Turns out all the shots-worth-keeping from my phone were landscapes. So here are three. Also a pronunciation lesson for Americans.

By the way, that “NZ” abbreviation; it’s perfectly OK to use it in NZ. But, dear Americans: The pronunciation is “enn-zed”. If you say “enn-zee” the Kiwis, a politer-than-average nation, probably won’t call you yokel, but their thoughts will be unkind.

The One+ One camera doesn’t seem as good to me as my Nexus 5’s was, but when you get out in the wide-open spaces with lots of sunlight and the beaches of Muriwai to shoot at, you’re going to get a decent result.

South beach at Muriwai
· · ·
Main beach at Muriwai

This last shot is from a little hilltop near the Waitomo caves.

View from Waitomo hilltop

You can drift through the caves in a silent boat, looking up through the blackness at constellations of glow-worms on the ceiling. But that’s really hard to photograph, especially with a phonecam.

When in you’re in NZ, it usually looks pretty great, wherever you look.



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From: Nathan (Apr 14 2015, at 05:59)

I (an American) have spent time in NZ, in South Africa, and in the UK. I've always been torn whether to say "zed" or "zee". The former feels like I'm trying too hard to fit in -- my American accent and other lingo give me away immediately -- but according to you the latter can engender less-than-positive feelings.

(This came up in South Africa surprisingly often as well since their country's TLD is .za, for Zuid Afrika. In London I could go for a week without pronouncing the troublesome letter).

I never received any comments on it either way from actual natives. Do you believe they feel strongly enough about it that Americans should make a point to change while abroad, or is this your Canadian anglophilia coming through?

(I do make a point to use SI units rather than imperial while abroad, though I do so while Stateside as well so that's only partly out of respect for my hosts and partly because it just makes more sense to me.)

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From: Curtis Bridges (Apr 14 2015, at 09:28)

It might just be me, but when I see "NZ" my mind says, "New Zealand" not "en-zed" or "en-zee". I would compare it to state abbreviations -- when I see "NH", I think: "New Hampshire" not "en-a-ch".

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