Celebrating NZ’s Waitangi Day

Longest blackout in the world

The longest blackout in the world was on February 19, 1998

Guess where? In New Zealand

when the four main power cables supplying Auckland city, broke down.

The disruption, which lasted 66 days, affected 7500 business and residential customers

and cost businesses an estimated $300 million

 

Home to rarest flora and fauna

New Zealand is home to the world’s smallest dolphin, the Hectors Dolphin,

the rarest sea lion, the Hookers Sea Lion,

the largest flightless parrot, the kakapo,

the oldest reptile, the tuatara,

the heaviest insect, a weta,

the biggest earth-worms,

the smallest bats, some of the oldest trees, and many of the rarest birds, insects, and plants in the world.

 

Car-crazy New Zealanders

New Zealand is around the size of Japan but it’s population is just over four million

making it one of the world’s least populated countries.

But guess how many cars they have?

Apparently New Zealanders are car crazy!

Just imagine 2.5 million cars for 4 million people, including the kids,

makes New Zealand’s car ownership rate one of the highest in the world.

 

NZ, the First of many

It’s no wonder New Zealanders have always been ahead with regards to things like inventions and politics. New Zealand is after all the very first country to greet each new day!

In fact in 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote.

Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Mount Everest in 1953, was a New Zealander.

Baron Ernest Rutherford, the first person in the world to split the atom in 1919, was also a New Zealander

More fun facts coming up!

 

The land of make-believe

Notable New Zealand filmmakers include ‘The Piano’ director Jane Campion

and Peter Jackson, who made King Kong and the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.

And if you’ve got time this weekend,

You should really check out these popular New Zealand movie classics

Get a tub of popcorns and watch them back to back if you can

‘Once were Warriors’, ‘The Whale Rider’, ‘The Piano’ and the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.

And who knows you might be inspired to visit the country after that

Btw, you can ride a horse that was actually used in the Lord of the Rings movie

 

Tramping

If you’re looking for a new travel destination for tramping

How about New Zealand?

Magnificent views, you may meet an All Black, and you get to sink your teeth into the great kiwi steak and cheese pie

Your Facebook friends will get so jealous and so will your real friends

But seriously, here’s a really good reason to visit New Zealand – there are no snakes in the country!

There are no nuclear power stations in New Zealand either

Plus if you love surfing and other watersports

nowhere in New Zealand is more than 120 km from the coast

So visit “the land of the long white cloud”

‘Aotearoa’ – The Maori name for New Zealand

 

Where adventures begin

Bungy jumpers leap from vertigo-inducing heights with only a length of rubber tied to their ankles saving them from certain death.

The world’s first commercial bungy (or bungee) jump took place in Queenstown, New Zealand in 1988.

Operated by AJ Hackett, who has since added jumps in France, Germany, Macau, Malaysia, Bali, and Australia to his repertoire, the first jump was a 43 metre leap from Queenstown’s Kawarau Bridge.

 

Where safety is not an issue

If you usually travel alone and you’re looking for a new travel destination

How about New Zealand?

You’re very unlikely to experience crime in New Zealand.

Even for solo women travellers, safety is not an issue.

And if you venture off the beaten track into the wilderness, more good news –

New Zealand has no nasty plants or creatures.

In fact NZ is one of only two countries in the world which doesn’t have snakes (the other is Ireland).

So head on over to New Zealand. You will have an amazing time!

 

Nature heals

Made up of two main islands and a host of smaller ones,

New Zealand has an amazing range of breathtaking scenery,

from subtropical forests, beaches and offshore islands in the north

to glaciers, lakes, snow-covered mountains and large flat plains in the south.

There are also fiords, volcanoes, hot springs and beautiful rolling green pastures – a diversity like no other on earth.

 

Where the fun never stops

Where else on earth can you go surfing, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, tramping, sailing, swimming at the beach, parachuting, horse riding, and caving – all within a one hundred mile radius?

And even on the same day?

New Zealand!

Also, don’t forget to try the bungy jump, invented and made famous in New Zealand.

 

Pub-trailer (New Zealand)
 
Hey it’s Lynette and all this week on Expat Radio 963 XFM, we’re celebrating New Zealand’s Waitangi Day. 

So join me on Globe Trekker Monday to Friday 12 to 1 for a one hour special as we visit “the land of the long white cloud” and celebrate all things New Zealand – home to many of the rarest birds, insects, and plants in the world!

Experience Home Closer with music and more only on Expat Radio 96.3XFM

About lynettetanblogs

Lynette Tan is Mrs Singapore Universe 2016. She believes in being beautiful and healthy, naturally. Her mantra? You're most beautiful, when you're You!

Leave a Comment