25 things you may not have known about New Zealand

[quote:4e218e71bc="nattydread"]Until very recenlty, I'm ashamed to admit it, I thought Edmund Hillary was an Englishman.

[/quote:4e218e71bc]

I have confess I thought the same.

[quote:70c8604e3d="moggy"][quote:70c8604e3d="nattydread"]Until very recenlty, I'm ashamed to admit it, I thought Edmund Hillary was an Englishman.

[/quote:70c8604e3d]

I have confess I thought the same.[/quote:70c8604e3d]

I thought he was American, like Albert Einstein, Russel Crowe, Nicole Kidman, and Paul Holmes.

Ok, j/k! :icon_wink:



Paul Holmes is a talk show host here in NZ, so if you haven't been here you may not know who he is. He's definitely Kiwi (though not everyone likes him).

[MotherBear]

[color=darkblue:b61231f834]On more thing you might not know about NZ.[/color:b61231f834]

[b:b61231f834]TV put ahead of sex by many NZ couples[/b:b61231f834]
11 February 2006
By TOM FITZSIMONS

Everybody loves a lover, but Kiwis are struggling to keep the fires of romance burning, according to a poll. With Valentines Day fast approaching, the KY Brand survey of 700 New Zealanders reveals a lot of people think the romance has dampened since their relationships began.

The trend is marked in the lower North Island, where 48 per cent of respondents ? all in steady relationships ? complained things had gone downhill since they paired up. The poll also revealed that half of New Zealanders in committed relationships had put TV ahead of their sex lives in the past 12 months ([color=darkblue:b61231f834]don?t know how we?d fare then, as we don?t even have a TV :icon_mrgreen: ). [/color:b61231f834]

One couple not suffering passion problems were tourists Nicolas and Marianne Orhan, from France and Switzerland respectively, on a short visit to Wellington. They were aware of the stereotype that pegged Europeans as great lovers, but would not comment on the lack of fire between New Zealand couples. "We have only been here for two weeks. It's too soon to say how romantic you are," Mr Orhan laughed. They said Valentines Day had grown quite big in Europe, where "about 90 per cent of couples" celebrated by going to restaurants and exchanging small gifts or flowers.

That would seem to beat New Zealand, where more than 30 per cent of people in relationships cannot remember their last romantic evening. Passion-killers included TV, the Internet ([color=darkblue:b61231f834]ah, but we do have that [/color:b61231f834] :icon_biggrin: )and those perennial obstacles ? tiredness, work and children. Loyalty and contentedness rated highly, though. Ninety-two per cent of lower North Island respondents chose their partner as their ideal fantasy date, while 93 per cent still found their mate attractive. But they would say that to a stranger on the phone, wouldn't they?

[img:b61231f834]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/liebe/hug.gif[/img:b61231f834]