Ugh, I lived in Dunedin for a year, and it's the worst place I've cycled by a considerable margin. Much worse than e.g. Ireland or England, which also isn't exactly bicycle-friendly. The infrastructure isn't even half-bad, but the behaviour of motorists was just the worst. Kiwis are like that old Goofy cartoon where he's all nice and friendly until he gets in his car, after which he becomes a raging maniac.

So yeah, with "New Zealand" as context a device like that makes more sense.