Kerikeri's singles in sexy top 10

Bare feet are the height of sexiness, according to Kerikeri sawmill worker Willie

Kerikeri's singles rate themselves among the hottest in the nation, according to a survey.

International dating site EliteSingles analysed data from its New Zealand users to work out how they rated themselves on the sexiness scale.

The survey found Auckland had the sexiest singles in the country, though the survey did not delve into whether they really were sexy or simply more likely to talk up their own attractiveness.

Of the Northland towns included in the study, only Kerikeri made it on to the list of top 10 sexiest locations with a ninth place. Christchurch was ranked number two, Tauranga three, Wellington four and Hamilton five.

The Advocate tested the survey findings by asking punters at Kerikeri's Rocksalt bar, a popular hunting ground for singles, how their town rated on the sexiness scale.

Gillian, who did not want to give her last name, said sexiness was in the eye of the beholder.

She had partied in Auckland and did not believe people in the big city were sexier.

"They're quite up themselves, and that's not sexy," she said.

Willie, who is single at the moment, said for him bare feet were the height of sexiness.

"You wouldn't find a chick in Auckland walking around in bare feet," he said.

"Down there, they wear shoes."

Gillian agreed, saying the further north you travelled, the more laid-back the lifestyle and the sexier the people - though she had also lived in Whangarei and Kaitaia, and thought Kerikeri was sexier than either.

Sean said, for him, confidence played a large part in attractiveness. What had drawn him to his current partner, whom he had met at Rocksalt three years earlier, was the fact she was comfortable with who she was.

What might define sexiness somewhere else - such as high heels and a little dress - was not important in a down-to-earth, practical place such as Northland, he said.

EliteSingles is based in Germany, a nation not generally associated with sexiness.

The survey was based on anonymous data from the site's 20,500 New Zealand users.

If it's true that Kerikeri is one of the sexiest places in the country, that should benefit the town's menfolk in particular.

According to the 2013 Census, Kerikeri has just 66 single men for every 100 eligible women.

Only in Okaihau is the man-drought more severe, with 59 single men for every 100 single women.