'I need a translator' - Heidi Klum cracks joke about Kiwi accent as she gets intimate with NZ

Heidi Klum has less than 24 hours left in New Zealand, so where should she go?

The supermodel, who is visiting New Zealand for the first time, canvassed Kiwis for suggestions as she unveiled her new lingerie collection at Auckland's SkyCity tonight.

Klum treated around 150 VIP guests to an exclusive runway show of her new range before she took part in a special Q&A.

She asked her audience where she should visit during the remainder of her short visit.

Someone shouted Piha, which led to a misunderstanding.

"Is it a beer?" she asked. After she was told it was a beach, she joked: "Oh God, I need a translator."

Klum's whirlwind trip sees her on a tight schedule. She is due to jet out of Auckland tomorrow evening but it won't be her last visit to New Zealand. It's understood her contract with the Kiwi company requires her to return to New Zealand every 18 months, and she said tonight she wanted to come back with her children.

As she flew to Auckland from Australia this morning, she tweeted a picture of herself reading the New Zealand Herald:

Coming to you next New Zealand with @hkintimates !! It's my first visit and I'm so excited! pic.twitter.com/5JhaydewC0

— Heidi Klum (@heidiklum) January 28, 2015

Klum has replaced Elle Macpherson as the face and creative director of Bendon's Intimates range.

She revealed that she had emailed Macpherson soon after she took on the role, and that far from there being bad blood between the two - as had been rumoured - she saw Macpherson as role model.

See Heidi's best fashion moments

Image 1 of 10: Red hot in Atelier Versace - one of her favourite labels - at the Golden Globe Awards. Picture / AP Images

"I did send her an email, it's just personal stuff between her and I but it's all positive," she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

"It's amazing what she has done. Especially when you're starting as a model and then you become a businesswoman. It doesn't happen for a lot of models."

Earlier this week, Klum told Viva she planned to be heavily involved in the design process and bring her design aesthetic to the table.

"I love a challenge and I want to make this work. I want to make it better than it was," she said emphatically. "I want to make it special and make it mine."