Not sure if this confusion was due to U.S. pronunciation or NZ hearing problems. I was entertaining a NZ government official and his wife here in Hawaii; and as we drove along the Ala Wai canal I commented that the State Sport of Hawaii is canoe racing. There was a long silence from the back seat. Finally, the NZ lady asked, "Nude racing?"
Not sure what goes on down there in NZ that would have caused her to leap to that mondegreen.