Did you know that a little more than 680 South Africans immigrate to New Zealand every month? For many, that is a surprising statistic, but for those working in the emigration game, the reality is that New Zealand is an immigration hotspot for South African expats – and for good reason. South Africans head over to New Zealand for a variety of reasons. One of the most obvious reasons is that it is one of the safest countries in the world to live in, but it’s about more than that too. New Zealand is also child-friendly, offers a plethora of job opportunities, and also offers a quality of life that is hard to beat back in SA. Those looking for a similar “vibe” in a new, safer country find New Zealand to be the obvious choice.

New Zealand is a country that welcomes South African expats because of their skills, work ethic, and willingness to accept diverse cultures. If you want to head off to New Zealand, you might want to know a little more about the country first.

Interesting Facts about New Zealand

If you are headed to New Zealand’s shores in the upcoming months to live, work, and raise the family, the good news is that you won’t be alone. South African expats abound in New Zealand and there are many community groups that you can join to help you fit in and find your feet quickly! There’s more good news for you though! New Zealand is a fun and interesting place to move to. And these 10 fun and interesting facts about New Zealand will provide evidence of that!

1. There’s plenty of space in New Zealand. New Zealand is one of the least populated countries in the world. The country is a similar size to Japan, but only has a population of around 4 million people.
   
   
2. Birds can be strange in New Zealand! As far as interesting facts about New Zealand go, the existence of the Kakapo is it! This is the world’s only flightless parrot.
   
   
3. New Zealand is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to gender equality. Women’s lib groups should look to NZ with new found respect as it was the very first country to give women voting rights in 1893.
   
   
4. If you are interested in wildlife, one of the most amazing facts about New Zealand is that the Hector’s Dolphin (which is the smallest marine dolphin) is only found in New Zealand’s waters.
   
   
5. When it comes to weird facts about New Zealand, this one takes the cake! There’s a 300m high hill in the Hawke’s Bay called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, which is the longest place name ever, in an English speaking country. That’s 40 syllables of pure weirdness for you!
   
   
6. New Zealand is quite literally picturesque and pristine. New Zealand truly has “crystal clear” waters. In fact, in Nelson Lakes National Park, The Blue Lake holds the record for having the clearest water in the entire world. This is quite a sight to behold, especially when the underwater visibility is around 80m!
   
   
7. New Zealanders are a little strange when it comes to religion, but it’s not really anything to truly worry about. It all comes down to the country’s favourite movie! It’s probably best you learn about this one before you make the trip. If you see a fellow NZ colleague or friend filling out “Jedi” as their religion on a form/document, try not to do a double take! Most New Zealanders are hectic Star Wars fans and ever since 2001 Census in the country, more than 50,000 local citizens decided that their religion was/is “Jedi”.
   
   
8. You can get your sports fix in New Zealand quite easily, especially if you are into Rugby. For the sports fans, New Zealand won’t fail to impress. In fact, in 1987, the country was the first in the world to ever win a Rugby World Cup. Also, when it comes to the Olympics, NZ has won more gold medals per capita than any other country in the world. In New Zealand, the locals love their sport!
   
   
9. Another of the weird facts about New Zealand is that nature has things a little opposite to SA. The critters and insects are rather large whereas there’s absolutely no presence of snakes. The country also has a variety of rather strange animals that you will never find in South Africa. These include Kiwis, NZ Sea Lions, Yellow-Eyed Penguins, Kereru, Weta, Tuatara, and Otago Skink, to name a few.
   
   
10. One of the most amazing facts about New Zealand is that the very first person to ever climb Mount Everest in 1953 was Sir Edmund Hillary who just happens to be a New Zealander. This truly does speak to the dedication, motivation, and hard-working attitude of New Zealanders.

FinGlobal: Cross-border financial emigration specialists

Everyone immigrating to a new country wants to have a seamless experience, but very few manage to get that right. One of the biggest hiccups South African expats face when moving to New Zealand to live and work, is that they fail to take care of their financial emigration and tax emigration before leaving. They also fail to consider how they will access their South African retirement annuity funds once abroad. At FinGlobal, we have a lot more than a few fun and interesting facts about New Zealand to share with you. With a decade of experience in our wake, we are confident that we can provide you with premier advice and guidance so that your tax and financial emigration is handled with care and so that your SA retirement annuity funds will in fact be yours. We have helped many South African expats across the globe with these very issues and look forward to assisting you too. For more information and guidance, contact us at FinGlobal.