Sorry about this but ever since I came here I have been wondering what people knew about my homecountry New Zealand. A few people have made false comments about it, to me, so it really made me wonder what the world knows of New Zealand.

I've constructed a few yes/no questions about New Zealand if you wouldn't mind answering. All of these I hope the typical New Zealander would know.

One question I can't put in a poll is What is the first thing you think about when you hear the name New Zealand?

I've been asking people I've meet on the internet for ages and most of the time I get a different answer. Usually though it is "Ah? New what? Whos that?"

Please Answer them from your own knowlegde not by looking them up on the internet. Thanks :thumb:

Poll Information
This poll contains 5 question(s). 28 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: New Zealand (28 votes.)

Do you know where abouts New Zealand is? (Choose 1)
* Yes - 100% (28)
* No - 0% (0)

Do you know the amount of people living in New Zealand? (to the nearest million) (Choose 1)
* Yes - 14% (4)
* No - 86% (24)

Do you know the size of New Zealand in comparison to another country? (Choose 1)
* Yes - 82% (23)
* No - 18% (5)

Can you name a New Zealand icon? (Choose 1)
* Yes - 39% (11)
* No - 61% (17)

Do you know what langauges are the offical New Zealand Langauges (Choose 1)
* Yes - 64% (18)
* No - 36% (10)

New Zealand icon? Is Lord of the Rings an acceptable answer?

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the name New Zealand?
I was thinking the other day, whether New Zealand is named after a Dutch province called Zeeland. Since other islands near Australia are named after Dutch explorers, (e.g. Tasmania is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman) I thought that the Dutch may also have discovered New Zealand. That is the first thing I think about when I hear the name New Zealand.

EDIT: I looked it up, this is what Encarta said: 'The first documented visit was by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642.' But Abel Tasman wasn't from Zeeland, so I'm still wondering why they called it New Zealand.

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the name New Zealand? Bunjee(sp?)-jumping-Kiwis and sheeps.

Oh yeah, and the custom to tattoo the face.

Edit: Zeeland maybe after the place, the first settlers came from ?

The first thing I think of when I think about NZ? HOME!

Me, I think of sheep :D
And I answered yes to every question.

Question 5 of 5: Do you know what langauges are the offical New Zealand Langauges
Engrish?? :lol: ;)

New Zealand hmm? oh yeah, member of the Axis of Countries That Sometimes Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick.

New Zealand is where hobbits are from, right?

There must be two official languages, English and Maori. That is IF Maori is recognised as an official language.

Can you name a New Zealand icon? Kathryn Mansfield and Witi Ihimaera


Edit: Although "Icon" can be defined rather loosely.

How about Kiri Te Kanawa? And was Dame Nellie Melba - for whom the dessert Peach Melba was named - a Kiwi or an Aussie?

The only Kiwi celebrities I know are:

Russell Crowe (Gladiator)
Lucy Lawless (Xena)
Rachel Hunter (Model)

I think about kiwi too... wonder how this got tied to New Zealand.

Thanks to playing Carmen Sandiago, I know the capital city is Wellington :)

... but I can't remember what the flag looks like. I THINK it's red, white, and blue though.

Isn't it a blue field with the Southern Cross on it, and the Union Jack in the upper left quarter?

The first thing I think of when someone says New Zealand is:
Lord of the Rings!!!

BTW: Here's a pic and a discription of New Zealand's flag (http://www.flagline.com/countries/newzealand.htm). :rolling:

Well good... at least I got the colours right :)

Union Jack eh? Must have been an English colony before.

The flag is the same as the Australian one, but without the seven speared star under the union jack, and has red stars in the shape of the southern cross.

Languages that I can think of are English and Maori.

The icons that are prominent in my mind would be the ANZACs, but that's just me.

First thing that I think of when I think of New Zealand would be the accent. There is no place in the world that pronounces Nipple as Nupple.

Tops place New Zealand.

Wow, people know a lot more about it than I expected :eek:

And yes it was an english colony before, and still wont cut its ties with Briten.

Thanks a lot for all the great answers. It looks like the world new more about home than I thought.

I also know a weta is a giant grasshopper, and not just Peter Jackson's special effects company....

The first thing I think about when hearing the name New Zealand, is the hottest man in the world.

*drum-roll*

Karl Urban, who bloody else?

From my high school geography,

New Zealand has larger sheep population than human, does that count as an icon? Don't tell me it is kiwi.

New Zealand is an "islandic" country, so the rivers are short but with strong current which makes "dam" good dam for energy generating purposes.

There are two ways to get to Antarctic, one is through Argentina another is through New Zealand.

A weta is a gaint grass hoper?? Strange way of putting it, I never knew grasshopper could cut through thick leather gloves with their back legs.

Useless Information:
NZ has the steepest road on the world (and I've walked up it before)
NZ holds the record for delivering the furtherst pizza (to Antarctica)
And it looks like it will rain right now outside my window.

RotKU, where in NZ do you live?

Hehe, the steepest road, I know that one. When I last saw it an old car tried to drive up it. It got half way up and smoke was pouring out of it.
Me, I'm from the good old cold capital.

*thinks*

Invercargil?

RotKU wrote:
A weta is a gaint grass hoper?? Strange way of putting it, I never knew grasshopper could cut through thick leather gloves with their back legs. Hey! I've just seen them on TV...I've never played with one! So would giant mutant killer grasshopper be a better description?

The only famous newzealanders I know are Edmund Hilary (the man who first climbed to the top of Everest) and Bernard Freyberg (commander of the commonwealth forces in the battle of Crete). Also, I like very much the maori dance that the national rugby team of New Zealand dances before the the game.

Invercargil? New Zealands capital?
Oh I see now. The cold part was just a description of the temp. here right now.

A weta on this page (http://www.bigjude.com/Weta.html) is descrbed as a Demon Grasshopper, so I guess mutant killer would be close enough.

People have forgotten the most important thing about NZ!

Friendly people!