Episode 51: 5 Things to Know about New Zealand’s South Island with Kyle Mulinder

Angie Orth:

If you enjoyed the wild ride through New Zealand's South Island in our previous episode, then I have good news for you. There's even more where that came from.

Today, I'm back with Kyle Mulinder, your go-to source for everything New Zealand. In this mini-episode, we're covering Kiwi Culture 101. Ever wondered about that powerful dance the All Blacks are famous for? Want to know what a Kiwi burger is? Curious about Marmite? You'll discover all of that and more in today's episode.

It's a bird, it's a fruit, it's a New Zealander. Where did the term “Kiwi” come from? And why are New Zealanders referred to as Kiwis?

Kyle Mulinder:

Kiwi refers to our native bird. Our native bird is a flightless bird that's nocturnal and that hardly anyone has seen. It's very endangered. It's our national bird, and so we are Kiwis. Kiwifruit is actually the Chinese gooseberry. Way back in the day, I think it was the 70s or something, the company changed the name to kiwifruit. They had a marketing campaign and now they're just called kiwifruit.

Angie:

But people aren’t going to come find a bunch of kiwifruit because that doesn't have anything to do with New Zealand. So, we can take that off the table, right?

Kyle:

Yeah, I mean, we grow it. It's probably the best one you've ever had.

Angie:

Hey OK, shots fired. No. 2, te reo is the Maori language and it's recognized as one of the island's 3 native languages. What are some essential words or terms we need to know when visiting?

Kyle:

Kia ora

Angie:

Kia ora?

Kyle:

Yeah! You nailed it! I grew up speaking both Maori and English, and Maori culture is part of our heritage and part of our DNA over here. Kia ora means hello. Thank you everything. I think the most important thing that every traveler should know is that it's okay to get it wrong. It's fine. We don't care. We care more that you gave it a go, and we're not embarrassed for you because everything is hard to stay. The fact that you gave it a go is the most magical part.

Angie:

That's great. That gives me so much confidence to come and try to say all those vowels. I saw that there's a place, and I will never be able to pronounce this one. I just know it, but it's 3 lines long.

Kyle:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Angie:

I will work on it. When I get to New Zealand, I will just be able to like hop in the taxi and say, take me to this place and I'll just say it and it'll blow their minds.

OK, no. 3, the haka dance. It's famously performed by the All Blacks before their rugby matches. Does everybody in New Zealand know the haka?

Kyle:

There are thousands of haka and every family, every school, every group, every team has a version or its own haka. It's like your school song or something like that. I think because we're so passionate about rugby, we all learn a haka, but every school will have its own. You see all these amazing videos online of school teams, rugby teams, everyone doing their own individual haka. We all have a good 10 or so different types of haka in our back pocket.

Angie:

No. 4, what is a Kiwi burger and where can we find the best one on the South Island?

Kyle:

The Kiwi burger is just a style of burger that we always have. That's just your standard meat patty burger, but we put beetroot and eggs in it.

Angie:

I remember that. That's really good. People might think, I don't know about beetroot on a burger, but it is good. Ah, forgot all about that.

Kyle:

It's only on the menu at McDonald's here in New Zealand, which is very funny.

Angie:

Okay, no. 5, last one. Marmite, love it or hate it?

Kyle:

I'm holding a bottle right now and it's what I had for breakfast. Marmite all day, every day, baby.

Angie:

OK, so that's an affirmative. What advice do you have for first-time Marmite consumers?

Kyle:

The best piece of advice is it’s an acquired taste. You want to spread it very thin. Do you want to make some toast? Put some butter on there and just put half of what you would think you were to do, and just put a very thin layer on there. Then it's that nice, sweet, and savory taste versus if you spread it thick like peanut butter, you're going to be like, “Whoa,” and it's very overwhelming.

Angie:

I've tried Vegemite, the Aussie version, and I can attest to that. A thin layer is all you're going to need.

Kyle:

Marmite tastes so, so superior.

Angie:

Oh, those sound like fighting words! We might have to dedicate a future episode to the Marmite/Vegemite controversy.

Kyle Mulinder, thank you for joining us, and thank you to our listeners for being with us. If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor, check out AAA.com/travel, or visit your local branch.

This podcast is a production of Auto Club Enterprises. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe, and leave us a review. I'm Angie Orth, thank you for traveling with AAA.