Sorry for the long time between posts. With the earthquake(s), flooding, my mom visiting, tramping at Egmont National Park, and starting a new job, the last month has just flown by!
Having lived in New Zealand for 6 months at this point I can mostly understand the Kiwi accent and slang. Kiwis tend to talk really quickly and mash all of their words together, so it can be challenging when you first get here. They also really like to shorten words, so even the slang can be tricky at times. It has been an interesting experience to find myself in the role of the foreigner who is constantly asking what various Kiwi words/slang/phrases mean but also being asked to explain American slang/phrases to my coworkers. It is not a role that I ever thought that I would find myself in but I have to admit that I am kind of enjoying it. It's almost like learning a new language.
As a side note, in no way is the list below comprehensive. It is just a sampling of some of the phrases and words that we have come across so far. Enjoy!
General
Aotearoa - Maori for New Zealand, means the land of the long white cloud
Chur - Kiwi for thanks, sweet, etc. Shortened from "Cheers bro"
Ta - also means thanks
Bro - short for brother, term of friendship/endearment, pronounced as "brew"
Cheers - another one that generally means thanks, or a friendly acknowledgement
Togs - swim trucks
Jandals - flip flops
Bach - small holiday home, shortened from bachelor pad, pronounced "batch"
As - used to modify the preceding adjective (e.g. sweet as, flat as, mad as, etc.)
Yeah nah - means no but can be an indecisive phrase that is often followed by an explanation. I've had this phrase described to me as "I'd like to but I shouldn't."
Tiki Tour - means the long way round, kind of like taking the scenic route
Koha - donation, gift, or present
Tramping - hiking, backpacking, etc.
DOC - Department of Conservation, often referred to in conversations as "doc"
Domain - grassy reserve, open to the public
EFTPOS - debit (stands for electronic financial transaction point-of-sale)
Footie - Rugby, usually union rather than league (they have different rules)
Haere mai - welcome
Kia ora - hello or thank you
Kiwi vs. kiwi vs. kiwifruit - With a capital "K" means a New Zealander, with a lowercase "k" refers to the national bird, kiwifruit is the green or golden-fleshed fruit with hairy skin that we call kiwis in the US
Flash - cool, fancy
Kit - gear, stuff
OE - Overseas experience, usually a year spent abroad by Kiwis in their early twenties
Poms - folks from Britain
She'll be right - everything will work out fine

Torch - flashlight
Gumboots - rain boots, often called Wellies in the States or the UK
Suss - to investigate, sort something out
Arvo/avo - afternoon
Bush - forest, wilderness
Dummy - Pacifier, "Spit the dummy" means to throw a tantrum
Fortnight - two weeks
Good on ya - congratulations, good for you
Keen - interested, enthusiastic
Knackered - tired, beat
Plaster - bandaid
Wop-wops - somewhere really remote, in the middle of nowhere
Food and Drinks
Fizzy drink - think pop or soda
Dairy - what we'd call a convince store in the US, though these often specialize in milk products
Chilly Bin - cooler (this is possible my favorite Kiwi slang)
L&P - Lemon & Paeroa, a tasty fizzy drink that is "World Popular in New Zealand"
Pineapple lumps - chocolate covered lumps of pineapple flavored marshmallow-like confections
Lollies - general term for candy of any sort, often refers to assorted gummies
Kumara - sweet potato
Hangi - traditional Maori cooking method where meat and vegetables are steamed for hours in an earth oven
Takeaway - take out
Biscuits - cookies
Afghans - chocolate and cornflake dough cookies with cocoa icing
Anzac biscuit - oat and coconut cookies (delicious!), originally made for the ANZAC troops in WWI
Lamington - sponge cake with pink icing and desiccated coconut, often served as a cube
Pavlova - giant, soft meringue dessert that is covered in cream and fruit
Short black - Italian-style espresso

Long black - espresso diluted with hot water
Flat white - espresso topped with steamed milk
Hot dog vs. American hot dog - What we would call a corn dog in the US vs. self-explanatory
Tomato sauce - ketchup but with better spices
Hokey Pokey - vanilla ice cream with toffee bits
Jelly - jell-o
Banger - sausage
Cuppa - cup of tea or coffee
Bring a plate - potluck, bring a dish/item to share
Barbie - barbecue
Lemonade - lemon-lime soda (think 7Up or Sprite)
Scroggin - GORP, trail mix (this is a close second for my favorite Kiwi slang)
American phrases that I've had to explain
Pow-wow - comes from Native Americans so an uncommon phase here
Out of left field - baseball isn't a thing in NZ, so baseball analogies don't really work
Batting a thousand - same as above
Jumbotron - the person that I explained this one to referred to the Jumbotron as the "Big Screen."