10 Things We Learned in New Zealand

1. They make expensive scarves, hats and gloves out of a mix of merino wool and POSSUM here. Yes, possum. New Zealand possum have soft fur and these upscale items have a big market here.

2. The kea, a bird native to NZ, is known for pulling windscreen wipers off cars and eating the strips of rubber from windows. They aren’t necessarily aggressive toward humans, but they are aggressive in getting to what they want. We left a car door open while we took pics of 3 keas, and quick as a flash, one of them got in and out of our car with muffin scraps before we knew it. Later, while stopped at a tunnel entrance, we watched a kea on the roof of the car in front of us desperately trying to break into their car door window. #thosebirdsarecrazy

3. New Zealand has no snakes, no poisonous spiders, no killer jellyfish, or any other deadly creepy crawlies. That’s saying a lot when you consider that their neighbor across the water, Australia, is home to all of those!

4. NZ is home to more species of penguins than any other country, including the tiny, rare Fiordland crested penguins (‘Tawaki’).

5. Hokey Pokey ice cream is a thing! We put our whole selves in because it is delicious! Honeycomb toffee swirled with vanilla gelato or ice cream.

6. Only 5% of NZ's population is human- the rest are animals.  Humans are way outnumbered by the sheep in NZ! There are roughly 4 million people in New Zealand, and more than 40 million sheep.

7. Rudyard Kipling was so impressed by Milford Sound, he referred to it as “the eighth wonder of the world.”

8. The Lord of the Rings was entirely filmed in New Zealand – the perfect landscapes to depict Middle Earth!But many other movies have been filmed here. The capital city, Wellington, has been nicknamed “Wellywood” for its filming locations and for being the home of Weta – a special effects and props manufacturer. The Hobbiton film set is located here, as is the Samurai village of the Last Samurai. The majority of the two Narnia movies were filmed in New Zealand. King Kong, another Peter Jackson Weta production was filmed in NZ. The special effects, props, conceptual design and costumes of Avatar were the work of the Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, and Avatar’s sequel is filmed in NZ.

9. The country of New Zealand has a shortage of carpenters, nurses, doctors and engineers, according to several Kiwis. If you have one of those skills you are a much stronger candidate for being allowed in the country to stay permanently. #Contemplatingmedicalschool. :)

10. The name “The Southern Alps” is perfectly suited to the mountain range that extends along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island. wOw, WoW and WOW!! Interesting fact: New Zealand straddles the boundary between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. As they collide, the plates push up the land, forming mountains. The Southern Alps are one of the most rapidly rising mountain ranges in the world. One local told us to “come back next year, the mountains will be taller. In fact, New Zealand had the most variety in geography (that we experienced on the trip) and between the beaches and stunning waters of both North and South Islands, as well as the lush tropical feel and rugged mountainous areas, New Zealand was the perfect location to end our tour of the world. #chasingthesunworldtour