New Zealand: Land of Giants Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paeroa

Known these days as L&P, it is a lemon-flavoured soft drink that was originally made with mineral water from Paeroa. The bottle in Paeroa is a 7m high concrete structure. A TV advertisement in the 90s coined the phrase "World famous in New Zealand".

Answer: Tirau

Tirau has 3 giant structures (a sheepdog, a ewe and a ram) on its main street, all constructed out of corrugated iron. The sheepdog forms the Tirau visitor information centre and the sheep is also a wool shop. Many signs and other sculptures are all around the town earning it the dubious title of "Corrugated Iron Capital of the World".

Answer: Rakaia

Rakaia in Canterbury has an enormous salmon beside a park. Rakaia (named after the river on which the town sits), is a popular salmon fishing spot. The Rakaia River is a very wide braided river and the road bridge on its construction in 1939 was New Zealand's longest bridge. It is 1,756m long.

Answer: Gore

Gore in Southland has a giant brown trout, as well as a guitar, the later recognising its reputation as the home of New Zealand's country music. Taupo also has a giant trout but it is not clear which type of trout. The one in Gore is definitely a brown trout.

Answer: Kaikoura

Kaikoura is famous for its crayfish and on two of the restaurants in the growing tourist town are huge ones. In Maori, "koura" is the word for crayfish, while "kai" means food, so translated Kaikoura means food crayfish.

Answer: Taihape

Like the Tirau monuments, the giant gumboot in Taihape is constructed out of corrugated iron. Like many places in New Zealand with big things, Taihape celebrates its reputation as "X Capital of the World" with a giant model of that thing - in this case, a gumboot.

The answer to Fred Dagg's question "...where would you be?" is of course "in the hospital or infirmary", according to the song.

Answer: An oversized lumberjack

On the main street of Tokoroa, in an area known as Chainsaw Corner, is a large wooden statue called the Pine Man. It relates to the history of Tokoroa as one of the main towns that housed many of the workers at the Kilnleith pulp and paper mill. When the mill closed down, many of the workers left, causing a sizable decline in the population of the town.

Answer: Te Puke

Although well known as fruit growing areas, they don't actually grow kiwifruit in Alexandra and Cromwell. Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty is the place where most of the kiwifruit orchards are. Beside one of the orchards is the giant kiwifruit and nearby a huge Kiwi bird. Kiwifruit are considered one of the most healthy and nutritious foods in the world. Manuka honey, made by bees which collect nectar from manuka flowers, is a local delicacy, as are avocados, which grow well in the Bay of Plenty.

Answer: Paua shell

The shells of paua are well-known for their multi-coloured sparkling insides. Jewellery and art can be purchased in Riverton cheaper than anywhere else and the unusual tasting shellfish can be eaten at most takeaways or eateries. Walking along the beach it is also possible to find shells that can be polished at various locations.

However, harvesting the paua can only be done by free diving; scuba gear is not permitted. To be free diving in the choppy and cold Foveaux Strait would take a brave soul.

Answer: Cromwell

Cromwell, on the shores of Lake Dunstan, was relocated in the 1980s from the gorge which would later be flooded on the completion of the Clyde dam. Although a relatively new town, the Cromwell area is steeped in history dating back to the 1800s during the Otago gold rush. Just a half hour drive from Queenstown, the roadside fruit stalls are common pit stops.