One of the favorite places for filmmakers to shoot epic films is New Zealand. Its impressive landscapes have served as a backdrop to such renowned films as "The Piano", "The Chronicles of Narnia", "King-Kong" (2005), "X-Men origins: Wolverine" or the trilogy of " The Lord of the rings "And the trilogy of" The Hobbit ". Join us to know 50 Curiosities of New Zealand impressive that will surely lead you to dream about this spectacular country of Oceania which is considered, in addition, the one that respects the most civil rights and the freest in the world.
Before starting with the curiosities of New Zealand brief geographical notes: New Zealand is located in the southwestern area of the Pacific Ocean and is made up of a multitude of islands. The two main ones because of their size are the North Island and the South Island.
50 Curiosities of New Zealand
1. New Zealand was the last mass of habitable land that was populated by humans.
2. The maoris they are a Polynesian ethnic group that arrived in Aoetaroa (New Zealand), probably from islands located further north between 800 and 1300 AD.
3. The name of Aoetaroa it means "land of the long white cloud" in Maori.
4. The first Europeans who arrived did so in 1642, but fled when several members of the crew were killed by the Maoris.
5. With the arrival of the English captain James Cook, in 1769, New Zealand was mapped.
6. New Zealand has the honor of being the first country that gave women the right to vote. It was in 1893.
7. Between 1867 and 1927, the New Zealand government, due to the numerous shipwrecks, devised a plan that consisted of building cabins full of supplies in the most remote islands so that the shipwrecked had a chance to survive.
8 New Zealand It is one of the three countries in the world that has two national anthems: God Save The Queen and God Defend New Zealand.
9. The Queen isabel II She is the sovereign of New Zealand and is officially represented by the Governor General.
10. The country's flag is blue. It has in the upper left corner the flag of the United Kingdom and four red stars bordered by white representing the constellation of the Southern Cross.
11. New Zealand differs from Australia in that it does not have dangerous or poisonous animals, except for the Katipo spider.
12. Except for bats, there are no native mammals in the country. All were taken by the Maoris or the Europeans.
13. Among the most curious animals in New Zealand is the Kea that is a bird of the family of parrots Strigopidae native of the country. Its name is because it emits a sound that sounds like this: Keee-aa.
14. The New Zealanders are angry with the Kea as they take the windshield wipers of their cars and also eat the rubber from the windows.
15. Something you will not find in New Zealand they are snakes, you will not see moas since they were extinguished.
16. However, it is the country that hosts the largest number of penguin species.
17. In New Zealand lives the heaviest insect in the world. Is the weta giant and weighs more than a medium sparrow, although its appearance is that of a giant cockroach.
18. In the South Island there lives a giant carnivorous snail that feeds on earthworms and slugs.
19 New Zealand It was isolated geographically for 100 million years and this, together with the biogeography of the island, made it have unique plant and animal varieties.
20. 82% of its native vascular plants are endemic.
21. Before the human being arrived, 80% of the land was covered by forests
22. Currently 30% of the country is formed by forest mass.
23. New Zealand has a large number of natural parks and marine reserves in such a way that they make up 1/3 of the country.
24. The climate is very similar to that of Italy, but somewhat more temperate. Its average temperatures vary from 10º C. in the south to 16º C. in the north.
25. One of the curiosities of New Zealand is that it has the longest place name in the world. It is the name of a hill that is in Hawkes Bay. Its name is: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu and it is located in the North Island.
26. You are in the point of the country that is, you will never be more than 128 km away. from sea.
27. Blue Lake has the honor of containing the "clearest" natural fresh water in the world. Its visibility is between 70 and 80 meters, almost the same as distilled water. This is possibly due to the fact that it comes filtered from a larger lake, Lake Constance.
28. The capital of the country is Wellington and is the southernmost capital of the world.
29. Although the capital is Wellington, the most populous city is Auckland.
30. To the New Zealanders they are popularly known as "kiwis" , but they do not owe the nickname to the fruit, but to a non-flying bird native to the country.
31. Although the Maoris are the primitive inhabitants of the country, they currently only represent 15% of the population.
32. In the Maori language, the word "Maori" means "common" or "normal". The Maoris are therefore "normal".
33. Every year more New Zealanders die playing bowling on grass (lawn bowls) than doing scuba diving.
34. The steepest street in the world is located in Dunedin, a city in New Zealand. The inclination exceeds 38% in some sections.
35. New Zealand is the only country in the world where all the senior officials have been occupied by women at the same time. This happened in 2006. The Queen, the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the President of the House of Representatives and the President of the Supreme Court were women.
36. Another thing you will not find in New Zealand are nuclear power plants.
37. It is a country of Oceania It is one of the least populated in the world because it has just over 4 million inhabitants although its size is very similar to that of Japan .
38. Of course, New Zealanders have a passion for cars and although they are only 4 million , they have a car park of 2.5 million cars.
39. If you drive a car in that country, do not forget that you must drive on the left.
40. The official languages of Neva Zealand are English and Maori.
41. The New Zealanders have rugby as a favorite sport, but they also practice cricket, hiking, football, basketball, kayaking, rafting and skiing.
42. The hangi is one of the typical foods Maori and it is made with meat or fish and vegetables cooked in a deep hole in which red hot stones are placed and on them the food. It is sprinkled with water, some vegetation is put on it and it is covered with earth. It is allowed to cook like this for hours.
43. The Maoris were a people who did not know any type of alcoholic beverage.
44. In the country there are 9 sheep for every human.
45. On an autonomous island called Niue that belongs to the country they have legal tender coins with Pokémon images.
46. Among the most famous New Zealanders in history is Sir Edmund Hillary who together with the Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top of Mount Everest.
47. Another of the curiosities of New Zealand is that its inhabitants have excelled in different disciplines: The world of cinema also has illustrious New Zealanders such as directors Jane Campion or Peter Jackson.
48. Best-selling author Sara Lark has placed several of her novels in this impressive country, if you want to know more about it we recommend you read it. You can start with "In the White Cloud Country".
49. The airport in the city of Gisborn, on the North Island, is one of the few in the world whose main runway is crossed by a railway. They often have to wait shift.
50. The last of the curiosities of New Zealand It has to do with the names of the New Zealanders, they admit almost everything, but they can not have more than 100 characters. Apparently, a few years ago a man lost a bet playing poker and changed his name to: Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Combined With Frostnova, and they admitted it.
What do you think of these 50 curiosities of New Zealand ? It is without a doubt an impressive country! With amazing traditions, numerous sheep, coins with images of pokémon in Niue, New Zealand has managed to conquer us, as it has already done with many other people, to the point that it has inspired a successful literary saga! Would you visit this beautiful country? If you know more about him, do not hesitate to share your knowledge with us! We will love reading you.
Images: Dilaudid , Squashem , Mary Morgan-Richards