New Zealand is one of South Africa’s biggest rugby rivals, but there’s much more to this tiny island nation that’s located at the edge of the Pacific ocean.
It’s definitely one of the countries that I want to visit one day despite the fact that it will take me more than 22 hours by airplane to get there from South Africa.
Here are 16 Interesting facts about New Zealand you may not know
1. The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642. Tasman named this place ‘Nieuw Zeeland’ (after the Netherlands province of Zeeland). No Europeans returned here until British explorer James Cook’s voyage of 1768–71. It was the last major landmass to be populated (with the exception of the polar regions).
2. The country has a strong hold on the international trade in sheep meat. There are presently around 4.5 sheep to every 1 human in New Zealand. Today an estimated 5.3 million people and 23.6 million sheep live in the country.
3. The whole of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in New Zealand. The director of the films, Peter Jackson, was born in New Zealand. Over 150 locations across the country were used during filming.
4. It’s a fact that at 41.2 degrees South, Wellington (the capital city of New Zealand with a population of +/- 439,000) is the most Southernly capital city on the planet. Auckland is the largest city in the country with a population of 1.7 million.
5. The Electoral Act 1893 granted all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections (universal male suffrage was established earlier in 1879), making NZ the first self-governing country in the world to introduce women’s suffrage.
6. King Charles III is officially King of New Zealand. He is represented in the country by a Governor General, who ratifies all laws put before him or her by the elected parliament of New Zealand.
7. It’s one of only three countries that have two official (and of equal standing) national Anthems. The first is God Save the King (the English National Anthem) and the other is God Defend New Zealand. The other two countries with two anthems are Denmark and Canada which both have a Royal Anthem and a State anthem.
8. It was the first country to have its three top positions of power held simultaneously by women: The Prime Minister (Helen Clark), the Governor General (Dame Silvia Cartwright), and the Chief Justice (Sian Elias).
9. It’s a fairly liberal nation with homosexual marriage being legal and prostitution, soliciting, and brothel keeping being legal. The driving age is 16, the consensual sex age is 16, and the drinking age is 18 (though minors accompanied by adults are allowed alcohol in restaurants).
10. Sir Edmund Hillary (the first man to reach the peak of Mount Everest in the Himalayas) was born in Auckland, New Zealand and his face is on the country’s $5 bill.
11. A hill in Hawke’s Bay holds the Guinness World Record for the longest place name: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters!). It translates to “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the slider, land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.”
12. Before humans arrived, New Zealand had zero native land mammals except for two species of small bats. Because there were no mammalian predators, native birds evolved to fill ecological roles on the ground – leading to unique flightless species like the Kiwi, Kakapo, and the extinct giant Moa.
13. Located at the northern tip of the North Island, Ninety Mile Beach is legally classified as a public highway. Vehicles can drive directly along the sand (though despite its name, it is actually about 55 miles / 88 km long).
14. New Zealand is home to the Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot species. Known for their extreme intelligence, curiosity, and cheeky nature, Keas are famous for picking rubber seals off car doors and windshield wipers in the Southern Alps.
15. Blue Lake (Rotomairewhenua), located in Nelson Lakes National Park, holds the official record for the clearest natural freshwater in the world. Underwater visibility reaches up to 80 metres (260 feet), making its optical clarity almost identical to distilled water.
16. New Zealand has no native land snakes, and it is strictly illegal to import or possess them. It shares this rare snake-free status with only a handful of places on Earth, including Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica.
Well, there you have it, 16 interesting facts you might not have known about New Zealand.
I’m sure that there’s something I’ve left out. If you have anything to add, please comment on this post.
Watch this space for regular updates in the Facts category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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