket.

New Zealanders are relaxed, egalitarian and modest. First names are used almost immediately, bosses and politicians are expected to be approachable, and anyone who shows off gets cut down: the “tall poppy syndrome”. Self-deprecating humour is the norm, and “yeah, nah” means no. Be on time, queue patiently, and say thanks to the bus driver as you get off; most people do.

Small things that help: don’t confuse New Zealanders with Australians, take your shoes off when you enter a home unless told otherwise, and if you’re invited somewhere, “bring a plate” means bring food to share. If you’re out with locals, “shouting” a round means buying everyone a drink, and you’re expected to shout back. Bare feet in a supermarket and jandals (flip-flops) in a restaurant are normal outside the cities. Rugby is close to a religion, best felt at a test match at Eden Park or Wellington’s Sky Stadium, and Anzac Day on 25 April is solemn, with dawn services at war memorials nationwide.

Tipping is not expected anywhere; prices include GST and service (more in our New Zealand food guide). Smoking is banned inside bars and restaurants, and alcohol is banned in public places in many town centres and on beaches, signposted as liquor-ban areas.

Caring for the land is part of the national identity, and visitors are asked to sign up to the Tiaki Promise: care for land, sea and nature, travel safely, and respect culture. In practice that means taking all rubbish with you, using public toilets rather than the bush, staying on marked tracks, and camping only where it’s allowed. Freedom camping is restricted to certified self-contained vehicles in designated sites in most districts, and councils fine people who camp elsewhere.

Wildlife is protected and often fragile. Stay at least 20 m from seals and sea lions and keep well back from penguins, don’t feed kea (the alpine parrots of Arthur’s Pass and the road to Milford Sound), and keep dogs out of national parks. Scrub your boots at the cleaning stations on tracks in the Waitākere Ranges and Northland to stop kauri dieback, and “Check, Clean, Dry” kayaks, fishing gear and waders between rivers to stop the didymo algae. Some peaks and lakes are sacred: in Tongariro National Park iwi ask walkers not to climb to the summits or swim in the lakes. Fire bans are common in summer, so check before lighting a stove or barbecue.

New Zealand’s biosecurity is among the strictest in the world because a single pest or disease could wreck its farming and native species. Every traveller, including babies and New Zealanders, must complete the free New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) online, from 24 hours before departure, and must declare any food, plant or animal products and outdoor equipment. On arrival your bags are X-rayed and sniffer dogs work the hall.

Declare fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy, honey, eggs, seeds, plants, wooden souvenirs, and outdoor gear such as hiking boots, tents, bikes and fishing equipment. Declaring is free: officers check the goods and clean or treat dirty boots, and you lose only what is banned. Failing to declare a risk item brings an instant infringement fine of NZ$400 (about US$230), and serious cases are prosecuted. Clean your boots and tent at home, eat the plane fruit or throw it into the amnesty bins before the officers, and when in doubt, declare it. See the Ministry for Primary Industries for the current list.