I have to sound them out just like Amiri

Many towns and landmarks in New Zealand have native names.  They almost sound cartoonish to me at first, when they're pronounced fast.  It's actually rather straightforward to sound them out, though.  Here are the rules:

• Every letter is pronounced
• Exceptions (because Kiwi is a lazy-mouth accent)
• au = prounounced like 'oh'
• ao = pronounced like 'ow'
• ei= pronounced like 'ay'
• wh= pronounced like an 'f' sound
• The accent is usually on the first syllable

And here are some of the towns in our vicinity.  Have fun with them!

• Pukekohe
• Papakura
• Wanganui
• Te Papapa
• Manurewa
• Takanini
• Waitakere
• Remuera
• Manukau
• Whangarei
• Papatoetoe (my personal favorite, it makes me smile when I hear the announcements over the loudspeaker in the train station)