They Are a Weird Mob

Okay,nobody will get this subtle allusion : "They Are a Weird Mob" is the title of an australian film of the 1970s that is famous within Australia; it was promoted in accordance with the tourist industry (for whatever reason; the title song is literally "It's a man's world baby" but maybe they only wanted men to come..). The post-movie talkers pointed out that exactly the same thing is happening with the current "Australia" (again, for whatever reason, it's an awful movie).
where was I ? OH yes, the weirdness of things. Firstly, in New Zealand they shut down cafes and espresso machines (only those!) around 4pm on a regular basis! - they made me drink tea instead!
Then, the sushi here - my daily treat, especially auckland is full of Japanese places - does not come in the handy sausage-style rolls like in Australia, but in thick-slices pieces which are inedible without creating a mess. A bit the same concept as in the giant burgers / sandwiches: apparently, the idea is the customers should dislocate their jaws; otherwise it's just not enough.
Then, I bought conditioner and got free condoms with it, handily hidden. (I was gonna go back and check whether or not they come only the conditioner for curly hair...)
Also, the Kiwis do actually say things like "Ta!" on a fairly regular basis and in all earnesty.
I am a bit frightened about the scale of things. Auckland, biggest city and hyped as busy metropolis, is a cozy and clearly arranged, if not to say small, town. B
Now I'm in smelly rotorua, looking at sulphur lakes, washing powder-ignited geysirs, and volcano craters and mudbaths... Merry Christmas everyone!