Cook Island/NZ particulars, slang, sayings, and brief culture



The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and NZ coins are used in Cook Islands with Cook Islands having some of their own coins as well. You will see the gold coins more often as most all prices are whole dollars and do not contain tax. The Tangaroa shown in the center is god of the sea and fertility, the irony here is the visible phallic symbol (also shown on the gold coin) for an otherwise modest country. Some sexual internet searches blocked, one lingerie store on the whole island, and no strip clubs.. or whorehouses for that matter. It is frowned upon to walk down the street in bikini tops and forbidden to wear them into any establishments out of respect for the mamas, seen below.

“Mamas” protect the culture and tradition of the island nations including the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tonga, Tokelau, Kiribati, Fiji and Niue, and are always to be respected. You will NEVER see them without an ‘Ei or flower crown, even for a quick a trip to the store. At one time ALL the women on the island would have worn the ‘Ei at all times.



“Rollie’s” or rolled tobacco cigarettes are commonplace on the island, and nearly everyone smokes. At the bar or chillin on the patio you will always see packs of tobacco, filters, and papers, with smokers rolling one at their leisure when ready for a cigarette. Water is not safe to drink from the tap but is very easy to obtain as there are free filling stations around the island where you can refill you water bottles.



The majority of people you see are Kiwis (New Zealanders), Mauri (locals) and some Filipinos. It was a bit of a culture shock to see so many fair skinned people as Houston is such a melting pot of so many ethnicities. From left to right, Kiwi girls and an Australian (did the overalls give it away, lol) my Mauri landlord Ruby and I, and my kiwi friend Lari. I gave her an American dollar and you would have thought I gave her Willy Wonkas golden ticket. Most people are extremely shocked to know I came all the way from Texas but of course are very welcoming. Here are a few terms I have learned from the combo of all these people that I find particularly amusing.
- Keen = like “are you keen to have a drink?”
- Get on the piss = get drunk “I have a whole fridge full of piss”
- Can’t be fucked = can’t be bothered
- ____ as = emphasis on prior word “drunk as, keen as, tired as” with no comparison
- Neck minute = next thing you know
- Jandals = flip flops
- I reckon = I believe (this ones pretty comical as most Houstonians don’t use this)
- Knock off = finish (usually getting off work)
- Lei lei = lady boy (if a family does not conceive any daughters they will raise one of their sons as female, they will do ‘female work’ around the house, wear make up, and even use the women’s restroom)
- Skull = chug (a drink) “I skulled my drink at the last bar”
- Knackered = worn out
- Toe•mah•toe sauce = ketchup
- Fesh = fish
- Fuckin oath = truth
- Heaps = lots
I’m sure many more to come !!