Did you
know?

Despite being a water-loving nation, more people die in New Zealand every year playing lawn bowls than scuba diving.

New Zealand linguist Harold Williams made it into the 'Guinness Book of Records' for his ability to speak fluently over 58 languages.

Two New Zealand students broke a Guinness World Record for making the world's largest tape ball. The ball's circumference was over 2.5m and weighed in at 53kg.

Less than five percent of New Zealand's population is human, the rest are animals - one of the highest ratios of animals to humans in the world.

New Zealand has more bookshops per capita than any other country - one for every 7,500 people.

New Zealand boasts the world's longest place name: Taumatawhakatangi- hangakoauauotamatea- turipukakapikimaunga- horonukupokaiwhenuaki- tanatahu.

New Zealand's rugby team, the All Blacks won the first Rugby World Cup in 1987. New Zealand will play host to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

New Zealand has more golf courses per capita than any other country - 400 courses for four million people, approximately one for every 10,000 people.

New Zealand running great, Arthur Lydiard invented jogging - a training technique that saw his famous protégés Peter Snell and Murray Halberg win gold on the same day at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

New Zealand referee William Atack was first to use a whistle to stop a game of sport in 1884. While his contemporaries used their voices, Atack used a dog whistle to control the game.

New Zealand's largest city, Auckland reputedly has more boats per capita than any other city in the world, earning it the nickname 'City of Sails'.

Frying Pan Lake near Rotorua is the world's largest hot water spring, with temperatures reaching 200˚C at its deepest point.

New Zealand's Lake Taupo, was formed by the world's biggest recorded eruption in the last 75,000 years. The dust from the eruption was seen as far away as Rome and China.

Curio Bay - in Southland, New Zealand - is one of the world's most extensive and least disturbed examples of a petrified forest, up to around 180 million years old.

New Zealand established itself as a nuclear free zone in 1985, refusing to allow nuclear powered or armed ships in its waters, and continues this stance today.

New Zealand's coastline boasts some of the world's most beautiful beaches. No part of New Zealand is more than 128km from the ocean.

Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of 24 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites.

The New Zealand kakapo is the world's largest, rarest and only flightless parrot; the kea is the world's only alpine parrot; the little blue is the world's smallest penguin.

The New Zealand giant weta is the world's heaviest insect, on average it weighs more than a sparrow, making it so heavy that it is unable to jump.

Dunedin's royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head, on the tip of the Otago Peninsula, is the only mainland breeding colony of albatross in the world.

The New Zealand tuatara is the oldest living genus of reptile in the world, and can be traced back 190 million years to dinosaur times.

The New Zealand kiwi is only bird in the world to have nostrils at the tip of its bill, and lays the largest egg relative to body size.

Hector's dolphin, found only off the coast of New Zealand, is the world's rarest and smallest dolphin. It is recognisable by the rounded dorsal fin.

New Zealand brothers Davis and Andrew Akers created the world's first Zorb, a unique adventure activity involving a giant plastic ball, a slope and speeds of up to 50km/h.

On 24 January 1895, New Zealand explorer Alexander von Tunzelmann was the first person to set foot on Antarctica, at Cape Adare.

New Zealand inventor, Alan Gibbs invented the first high-speed sports amphibian, the Aquada, which transforms from sportscar to speedboat in under 12 seconds.

New Zealand mountaineer, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to climb Mount Everest in 1953, alongside Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

New Zealand entrepreneur and daredevil A J Hackett opened the world's first commercial bungy in 1988. The Nevis Highwire is the southern hemisphere's highest bungy.

New Zealand farmer William Hamilton developed the world's first propellerless jetboat in 1953. He also invented the hay lift, an advanced air compressor and the water sprinkler.

New Zealand aviator Jean Batten made the first return flight between Australia and England, and the first direct flight between England and New Zealand.

New Zealander Colin Murdoch invented the disposable syringe, tranquiliser dart gun and childproof medicine bottle, while Ernest Godward invented the rotary eggbeater, burglar proof windows and world's first spiral hairpin.

New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the vote in 1893. Women have held the country's key constitutional positions, including Prime Minister and Governor-General.

New Zealand scientist Baron Ernest Rutherford was the first in the world to split the atom in 1919. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for his efforts in radioactivity.

New Zealand aviator Sir ‘Harry' Wigley created the first retractable skis for aircraft, and made the first snow landing on Tasman Glacier, the longest in the southern hemisphere.

At 328m high, the Sky Tower in downtown Auckland is the tallest free-standing structure in the southern hemisphere, and offers 360deg views for more than 80km.