As 2023 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the moments, milestones and mysteries that captured Kiwi’s attention this year. 

We tried to make sense of historic events, both on our shores and further afield. We grappled with cyclones and flooding, elected a new Government and hosted the world’s women’s soccer teams. We mourned the loss of the universally funny Matthew Perry, asked questions about the resignation of Jacinda Ardern and marvelled at the spectacle of Posie Parker. And we continue to try to make sense of the war in Israel and Gaza. 

Yet among all of this there were moments of levity. Barbie hit our screens, we found a new daily challenge in Connections and yorkshire puddings graced our dinner plates. 

Google’s Year in Search also allows us to reflect on the year through the lens of the questions we asked. Why is there an egg shortage? How do you say Happy Matariki? How exactly do you cook frankfurters? 

Let’s take a look at some key themes from our searches in Aotearoa this year:

Sports Above All Else

We’ve proven time and again that we’re a nation of sports-mad people and this year is no exception. We were so spoiled with sports games, events and tournaments that it's a wonder we got anything else done. We hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup, made it all the way to the finals of the men’s Rugby World Cup and created a cultural movement around “Up the Wahs!”. The list of sporting heroes reflects the breadth of our sporting prowess, with golf, UFC, motorsports, cricket, soccer, rugby and league all represented in our top trending Kiwis.

How’s the weather?

As we wait patiently for the summer we deserve to begin, it is clear that the weather has occupied more than just the thoughts of many Kiwis this year. With unprecedented becoming the most common way to describe weather events, we bore the brunt of flooding, atmospheric rivers and cyclones unlike anything we’ve seen before. Tools like Geonet, Windy and Rain Radar helped us to understand these weather patterns, while Skyscanner assisted in planning our escape. The DIY-minded looked to make the most of the sunshine with solar panels, while star gazers wondered how to find matariki.

Civic Duty

We close out this year with a new Government and a new Monarch. The latter had us whipping up Coronation quiche and chicken. We started this year wondering why Jacinda Ardern decided to resign, and we put our mettle to the census and elections of both the human and avian kind. Congratulations again to the Pūtekeke! With politicians from across the political spectrum in our trending searches, as well as questions on how to register and vote, we clearly took our civic duties seriously this year.

Culinary Creativity and Home Comforts

Our top trending culinary delights show we like to branch out creatively, but are also creatures of comfort. Yorkshire pudding took the top savoury spot, while teriyaki sauce, crayfish and frankfurters all featured on menus around the country. Dishes like fry bread, steak and lamb chops show we’re still keen to get the basics right. Our sweet tooth cravings had us baking cookies, afghans and, perhaps curiously, orange cake. 

Check out the full trending Search data for New Zealand in 2023:

News

1. Cyclone Gabrielle

2. Matthew Perry

3. Election Results

4. Census 2023

5. Auckland Airport

6. Auckland Flooding

7. Jacinda Ardern

8. War in Israel and Gaza

9. Auckland Shooting

10. Submarine Missing

Sporting Events

1. Rugby World Cup

2. FIFA World Cup

3. NRL Ladder

4. Cricket World Cup

5. Warriors vs Broncos

6. All Blacks vs Ireland

7. ASB Classic

8. Ashes

9. All Blacks vs France

10. Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury

Sports Teams

1. Warriors

2. All Blacks

3. Black Caps

4. Inter Miami

5. Lakers

6. Football Ferns

7. Wrexham

8. Chiefs

9. Breakers

10. Manchester City

Loss

1. Matthew Perry

2. Sinead O'Conner

3. Jock Zonfrillo

4. Ken Block

5. Tina Turner

6. Nicola Bulley

7. Yanfei Bao

8. Cal Wilson

9. Angus Cloud

10. Lance Reddick

Global Figures

1. Posie Parker

2. Andrew Tate

3. Taylor Swift

4. David Beckham

5. Harry Styles

6. Prince Harry

7. Margot Robbie

8. Jeremy Renner

9. Elton John

10. Ed Sheeran

Notable New Zealanders

1. Ryan Fox

2. Israel Adesanya

3. Liam Lawson

4. Lydia Ko

5. Dai Henwood

6. Shaun Johnson

7. Rachin Ravindra

8. Simon Barnett

9. Sam Whitelock

10. Michael Boxall

New Zealand Politicians

1. Jacinda Ardern

2. Chris Hipkins

3. Kiri Allen

4. Christopher Luxon

5. Winston Peters

6. David Seymour

7. Carmel Sepuloni

8. Wayne Browne

9. Chloe Swarbrick

10. Marama Davidson

Movies

1. Oppenheimer

2. Barbie

3. Avatar

4. Everything Everywhere All At Once

5. Guardians of the Galaxy

6. John Wick 4

7. The Menu

8. Sound of Freedom

9. Puss in Boots

10. Glass Onion

Series

1. The Last of Us

2. Ginny & Georgia

3. The Night Agent

4. Daisy Jones & The Six

5. Wednesday

6. Queen Charlotte

7. Succession

8. Beef

9. White Lotus

10. The Idol

Definitions

1. Culvert

2. Cis White Male

3. Wan

4. Woman

5. Proclaim

6. Staid

7. Credo

8. Snafu

9. Contempt

10. Misogyny

Sweet Recipes

1. Cookie

2. Scone

3. Afghan

4. Icing

5. Mug Cake

6. Red Velvet Cake

7. Pancakes

8. Muffin

9. Orange Cake

10. Pikelets

Savoury Recipes

1. Yorkshire Pudding

2. Focaccia

3. Coronation Quiche

4. Coronation Chicken

5. Teriyaki Sauce

6. Fry Bread

7. Pulled Pork

8. Bagel

9. Big Mac Sauce

10. Chicken Nibbles

How To

1. How to vote

2. How to lock facebook profile

3. How to watch rugby world cup

4. How to deactivate facebook

5. How to solve a rubik's cube

6. How to get rid of my ai on snapchat

7. How to say happy Matariki

8. How to register to vote

9. How to watch women's world cup

10. How to find Matariki

What is...?

1. What is Threads?

2. What is happening in Israel?

3. What is Hamas?

4. What is a blue moon?

5. What is ALS?

6. What is the willow project?

7. What is Oppenheimer about?

8. What is ChatGPT?

9. What is a culvert?

10. What is Matariki day?

Why

1. Why is Israel and Gaza fighting?

2. Why is Book Depository closing?

3. Why were chainsaws invented?

4. Why is there an egg shortage

5. Why did hamas invade israel

6. Why was the interislander ferry Kaitaki in the news last week?

7. Why did Jacinda Ardern retire

8. Why is China upset with Japan?

9. Why were some roads closed and the public asked to avoid an area in central auckland last week?

10. Why is it called a blue moon

D.I.Y

1. Headboard

2. Chicken Coop

3. Lash Extensions

4. Easy Halloween Costumes

5. Chocolate Gift Box Ideas

6. Mother's Day Gifts

7. Solar Panels

8. Dog Wash

9. Fly Screen

10. Advent Calendar

How to Cook

1. How to cook pasta

2. How to cook steak

3. How to cook lamb chops

4. How to cook brown rice

5. How to cook tofu

6. How to cook choko

7. How to cook rhubarb

8. How to cook salmon

9. How to cook crayfish

10. How to cook frankfurters