When it was determined by Dutch explorers that New Zealand was not attached to the South American continent, they changed its name from Staten Landt (South America) to Nova Zeelandia (New Zealand), after the Dutch province of Zeeland. So that’s how we got New Zealand. Let’s get on with the “Top 27 most interesting New Zealand facts”
Top 27 Most Interesting New Zealand Facts Ever
1. New Zealand’s Ninety-Mile Beach is only 56 miles (90 km) long.
2. New Zealanders enjoy one of the world’s highest life expectancy rates—82.3 years for females and 78.3 years for males.
3. New Zealand is one of the world’s least populated nations with only 4.4 million residents.
4. New Zealanders love their cars. There are 2.5 million cars for 4 million people, giving them one of the highest ownership rates in the world.
5. There are no snakes in New Zealand.
6. New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow universal suffrage, allowing women to vote in 1893.
7. New Zealand has seven times as many sheep and three times as many cows as people.
8. In 2009, New Zealand topped the Global Peace Index earning the distinction of being the world’s most peaceful country
9. New Zealand is one of the most liberal nations in the world with same-sex marriage and prostitution (soliciting and brothel keeping) being legal. The driving age is 15, the consensual age for sex is 16, and the drinking age is 18.
10. New Zealand’s population would hit 11 million if the country would accept everyone who wanted to settle there, according to Gallup, which rated it third in its 2009 Potential Net Migration Index.
11. Situated on 178° latitude, Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the sun rise each day. It is only 308.4 miles (496.3 km) away from the International Date Line. This fortunate accident of geography was made much of on December 31, 1999, when the city led off worldwide television coverage welcoming in the new millennium.
12. The world’s steepest road is believed to be Baldwin Street, with a 38° gradient, in Dunedin, New Zealand.
13. The weta bug is a wingless insect found in New Zealand that has hardly changed in the last 190 million years. The harmless giant weta is the world’s heaviest insect at 2.5 ounces (71 g), almost as much as a thrush.
14. New Zealand has won more Olympic gold medals, per capita, than any other country
15. New Zealand’s eels live to 80 years old and breed only once, at the end of their life—and they swim all the way to Tonga to do it.
16. A local of Bluff, New Zealand, Jim Burke is the world record holder for opening the most oysters (1,719) in an hour. That equates to opening 28 oysters a minute for a solid hour.
17. New Zealand boasts over 400 golf courses, both public and private. That’s one for every 9,000 people, the highest number of golf courses per capita in the world.
18. New Zealand has 44 native reptile species. The tuatara is the largest, growing up to 2 feet (60 cm) long. It is believed to be the only surviving species of a family of reptiles that became extinct in other parts of the world 60 million years ago
19. According to witnesses, Richard Pearse—a Canterbury, New Zealand, farmer who began construction on his first aircraft in the late 19th century—flew his aircraft for about 0.6 miles (1 km) on March 31, 1903, months before the famous Wright Brothers made their first flight in America.
20. Cricket has been played in New Zealand for over 150 years and is New Zealand’s oldest organized sport. The country secured its first test win against the West Indies in 1956 and its first test series against Pakistan in 1969.
21. No place in New Zealand is more than 87 miles (140 km) from the ocean.
Which fact from Interesting New Zealand Facts amazed you? comment below.
Source – BoredBat
