Tourists are often shocked by just how much we go barefoot in this part of the world – in the street, in the supermarket, and in cafes.
But what about the cinema?
A Scottish tourist snapped a picture of a movie watcher with their bare feet out and took to a New Zealand subreddit to ask what was going on.
They said the couple were putting their feet on the chairs in front of them, which were empty.
“It was odd seeing people walking around a city barefoot but I respect it, it’s comfy, let the dogs out y’know,” the Scot wrote. “I’m sure it’s good for the auld foot form and health.
“But this seemed mad to me, the next poor soul to sit in the seat in front is going to have the remnants of these twos pong wafting about their heads for 120 minutes of run time.
“If this was Glasgow someone would have hurled a bottle of coke/ stolen iPhone at the back of his head before his foot had left his shoe. Is this just a cultural difference?”
Locals were quick to inform the traveler that getting around barefoot was quite common in summer, but putting said feet on the headrests of public chairs was not widely accepted.
“Putting feet on headrests – shoes or no shoes – is crap behavior,” one wrote.
“The feet on the headrest thing is some nasty s–t. Barefoot outside? Super common during summer here,” another added.
“If I’m wearing sandals at the movies I’ll usually take them off. I won’t, however, put them on the headrest in front of me,” one Kiwi explained.
“Welcome. No, it is not normal. It is poor behavior,” confirmed a fourth.
Some described the act as “disgusting”, “gross” and “rude.”
As for walking around bare feet, Kiwis encouraged the Scot to give it a try.
“My American family came to NZ and thought that the bare feet thing was weird too. It is very normal here in NZ!” one said.
“I went the other way (South Africa to Florida before coming to NZ) and the first time I went out in public barefoot I had people running up to me in shock telling me how dangerous it was,” wrote someone else.
“My mate was over in Scotland when he was a kid in summer, running around in bare feet. An elderly lady stopped her car and gave him £10 ($12) to buy some shoes, though he was poor. His dad was an airline pilot,” a third person shared.