New Zealand is one of the most gorgeous countries on earth, and even with its modest size, it packs a lot of history, culture, and attractions for us to experience.
New Zealand is known for its stunning national parks, dynamic Māori culture, incredible hiking trails, and world-class skiing and surfing.
I’ve raved post after post about New Zealand, I still don’t feel like I’m done writing about it. So, I’d like to add one more fun post with quirky and fun facts about New Zealand, one of the most diverse and intensely beautiful destinations.
I’m sure some of these will surprise you because they seem almost impossible, but as you’ll see, there’s more to New Zealand than meets the eye!
Fun Facts About New Zealand:
1. Sheep Rule!
There are 5 sheep per person in New Zealand, making it the highest ratio in the world.
At the time, there are 5.1 million New Zealanders scattered across 268,021 sq km, which means there are over 26 million sheep in New Zealand!
What’s even more incredible is that New Zealand is bigger than the UK, yet it has one-fourteenth of its human population.
2. The Elvish Weather
New Zealand broadcasted the first weather report in Elvish language in 2012. Of course they would; they are home to the Lord of the Rings movies! You can see it here.
3. For the Love of Golf
With more than 400, New Zealand has more golf courses per capita than anywhere else in the world.
4. Let’s Bungee!
New Zealand is famous for its adrenaline adventures, especially bungee jumping! The first commercial bungee jump was made by AJ Hackett on the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown back in 1988.
AJ Hackett got inspired by the cultural “bungee” jumps performed in Vanuatu with just tree vines tied to their feet.
5. The “Fake” Kiwi
The kiwi fruit is not native to New Zealand. It’s actually from China, but it was named after the kiwi bird.
6. Such Clear Water
The clearest lake in the world is Nelson’s Blue Lake, with a visibility of up to 80 meters deep.
7. Don’t go Nuclear!
There is a law that states every high school in New Zealand may hold one pound of uranium and one pound of thorium, for conducting nuclear experiments. But, they will be fined $1,000,000 should there be a nuclear explosion.
8. Southernmost Capital
Wellington is the southernmost capital in the world.
9. First in Women’s Rights
New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893.
10. Home of the Bats
Bats are the only native land mammals in the country. The rest were introduced by Maoris and Europeans.
11. Very Small Human Population Percentage
One of the most interesting facts about New Zealand is that of all the population in the country, only 5% is human. The rest are animals, making it the highest animal to humans ratio in the world.
12. Steepest Residential Street
The steepest residential street in the world is called Baldwin Street and is located in Dunedin. It has a gradient of 38 degrees.
13. 9th Longest Coastline
For such a small looking country, New Zealand has the 9th longest coastline in the world, with a length of 15,134 km.
14. Close to Antarctica
New Zealand is the 3rd closest country to Antarctica, only after Chile and Argentina.
15. Always Close Enough to the Sea
No matter where you are in New Zealand, you’ll never be more than 128 km from the seaside.
16. More Scottish Pipes?
There are more Scottish piping bands per capita in New Zealand than in Scotland.
17. Tallest Man-made Structure in the Southern Hemisphere
Auckland has the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere (as of 2014). It is the Sky Tower with a height of 328m.
18. The Flightless Bird
The Kiwi, which is a little flightless bird native to New Zealand, lays eggs that are about 20% of the mother’s body. Kiwi eggs are six times as big as normal for a bird of its size.
19. Auckland is Full of Volcanoes
There are 50 volcanic cones in and around Auckland. But don’t worry, most of them are extinct. The most prominent one is Mount Rangitoto, which can be seen from the harbor.
20. Longest Name in Any English Speaking Country
The 85 characters long Maori name for a hill in Hawke’s Bay is the longest place-name found in any English-speaking country.
It is, Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturipukakapikimaungah-oronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which roughly translates, “the place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as the land-eater, played his nose flute to his loved ones”.
21. Jedi Religion
On the 2001 New Zealand census, 53,715 people listed their religion as “Jedi.” That was more than the amount of Buddhists and Hindus in the country. But, by 2006, the “religion” declined to about 20,000.
22. An Official Wizard
In 1990, New Zealand became the first country in the modern world to appoint an Official National Wizard.
23. Australian Kiwis?
New Zealand is listed as a state of Australia in the Australian constitution and can join the Australian Confederation if they choose to.
24. Official Sign Language
Sign Language is one of the two official languages of New Zealand, with Te reo Maori being the second one. English is often considered an official language, but it is just the predominant language in the country, making it a de facto official language.
