10 Shocking Facts You Didn’t Know About New Zealand

New Zealand is famous for being the place where The Lord of the Rings was filmed, its love for rugby, and Wellington, its capital, is the southernmost capital in the world. Despite its low population, there’s a lot to love about the country, especially if you love exploring the environment. There are plenty of animals that roam around and there’s a sport that people care just as much about. Learn all of that and more in this list that will surprise you.

Has The Safest Hiking Land

You won’t have to worry about bears or snakes when trekking through forests as the country doesn’t have any. The biggest worry are poisonous spiders, but they hang around in sandy areas and don’t bother humans.

There’s A Lot Of Animals

Don’t think that New Zealand doesn’t have a big animal population. There’s still a lot of them in the wild — 95 percent of the population is animals compared to just 5 percent humans. The country has around 10x more sheep than people.

Bigger Than People Think

Most people consider New Zealand as a small country with its population of 4 million people. Actually, it’s as big as the UK, just populated with 60 million less people.

No Tipping Service

Unlike dining at restaurants in the United States, there’s no need to tip for being waited on. Generally, you’ll just walk up to a register and pay for the food once you’re done.

National Bird Is Blind

The Kiwi, New Zealand’s national bird, is similar to the American chicken. The bird cannot fly and can lay eggs, but a big difference is its inability to see. Another nugget is that some eggs the Kiwi lays are bigger than them.

Most Golf Courses In The World

No other place has as many golf courses per capita than New Zealand, apart from Scotland. Golfing is the nation’s biggest sport that people participate in, although the national pastime is probably still rugby.

No Advertising On Certain Holidays

Television cannot broadcast commercials on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas, and ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) is on April 25 and honors those that served in the military that fought in WWI.

Seasonal Temperatures Barely Change

There’s only about a 10 degree difference between the winter and summer seasons. For example, Auckland has an average of 14.7 Celcius in the winter and 23.7 Celcius in the summer. Temperatures are roughly the same throughout the entire country.

Christmas Happens In The Summer

The Southern Hemisphere has a completely different seasonal layout than those of you who live in the US and Canada. Summer begins shortly before the holiday traditions begin.

One Landmark Has The World’s Biggest Name

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the name of a hill in Southern Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. It’s the longest name of any place in the world (85 characters). It means, “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.” It’s usually abbreviated to “Taumata.”