Glossary

While one of the official languages of New Zealand is English (the other is Maori) there are many people I know from other countries who will argue I do not really speak English. New Zealanders pronounce our vowels very flat and tend to talk fast, with lots of words unique to New Zealand. This page is designed to let you know what I am actually saying.

It also contains some words specific to Thru Hiking which is long distance hiking.

If you read anything in my Blog that you do not understand let me know and I will add it to this glossary.

Kiwi	English
Aotearoa	Maori name for New Zealand. Stands for “Land of the long white cloud”
Bush	New Zealand Native Forest – this can vary from thick Jungle to open Beech Forrest
DOC	Department of Conservation. This is a Government Department responsible for the care of our protected land, fauna and flora. They do an amazing job maintaining the extensive network of tracks and huts as well as conservations work.
Forest	Exotic Forest – usually Pine Trees (Pinus Radiata) grown and harvested for wood
Gorse	An invasive pest plant that colonised open lands to form a wall of solid and painful prickles
Hut	This is a wooden structure containing beds, often bunks and large platforms. Usually they have mattresses. They usually have a toilet, water and benches for cooking on. They can range from the tiny 2 person primitive hut to the luxurious 40 person huts with gas supplied. Huts are not as common in the Upper North Island but frequent in the South Island. They are a unique part of the Kiwi Tramping Experience.
Kiwi	Affectionate name for a person from New Zealand. This name actually comes from the Kiwi, a nocturnal flightless bird, not the Kiwi Fruit as many people think.
Maori	Native People of New Zealand
SOBO	South Bound. Walking from North to South. NOBO is the opposite
Spaniard	An annoying and painful plant that has solid prickles that can go through your hand. Often found at higher altitudes
Te (Maori)	Means “the”. Many of our place names start with this.
Tramp/Tramping	Hike/Hiking. Walking to a destination carrying everything you need on your back
Wai (Maori)	Means “water”. Many of our place names start with this.