Until last month, I’d never been to New Zealand. As an Australian and a travel writer, I always felt a certain level of guilt confessing this. After all, NZ is so close (relatively speaking).

That proximity was probably the reason I never got around to it – NZ would always be there when I was done with more exotic destinations. There was also a vague sense that the Land of the Long White Cloud was in some ways just a smaller version of Australia.

But after my introductory hop across the ditch, I can report that is in fact a whole different country with a completely different culture. Who knew!? Here are seven of the little things that I never expected. 

The pies are better

I’m sorry, but your average country bakery in Kiwiland is doing things that the most artisanal Australian piemaker couldn’t even imagine. Pork belly pies. Tom Yum pies. Chicken, cranberry and brie pies. And they’ve got the basics down too. The crust maintains structural integrity. The top is flaky. The filling is hot. Make sure to try a bacon and egg pie too. Australia is in the pie stone age and New Zealand is in the pie future.

Airport security

Arriving in Auckland after going through the rigmarole of airport security in Sydney, I made my way to the domestic terminal for the 20-minute flight to Tauranga. When the flight was called, I gave the steward at the gate my ticket and asked whether security was on the other side. She laughed at me. It turns out that in New Zealand, only flights with more than 90 passengers require screening. The rest run on an honour system. How quaint.

It takes forever to get places

A 20-minute flight sounded like overkill, but that was because I was holding onto my ignorant impression of NZ as a small country. While she is small in relation to Australia, driving anywhere can take a very long time, as I discovered on the four-hour drive back. Not only does New Zealand have challenging topography, with loads of mountains and a craggy coastline, the road network is nowhere near as developed as it is on the East Coast of Australia. They only have 446 kilometres of motorway, mostly going in and out of Auckland. On the plus side, the tolls are smaller too: most of them are around the $2 mark. 

The seafood is so fresh

I always thought Australian seafood was the best in the world. How wrong I was. Maybe it’s because they’re a smaller country with shorter supply chains, or maybe it’s because they take their fush and chups seriously – but the ocean produce in New Zealand is absolutely unreal. From abalone to snapper, dockside kiosks to fine dining restaurants, every single bit of seafood I ate on the other side of the Tasman put Australia’s best to shame.

Picture: Alex McClintock

Anzac Day is very different

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, our ancestors fought two world wars together and we’re the only two countries that celebrate the day of commemoration. So you’d think our approaches would be pretty similar, right? Not so. Most of the New Zealanders I spoke to in April had never heard of two up, and the idea of spending the day getting rowdy at a pub was rather shocking to them. In NZ, Anzac Day remains much closer to its original purpose – a respectful day of commemoration for those who served and died. It's hard not to think they’ve got it right.

Guns are for sale next to camping equipment

While in the beachside town of Whakatane I happened to walk into a chain store called Hunting and Fishing. Think of it as something like a Bunnings, but for killing animals. As an Australian who grew up in the aftermath of gun reform, I was shocked to see that beside the fishing rods and camping tents, there were racks and racks piled ceiling high with all manner of firearms, from tiny .22 rifles to bulky shotguns. It turns out that while you’re still required to have a license to get a gun across the ditch, they’re far easier to get. In fact, they have around double the number of guns per 100 people (33) as we do here. Lucky they’re mostly so nice.

Picture: @huntingandfishingnewzealand (via Instagram)

Feijoas are everywhere

I had only seen a Feijoa once before, at a farmers market in Sydney. Then I arrived in New Zealand and found I could hardly leave the hotel without tripping over one of the perfumed guava-like fruits. Across the North Island, it seemed like virtually every house had one of the little trees, and they were all sagging with fruit, ripe for the picking. After my first one, I could see why they were so popular. But after a dozen or so, I’m not sure whether they’ll catch on back home.