New Zealand’s borders have finally reopened after a two-year Covid shutdown. But those who travel down under are in for a surprise. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern recently said that New Zealand is ‘not the same place it was ten years ago’. As far as the local language goes, she’s certainly on to something, as newcomers are set to discover.
Planning to go anywhere near the site of the country’s deadly 2019 volcanic eruption? That’s White Island, right? Erm, not quite. It’s Whakaari, actually. How about that perennial drawcard, the garden city of Christchurch, with its tidal wave of English roses and other pilgrim flowers? Try saying Otautahi. Ditto the nearby city of Dunedin, which used to bill itself as the Edinburgh of the South Island and even offers degree courses in Scottish studies at the local university. Otepoti, please. Oh, and the South Island? Te Waipounamu, thank you very much.
The UK supplies more tourists to New Zealand than any of the 60 visa-waiver countries that are now allowed back to these shaky isles.
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