What's a nice souvenir/gift from New Zealand?

Question

I have a cousin coming home from New Zealand (South Island) and she asks what I want from there. I already have gone visiting in Auckland and Wellington and found nothing interesting to take home except for cheese and kiwi. What other specialities are there to give as gifts?

Answer 1

place mates from Jason's.you can get them from farmers.

you will be supporting my work as well.tell her to look for Jason's place mates with pictures of new zealand on it.that way every time you eat dinner or have visitors,then you will be displaying new zealand

Answer 2

maybe jade if u like it ? a friend of mine frm NZ gave me paua shells so that i can create anything frm it or juz as a display..it was indeed beautiful..coz in asia i doubt they sell it..if i'm not wrong its illegal

Answer 3

A pen

Answer 4

Framed pictures of the sceneries unique in New Zealand.

Answer 5

You can get presentation mint coins from NZ Post.  The cheapest is a $20 set of current legal tender coins, but they also sell commemorative gold coins.  There's an Ed Hillary one, Lady Di, 50th anniversary of the building of Scott Base, and several others.  They start off at about NZ$70 but go up to much more.  Then there are chocolates made to look like sheep droppings, labelled as sheep poo.  NZ now makes speciality cheeses, and manuka honey is unique to NZ. Reputable sources say it's useful to treat some diseases.  Check you're allowed to bring cheese and honey in.

Answer 6

The plastic Hei Tiki is very common and very cheap. They're a dime a dozen. Go for the more expensive ones in bone, nephrite jade (greenstone) or paua.

Or a sheepskin rug, but remember for every rug a sheep has been slaughtered.

Sheepskin slippers are the warmest slippers around.

Howabout a NZ native tree. I've done this for friends in the UK. You actually buy it from a nurseryman in NZ, but it is delivered from your local plant quarantine service. In the UK, it was Kew Gardens that delivered it.

Paua ornaments and jewelery are very fetching; the blue/green colouration is common, but they're also available in rarer pink colours.

I hope this gives you food for thought---speaking of which, howabout a presentation pack of 3 or 5 varieties of NZ honey. (I've used this as a gift also.)

Driver T

Answer 7

Buzzy Bee- Uniquely Kiwi/

Answer 8

paua shell necklace, bracelet or earings you can get some really nice ones

Answer 9

Wine!  NZ only exports their worst wines (thanks Montana... not).  Burnt Spur Vineyards Russian Jack Pinot Noir.  They don't export it.  And God, I miss it.  If you like a less spicy Pinot Noir, go for the Rabbit Ranch.  Or Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc.  Yeah okay I tended bar in NZ.

Other than wine, NZ's best stuff are the little crafts.  I bought my girlfriend a pair of earrings from a little gallery in Cromwell, outside Queenstown.  Arts and crafts fairs are everywhere in NZ (like the Arts Centre in Christchurch), even locally owned galleries/boutiques and if your cousin has good taste, she could find you something unique.

But if you want something more "NZ specific", I'd go with All Blacks attire.  I have an All Blacks shirt and tie and people always stop me and say, "All Blacks!"  They're only the best rugby team in the world.  Then again, you could've picked those up in Welly/Auckland...

And yep - Greenstone, Paua, and carved bone are cool - though gimmicky and often cheap in quality - watch that.  And Manuka Honey's a specialty.

Phew.

Answer 10

greenstone necklace?

Answer 11

Greenstone,bone or paua jewellery

Tee shirts & sweaters

wine

maori carvings (although be careful taking these thru customs)

maori dolls

DVD s of NZ

magnets

pens

posters



I was there last year and brought some nice books & DVDs about NZ for friends here is Oz.

I also bought NZ wine and some nice flax bags (kites) very cheap to put the wine into but made great gifts.

we also went to the area where my husbands family farm is and bought some great drawings from a little shop there they were easy to bring back and we framed them once we got back to Oz.

Nice reminder of a great time we had back home.

I also got 2 single mink blankets for my girls very cheaply with maori designs on them they love them.

Answer 12

I collect shot glasses and magnets from anywhere I go!!

I have a pair of kiwi sheepskin slippers and they are SOOO warm!!

Answer 13

I have found a fridge magnet of the paper money are popular overseas because they are useful (hold those messages on the fridge) and interesting - especially the $100 note fridge magnet