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The New Zealand hill Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is famous for what?

Having a very long place name

At 85 letters it is among the longest official place names anywhere. The Māori name roughly describes the place where Tamatea, a chief, played his flute to his loved one.

New Zealand is famous for sheep outnumbering people. Roughly what is the ratio now?

About 5 sheep per person

New Zealand has roughly 25 million sheep and about 5.2 million people, so close to 5 to 1. In the early 1980s the flock peaked above 70 million and the ratio was over 20 to 1.

Roughly what share of land has land directly on the other side of the world?

About 4 percent

Because land clusters in the northern hemisphere, most land is antipodal to ocean. Only about 4 percent has land opposite: mostly Argentina and Chile against China, and Spain against New Zealand.

Which country has no native snakes at all?

New Zealand

New Zealand separated from other landmasses before snakes spread, and has none in the wild. Ireland and Iceland are also snake-free, though for glacial rather than tectonic reasons.

In 2011 Samoa skipped a day entirely. Which one?

30 December

Samoa moved west of the international date line to align its working week with Australia and New Zealand, so 29 December was followed directly by 31 December.

Which of these countries has no railway network at all?

Iceland

Iceland has never had a public railway. The population is small and dispersed, the terrain is volcanic and shifting, and roads plus coastal shipping have always been cheaper.

Where are the oldest known rocks on Earth's surface found?

Canada

The Acasta Gneiss in the Northwest Territories is around 4 billion years old, and rocks in northern Quebec may be older still. Ancient crust survives on stable shields, not active margins.

Kiwifruit is named after a New Zealand bird, but where is the plant from?

China

It was called Chinese gooseberry until New Zealand exporters renamed it in 1959 for the American market, partly for Cold War marketing reasons.