Genesis 
So here's a random thing that I learnt yesterday. Compasses are region-specific and the needle will "stick" if a normal compass is used in the wrong region! Australia and New Zealand are in magnetic zone 5. If you want a #compass that works anywhere in the world, it needs to have a "global needle", which is built a bit differently to account for the problem of the magnet aiming directly through the earth to magnetic north and dragging the needle down with it.
Gentlethem Pirate@Genesis You posted this with remarkable timing. I’m flying to New Zealand (from North America) in about 48 hours, while there we are doing the Tongariro crossing and I was just about to dig out my compass and pack it. Guess I’ll skip that though!
@politemenace well that is good timing! Yours might well be fine if it has a global needle, but it would be very unfortunate if it didn't work well. Although you will probably be part of a crowd at Tongariro so might not have need of one anyway. Hope you have a wonderful experience!
@Genesis Thanks! It’s a cheap compass so I doubt it’s gotta global needle but I reckon our chances of getting lost and needing it are pretty low on that hike anyway.