I've decided to start an occasional series detailing some aspects of life in New Zealand that are uniquely 'Kiwi'. To kick off with, (pardon the pun) I'll start with bare feet.In the UK, if you go out of the house, you wear shoes. Bare feet are okay in your own home and garden and on the beach, but going barefoot anywhere else is not socially acceptable. If you do, people are likely to assume you are a vagrant or a nutter, or quite possibly both. Barefoot people get given dirty looks and a wide berth.
In New Zealand, on the other hand, going barefoot is neither a sign of abject poverty nor of being mentally unhinged, it's just another clothing option. Whatever the occasion, in any location, in any season, you'll see people of all ages and from all ethnic backgrounds walking around in bare feet.
When we first arrived in Auckland we were shocked to see whole families wandering around the streets of the central business district barefoot. I remember doing a double-take the first time I saw an elderly gent get out of the driver's seat of a car in bare feet. But plenty of people drive barefoot here. Iain has tried it, and reckons it's actually safer, because you can feel the pedals better, but I'm yet to be convinced.
At the school Iain taught at in Auckland, none of the kids had trainers as part of their PE kit. During games lessons and at break time they'd take their shoes off and play rugby and football barefoot. They'd then line up to wash their feet before they came inside.
Last week I saw a well-off elderly lady, hair newly set, wearing a smart blouse and skirt, pushing a shopping trolley through the car park in bare feet. And here's something else we've heard about but not yet seen for ourselves: apparently quite a few hikers go rambling barefoot, too. Ouch!
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