Things I miss about New Zealand (as a Kiwi living abroad)

Hi friends! I've been thinking about New Zealand a lot lately and don't get me wrong, I feel so grateful to be able to live in Melbourne, Australia with my lovely little family Benji Bear and Lukey Bear (and I wouldn't trade it for the world) but sometimes, nostalgia or homesickness get in the way. I don't know when we're going to be able to get to NZ, as it depends on when we can find someone to look after Benji as I do not want to put him in a kennel, I think that's so mean and would never want my pupper to think I'm not coming back for him.

Anyway, with that being said, here's a list of things I miss about New Zealand.

Quick Disclaimer - I do apologise if a lot of these are just snacks/food LOL. Enjoy! #NewZealand #YouTube #Pinterest

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Things I miss about New Zealand (as a Kiwi living abroad)

• Obviously, my friends and family who I miss dearly. I really enjoyed taking Luke to NZ in April 2023 and seeing a lot of my friends - who I hope I will be friends with for life.

• Bella - mine and my mum's cat (she's 16 now and we're not sure how much longer she has).

• Living super close to water (the river and the beach) i.e., having access to go watch the sunset relatively easy.

• The snacks - oh my gosh - I love kiwi snacks. Let's put a list here: L&P, ALL the chip brands, Cookie Time, Whittaker's, Chocolate Fish, RJ's Raspberry Chocolate Logs (or whatever they're called), JELLY TIPS, Pinky's, Frujus, Squiggles, Mallowpuffs, the Bluebird Burger Rings, and probably so much more. If you wanna check out some cool videos of Luke and I taste-testing both NZ and Aus snacks, I'll include them below:

• Having more people around me who saw what I was going through (and I could bitch with and they would relate to me). This one is vague on purpose, sorry.

• The confidence I had - aka when I was a Sociology/Human Services tutor and was ASKED multiple times to give lectures (even when the imposter syndrome was prominent).

• Scripts being only like $5 for 6 months rather than really expensive.

• Not having to have health insurance.

• Being able to go on a random road trip all the time (mainly to do with being a uni student). Additionally, being able to easily drive somewhere with no light pollution and take astrophotography.

• Flavoured milk (like Lewis Road Creamery & Puhoi Valley) not hurting my stomach.

• Being able to buy alcohol in the supermarket.

• The taste of meat/seafood.

• Nature's backyard aka being able to drive down a main road on my way to uni/work and see snow on the mountains every single morning.

• Not having to line up for a place that's good.

• Being able to go to my mates' gigs as often as I did back in NZ.

• Lollycake and easy access to the ingredients.

• Friendly hellos/hi's from strangers when on a walk.

• Not being scared of running into a snake on a hike.

• People speaking Maori in casual conversation or fluently.

• Everyone seems to have alpacas in the backyard/farm in New Zealand so I miss driving past alpacas literally all the time. There's lots of farmland in Australia but I don't see as many alpacas as I did driving around Canterbury.

• Not being made fun of for words like "six, deck, and ten".

• Mince and cheese pies - like seriously, why is this just not a thing in Australia? That reminds me, you should totally check out the following posts: "Things I find weird about living in Melbourne (as a Kiwi)" and "Things I find weird about living in Melbourne (as a Kiwi) Part Two".

• Being able to say "eh" and no one batting an eye.

• The NYC Benedict Bagel from Maccas breakfast menu - like why is that specific to NZ?

• The good news stories (I saw one blogger term this as "fluffy news pieces".

• The penguins, seals, dolphins, and whales (marine life) - you never know when one might pop up and say hello!

• A hangi (I've been craving one for so long - often you can get one in NZ at the local markets).

• How much better honey tastes in NZ than Aus.

• People who help pack your bags at the supermarket (like at New World).

• The quality of the bakeries - like yes, they have great bakeries in Melbourne but I'd give anything to head down to Darfield Bakery right now and get me a slice of lollycake.

• TV shows like Seven Days & New Zealand Today.

• Being able to get Kumara chips anywhere.

• Silly Jaffa races.

• Those milkshake lollies that are kinda like minties (although idk for sure if they are a NZ snack).

• The fact that you can get canned strawberries (like for desserts and what not but the syrup in the cans is actually really nice). I remember Luke and I had a strawberry flavoured something and I was like "omg, this tastes like canned strawberries" and he had no idea what I was talking about and from there, I learned it just wasn't a thing you can get in Australia.

• People put a Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar on Pavlova instead of fruit. We always put kiwifruit on our Pav's at Christmas time. I don't really like the peppermint crisp bar that much (don't come for me LOL, I can still eat it). I definitely just prefer fresh fruit on top of a Pav.

• Burger Fuel OMG! Also, the Pulp Fiction burger from Burgers and Beers on Colombo Street.

• My aunty's cooking - especially her honey carrots as well as her cheese and asparagus rolls (the only time I would ever eat asparagus LOL).

• Real fruit ice cream - I was so shocked when I learned this was a specific to NZ thing - like WHY? I should have eaten more of it before I left.

• Queenstown and Mount Cook.

• Not being judged for going to bed early or sleeping in.

• Calling abalone, paua.

• The range of dips and also making that classic kiwi dip with onion powder and reduced cream. I have a friend who loves Green Onion chips with this specific dip!

• Walking through the Botanic Gardens - yes, there is a giant gardens here in Melbourne too but it's in the CBD so it's a bit further to get to with how far we live from the city (like a 30 min train ride). The gardens in CHCH just felt so much closer.

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Anyway, if I think of more, I'll do a part 2 (like I do for everything else lol). I hope you enjoyed this post! If you've moved abroad, what's one thing you miss from your home country? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading.

Much love,

Ash xoxo