In late 2010, a British man received a ticket for speeding from Police Constable Andy Flitton near Christchurch in South Island, New Zealand. The offender then recognised the constable as the same officer who had given him a ticket for speeding on a main road north of London in the UK two years previously. Both had emigrated to New Zealand, the police constable after 32 years service with the London Metropolitan Police, and the offender after 12 years in the UK. Hence they hold the Continue reading →

The greatest distance travelled by a zorb ball in a single roll is 570 m (1,870 ft 0.9 in) by Steve Camp (South Africa) in Paengaroa, New Zealand, on 7 November 2006 as part of Guinness World Records Day.

A 70 m² (750 ft²) traction kite manufractured by KiteShip Corporation (USA) pulled a 25 tonne (55,115 lb) Americas Cup Class yacht at a speed around 7 knots (13 km/h or 8 mph) for 45 mins in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand, on 17 December 2004. A traction kite is similar to the aerofoil kites flown by kite enthusiasts, only far larger.

The highest wheat yield is 15.636 tonnes/ha (34,471.48 lbs/ha or 232.64 bushels/acre) and was harvested from 8.869 ha (21.9 acres) by Mike Solari (New Zealand) on his farm in Otama, Gore, New Zealand, on 8 march 2010. Mike Solari broke his own record.

The farthest distance climbed on a ladder in 24 hours by an individual is 11.5 km (7.15 miles). Barbara Nustrini of The Professional Firefighters of New Zealand achieved this distance in Auckland, New Zealand on 3-4 December 2005. This was achieved during the team attempt.

Peter Jackson’s (New Zealand) Lord of the Rings (NZ/USA, 2001–03) trilogy featured battle scenes with over 200,000 fighting characters. To achieve this, Weta Digital (New Zealand) wrote bespoke crowd-simulation software called “Massive”, which combined digital animation with an artificial intelligence that governed how the characters interacted.

The largest ever demolition derby had 123 participants and took place at Todd & Pollock Speedway, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, on 16 March 2002. It took 47 minutes before the winner, the last mobile car, emerged. Although there have been larger demolition derby events, involving several races, this is the largest single race that we know of.

The largest game of leapfrog involved 1,348 participants in an event organized at the Canterbury A&P Show (New Zealand) in Christchurch, New Zealand, on November 11, 2010. All participants were school children and the game lasted for 9 continuous minutes. Chris Sheedy adjudicated.

The largest Haka was achieved by 3264 participants at an event organised by Waikato Raupatu Lands Trustat at Hopuhopu sports complex in Ngaaruawaahia, Waikato, New Zealand, on 16 February 2008.

The largest scone weighed 119.45 kg (263 lb 5 oz) and was prepared by Shaun McCarthy (New Zealand) at Stark Park in Eltham, New Zealand, on 19 August 2010. The scone measured 117 cm (3 ft 10 in) in diameter and 20 cm (7.8 in) in height. Total cooking time was 7 hours 8 minutes. Ingredients included 58.45 kg (128 lb 13 oz) flour, 8.1 kg (17 lb 13 oz) butter, 51.45 kg (113 lb 6 oz) milk, 16.1 kg (35 lb 7 oz) sugar, Continue reading →