15 Fun Facts about New Zealand
New Zealand is well-known as a beautiful country, the home of the Lord of the Rings films and famous for the national rugby team the All Blacks. But there are plenty of other interesting things that many people do not know about Aotearoa. We've done some research and compiled a list of the 15 most interesting facts about New Zealand.
View from a Hobbbit Hole, Hobbiton Movie Set Tour
1. New Zealand was the last country in the world to be inhabited by humans. Humans settled here just 750 years ago.
2. Samoa is officially the first country in the world to start the new day. However, due to the curvature of the Earth, the city of Gisborne is the first to see the sunrise!
3. New Zealand has two national anthems - God Defend New Zealand and God Save The Queen. We’re one of only two nations in the world to have more than one, the other being Denmark.
4. The Blue Lake, also known as ‘Rotomairewhenua’ which means ‘Land of Peaceful Waters’ in the Nelson Lakes National Park, currently holds the record for having the clearest waters in the world with a visibility range of up to 80 metres!
5. The rare and endangered Kea is the world’s only alpine parrot. They are a very bright, mischievous, and curious bird, well-known for assaulting the rubber seals and windshield wipers of cars and often found around the Milford Sound.
Kea Bird in Flight
6. New Zealand was the first self-governing country to allow all adult women the right to vote in 1893. The second was Finland in 1906 thirteen years later.
7. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu – roughly translated to English meaning "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his kōauau (flute) to his loved one" is the longest place name found in any English-speaking country and located in southern Hawke's Bay.
8. As of 2022, sheep still outnumber people 5 to 1. In 1982 New Zealand’s sheep population peaked at 70 million, which meant there were 22 sheep to every New Zealander!
9. The steepest street in the world is Baldwin Street, located in Dunedin, with a gradient of 34.8%. Baldwin street previously held the Guinness Book of World Records title for over a decade until June 2019, when the record was awarded to Ffordd Pen Llech, in Harlech, Wales. The decision to reinstate the previous record holder was reached following an extensive review of an appeal.
10. Wellington is the southernmost capital in the entire world, followed by Canberra, the capital of Australia.
New Zealand Parliament Buildings, also known as the Beehive, Wellington
11. The first commercial bungee jump in the world was created in 1988 by AJ Hackett on the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown.
12. While in New Zealand you’ll never be more than 128 kilometres from the coastline.
13. Auckland’s Sky Tower is still the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere at the height of 328m.
14. New Zealand is home to three world heritage sites and 13 national parks. More than 10,000 protected areas occupy nearly a third of the nation, protecting breath-taking beauty, vital ecosystems, and historic sites.
15. New Zealand is made up of around 600 islands. Everyone knows the North and South Island, but there is also Waiheke Island, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands. Many of the 600 islands are incredibly small, in the middle of a lake or even sunken!