25. Destructive Kea
The kea, a bird native to New Zealand, is known for pulling windscreen wipers off cars and eating the strips of rubber from windows. In fact, many tourists suffer damage on their car rentals thanks to this little bird.
26. Least Corrupt Nation in the World
According to the Corruptions Perception Index, New Zealand is the least corrupt nation in the world (tied with Denmark).
27. No Snakes!
There are no snakes in New Zealand. None.
28. Conquering Everest
Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb to Everest Summit, is originally from New Zealand.
29. Land of the Long White Cloud
New Zealand’s name in Maori is Aotearoa, which means ‘land of the long white cloud.’
30. A Huge National Park
About one-third of the country is protected national parks.
31. Lord of the Rings Minister
The filming of the Lord of the Rings movies pumped about $200,000,000 into the country’s economy. The New Zealand government even created a Minister for Lord of the Rings to ensure the most money could be made from the films.
32. Powerful Women
In 2006, the Queen, the Governor-General, the PM, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice were all women; making New Zealand the only country in the world (to date) where all the highest positions have been simultaneously held by women.
33. New Zealand = LOTR
All but one scene of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) films were shot in New Zealand, practically making the movies a 12-hour-long infomercial for the country’s landscapes. (FYI, I share here which scene is that one)
34. The New Zealand All Blacks are the Most Successful Team in Sports History
This New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team is by far the most consistently successful sports team of the past century. Since 1903, the All Blacks have had a 77 percent winning record in test match rugby and is the only international men’s side to have secured more wins than losses against every opponent, other than Rhodesia in 1949 (Not tests).
Since the introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in 2003, New Zealand has held the number-one ranking longer than all other teams combined.
35. Sometimes, New Zealand is the First Country to See the Sunrise
During New Zealand’s spring and summer months, it gets to be the first country to see the sunrise.
The first inhabited island to receive the sun is Pitt Island, which is part of New Zealand’s Chatham Islands. But the first mainland city to welcome the sun is Gisborne.
On the other hand, during the fall and winter months, Samoa gets to be the first one to see the sunrise.
But here’s another fun fact, while New Zealand or Samoa might be the first countries to see a sunrise, they are not the first inhabited place to see the sun every day.
During the Southern Hemisphere summer, the sun never sets in Antarctica, so technically, it is the first place to see the sun (though not a sunrise).
Isn’t New Zealand so interesting and beautiful? What other facts do you know about the country? Share them here!
Lastly, if you’re looking to visit New Zealand soon, take advantage of Booking.com hotel deals. It is my go-to site when looking for budget-friendly accommodation.
Also, I recommend checking out Viator’s budget-friendly tours that will show you even more of the country’s uniqueness.
Do you know any other quirky and fun New Zealand facts? Share them below!
Image 4 from Flickr Creative Commons. Image 3 from Wikipedia Commons. Image 5 from newzealand.com.
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This really is awesome. Makes me proud to be a Kiwi, even if some of the points are a little strange!
Strange facts or not, I too would be a proud Kiwi! You have such a beautiful country!!
like the jedi religion. thats my favorite religion
English is not an official nz language!!! Why do so many websites have this
Cool facts! Didn’t know most of them! I want to witness the beauty of that clearest lake…
Thanks, Renuka! Don’t just experience the lake, experience all of New Zealand’s nature! It’s so beautiful!
My home town is nelson and I can tell you that the blue lake is protected. You can’t view it. But nearby is waikaropupu springs (commonly known to locals as pupu springs) which was a former clear water record holder. While you are there check out Abel Tasman national park by kayak! Wonderful!
Thanks for the tip, Mike! I didn’t get to go to Abel Tasman, but I heard a lot about it and how beautiful it is.
I don’t believe Blue Lake is protected. It is at the top of the West branch of the Sabine River two days walk inside Nelson Lakes National Park. There’s a DOC hut adjacent. See https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/nelson-lakes-national-park/things-to-do/huts/blue-lake-hut/
These facts show the beauty of New Zealand.
They definitely do.
That bungee jump at Kawarau Bridge was the first one I ever did — some great memories.
Such a good place to do your first bungee. The place that started it all!
New zealand the most beautiful country in the world. Vibrant culture, friendly natured people, mesmerizing landscapes,wide open spaces,world famous golf courses, green fresh gardens etc make this country unique. My dream destination in abroad. I wanna take birth in new zealand and want to experience the rich lifestyle and die with peace. Lot of love and respect from India.
