10 Things you probably didn’t know about New Zealand

New Zealand is the only place in the world that is allowed to have Lord of the Rings characters on its currency, is the least corrupt nation in the world and has the highest human to sheep ratio on the planet. Yet the interesting facts about this country don’t stop there, here are 12 more things you probably didn’t know about New Zealand.

Read more: Click here to add New Zealand to your bucket list

1. Bats are the only native land mammal in New Zealand 

2. The longest place name in the world goes to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which is a hill

3. New Zealand is the world’s youngest country – it was the last habitable place to be occupied

4. They’re extinct now, but New Zealand one had a native bird called the Moa. It was 12 feet tall and weighed more than 230kg

5. Ninety Mile beach is 90km long

Read more: 5 Scenic drives in New Zealand perfect for travellers over 60

6. There are more golf courses per capita than anywhere in the world. There are 400!

Kauri Cliffs golf course, New Zealand. #beautifulgolfholes #golf #golfing #newzealand #golfnewzealand #golfholiday #golftour

A post shared by @beautiful_golf_holes on Jun 4, 2016 at 4:37am PDT

7. Kiwifruit is actually native to China, but was named after the bird

8. Apart from bats, other land mammals were brought to New Zealand by the Maoris and Europeans

9. The first Maori visited New Zealand approximately 800 years ago

10. There are more Scottish pipe bands in New Zealand than Scotland, per person 

Do you know any other interesting facts about New Zealand? Or perhaps one of these facts surprised you? Let us know in the comments section below.