Did you know?

Challenge your friends to a trivia quiz or impress them at parties with our regional "Did you know...”

Animal:

The last sighting in NZ of the extinct Huia bird was in the Tararua Ranges in the early 1900s.
 
Kokako, kiwi, blue duck and the North Island Robin were all once found in the Tararua Forest Park.
 
One of the rarest giant land snails in New Zealand, Powelliphanta traversi, is now only found in a few small reserves on the Horowhenua Plains.
 
The Velvet Worm (or Peripatus) is a living fossil found in our region. Its relatives have been around for hundreds of millions of years. An odd creature, it resembles a worm with legs, and hunts down its prey in the leaf litter by spitting on them.
 
Our region is home to the rare Brown Mudfish. This very secretive, poorly known native fish lives in wetlands that dry out during summer.

Mineral:

The Maori name for the 6km long Manawatu Gorge is Te Apiti (the narrowing).
 
The highest point in our region (and the North Island) is Mt Ruapehu at 2797m
 
At 79 000ha, the Manawatu sand country is the largest parabolic dune field in New Zealand and is one of the largest in the world.

Vegetable:

Ratanui, the largest northern rata tree in NZ, grows in Bushy Park in Wanganui. Thought to be up to 1000 years old, it is 43.1 metres tall with a girth of 11.6m.
 
The river flats to the east of the Manawatu Gorge were once part of the mighty Forty Mile Bush that stretched from Masterton to Norsewood. Pukaha Mt Bruce is one of the last remnants of this huge green forest cloak that was cleared to make way for farming.