HI
HOW ARE YOU TODAY
GOODBYE
lmoa be a kiwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii tho
now i feel bad for eating juicy kiwis tho
We don’t eat our native bird, the Kiwi, just kiwifruit
#3, There is also the highest golf course in the world. You can helicopter to a one hole course atop Queenstown’s Incredibles Range.
#10, there are 5 species of native mammals in New Zealand. Two species of bats, one of which has gone extinct, and three species of seals. The seals reside at the southern end of the south island and on some small islands even further south.
#26, not even that business man turned politician John Key? Or is he just a fool?
#27, are the no snakes in any zoos?
I don’t think snakes in a zoo really count as saying there are such animals in the country. Or should we say there are arctic penguins and dromedaries in the Continental USA just because you can find them in zoos?
no snakes in zoos in New Zealand either. ^^
Ah, thanks! Good to know!
Hello Norbert,
Wonderful article.It helped me know about unknown facts about newzealand.
Newzealand is my favourite country.It is world’s least corrupt country.
Facts like wellington is world’s southernmost capital in the world and kiwis fruit not being native of newzealand are interesting.
Longest place name of 85 letters in newzealand is amazing fact.
Unlike australia there are no snakes in newzealand.
Feels good to be a kiwi ?
NZ has 6.6 sheep per capita, Mongolia has 7.8 so fact ! is wrong – probably written by an Australian.
Lmao
If you read properly, they were talking about the RATIO to humans, not per CAPITAL. Jeez, man, you need reeead better. ◔_◔
so rude man??
Per Capita.
Not per Capital.
Meaning of per capita : Per capita is a Latin term that translates to “by head.” Per capita means the average per person and is often used in place of “per person” in statistical observances.
Meaning of Capital : the city or town that functions as the seat of government and administrative centre of a country or region.
The number of sheep is increased every spring to about 120 million because there are about 80 million lambs born.
How about of Sulper city. This is my city Rotorua. Proud to becomes a part of Aotearoa.
I have to do a blog entry for school, and this week’s topic was how is it unique. this really helped me do my blog. THANK YOU, NORBERT!!!!!!!
Glad it helped!
Wow!
I didn’t realise that only 5% of the population in New zealand is human! This is really shocking to hear, as I live in New Zealand yet I never knew!
Yes! It’s a very small percentage!
so low
useful for my children
doing a school project. so helpful! thanks!!!!!!!!!
This is fantastic! I’m a Kiwi, doing a quiz night and looking for some general knowledge NZ facts to put in and I didn’t know a lot of this. Thanks!
And like your earlier comment, also makes me proud to be a Kiwi!
Thanks, Tracey! Glad this could help!
Glad to be a kiwi, what a country. What about were the treaty of whitangi was signed
Thank you so very much. NZ women should be proud to administer a low corruption country. You have to be very careful about this piece of heaven on Earth. My country Iran cares the least about its beautiful nature. I am posting sth on my Insta about your native language. Kia kaha !
why does New Zealand need so many sheep?
Good question!
They are one of the largest exporters of lamb and mutton in the world. According to Beef & Lamb New Zealand, the country exported about 400,000 tons of lamb and mutton in the year ending Sept 2019.
Because millions off people outside New Zealand eat them. It is a major export earner.
Need so many? Farmers make good money and want to keep up their double income stream from producing wool and meat. Conditions are perfect too, as there is high rainfall therefore endless rolling green hilly pasture that sheep are the most suited to.
The NZ All Blacks are the most successful team in sports history.
Interesting! Thank you so much! I’ll actually add this fun fact!
One or other NZer invented: the electric milking machine, and fence, refrigerated cargo (sheep carcasses of course), the sealed tin/can, and was first to split the atom!
Interesting! I’d like to do more research about those. I’m intrigued.
ENGLISH ISNT A NEW ZEALAND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE!!!
one fact for the page
WE’RE THE FIRST COUNTRY TO SEE THE SUNRISE
Dear Norbert,
I’m an ex pat Kiwi in Scotland, near Edinburgh, show casing New Zealand to our local National Women’s Register Group this evening. I looked for quirky facts and boy did you deliver. Armed with some this old kiwi didn’t know and all the others I did know, boy am I looking forward to this! Thank you so much.
Man, this article really helped me with my school project on New Zealand. Thanks! Loved it! 10/10
And the Kiwis are so cute! I didn’t even know they existed until now!