Funny thing is that when Steemit started in 2016 Kiwis were all over it - way more than you might expect for a population of 5 million.

By the start of 2017 there were about 50 active Kiwis posting (early adopters) but by 2019 they had nearly all quit, and now there are less than 10.

And there haven't been any NZ scenic posts for years really - I did a few myself like this one from back in 2016:

https://steemit.com/travel/@sift666/the-south-island-of-new-zealand

Looking back at that post from four years ago I'm struck by how much better my posts were back then, and also how much better the payouts were back in the early days!

And that is the real reason so many people gave up - watching both the quality and payouts go downhill for so long was disheartening.

Since the Hive hardfork I've regained some sense of optimism again, and am becoming more active and more positive about this blockchain.