The culture of New-Zealand can be considered as a mix of different cultures.

Maori culture:

 Maori were the first people to settle here, around the 14^th century. They are originally from the Polynesian islands. They have their own mythology based on heroes and gods. Their life-style is particularly connected to the land and the sea. Communal living, sharing and living off the land are strong traditional values.

They express themselves through art and skills such as:

Haka: traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge. It is currently done before Rugby games.

 ta moko: a kind of tattoo but rather than being piercing the skin , it is carved into it

 waiata: this is the traditional music. It usually corresponds to folk music style integrated with poetry and dance.

Poi: a kind of performance art involving swinging tethered weights through a variety of rhythmical and geometric patterns. 

Western culture:

As NZ was colonized in the 19^th century by the British, the culture of NZ is mostly a mix of cultures. Moreover there ishigh cultural diversity as they are also a lot of Asian people who settle in New Zealand.

That is why there are not a lot of local specialties. The restaurants in Wellington for example are from all around the world, with maybe more from Asia.

The café culture is quite big here. If you ask people where  is a great place to go in Wellington, they will first tell you about the museums of course but usually they also talk about their cafés. You can find a wide range of different coffees or hot chocolates usually served with marshmallows.

There is also a famous dessert I should try which is the pavlova, a meringue-based dessert.

 To some people a mix of cultures can be considered as no culture at all, so the government really tries to promote Maori culture as the local one.