The top 10 times Oprah, Reese and Mindy loved us

Like an ever-so-slightly-needy girlfriend or boyfriend, New Zealand as a nation goes a bit gaga when we discover an international celebrity has something kind to say about this place we call home.

The big-name stars of Disney flick A Wrinkle In Time - Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling - are the latest celebs to heap praise on New Zealand while filming in the South Island for a couple of weeks.

And Kiwis are lapping it up. Here are 10 times those stars made us squeal in delight: "You like us! You really like us!"

1. The time they took a chance on our stream water

Early on in her visit to New Zealand, Mindy Kaling enthused about being by a "legit stream".

"They say that the water is so clean in New Zealand that you can drink from the streams, so I thought I would try," she told her social media followers in a short video.

After a quick slurp, she declared: "Okay, New Zealand, that is some elegant stream water."

Kaling is still fighting fit to our knowledge, so we're fairly confident that stream didn't have high levels of E.Coli or any dead wildlife floating in it further upstream.

Success!

2. The time they had a better Sunday than you

Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon was as casual as you like at the Amisfield Winery near Queenstown last weekend.

Posing amongst the vines with wine glass in hand, Witherspoon told her fans: "Happy Sunday! Soaking up the sun in gorgeous New Zealand. Hope you are having a beautiful day!"

Well, we weren't jealous. At all.

3. The time the scenery had Oprah kicking up her heels 

Oprah Winfrey hasn't been as prolific on social media as her younger co-stars while filming in Otago, but she has still lavished the region with compliments.

In one photo posing happily next to Lake Hawea, Winfrey told her fans: "This is what I see on the ride to work every morning. Crystal blue Lake Hawea. #ilovenewzealand."

That’s right, she hashtagged she loved us. That's real emotion, people!
 

4. and 5. The time we bowled them over with cookies

Kaling has used some of her downtime between filming to familiarise herself with the nation's biscuits.

And she's liked what she's found.

Last week she joked that rather than being on NZ time, she was really on Cookie Time.

But that wasn’t the only instance where Kaling was seduced by our biscuits.

She also hit a local supermarket and shared her findings with her Instagram followers.

"The cookie aisle in other countries is basically why I have a passport," she wrote.
 

6. The time the hills had them jumping for joy

While leaping into the air at Mt Creighton, with the countryside looking like a postcard in the background, Witherspoon said she "couldn’t be more excited to discover New Zealand" with Kaling.

She later posted another photo to Instagram asking, "New Zealand, why are you so magical?"

Oh, stop it! (Please don't.)

7. The time NZ got better and better at every turn

First, Winfrey declared that "around every corner, [there’s] yet another breath-taking view".

Not to be outdone, Witherspoon got in on that action, proclaiming: "Every corner I turn, it just keeps getting prettier."

8. The time NZ's horses swept them off their feet

Even the equine members of New Zealand's family have been adored by the famous visitors. (We're presuming they're Kiwi horses, anyway.)

Witherspoon is obviously a fan of our four-legged friends, declaring one horse her "new BF" before asking if she could keep another.

But could those horses look less excited? Do they not know they have Elle Woods draped over them?

9. The time Arrowtown had them grinning from ear to ear

Witherspoon was spotted beaming in Arrowtown over the weekend, with her young co-star Storm Reid declaring it "the cutest little town" as they panned for gold, shopped and ate ice-cream.

10. The time they hit the 'Hot Tub Wine Machine'

With some of the cast and crew embarking on a ladies' night out, Kaling and makeup artist Cindy Williams had everyone crying with envy as they sipped wine in a tub with a view like no other.

Let's hope such adventures have the stars keen to grace our shores (and our hot tubs) again in the near future.

Because we really, really like all this attention.

- Spy