Hobbiton Movie Set
37.8723° S, 175.6834° E

Today we went to visit Hobbiton, the movie set for the Hobbit village called The Shire in the Lord of the Rings & Hobbit movies series.

The movie set is in the middle of active farmland but cannot be seen from any roads as it is located in a couple of small, deep valleys.

This seclusion was the main reason the area was selected for the movie set.

The whole operation is very well designed to handle thousands of tourists each day. Car & tour bus parking is in a separate area & you must take a special bus to get to the actual movie set. An on site bus loaded with 30 people departs every 15 minutes & each bus has a guide who leads your group on a tour of Hobbiton.

At first we wondered why we needed a guide but it quickly became obvious that the entire site & set would be in total chaos if people were allowed to simply wander around on their own.

Our tour guide was a young woman named Jordan & she was excellent! She explained all of the history of the movie set & gave us an explanation about each of the Hobbit homes on the site.

She also had lots of interesting trivia about the set & the actors. At one point during the movie filming there were more than 400 people on the site – actors, film crew, props and maintenance people!

The picture below is Bag End, home of Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins.

The first time the Shire was created, it was never intended to last much more than the three months of filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The entire set was dismantled, only leaving a few stone steps & the site returned to be used as sheep grazing land.

When Peter Jackson wanted to film the Hobbit trilogy in the same location, the land owner & the movie company partners decided to build a more permanent set that would be left behind as a tourist attraction. It took two years to re-create the set that was used for only 12 days of filming! Below is the home of Samwise Gamgee, featured in the last scene of The Return of the King.

The entire set was quite charming with beautiful gardens outside each Hobbit house. But all the Hobbit Houses are in fact, facades, with the doors opening only to reveal to a retaining wall behind. It gave us a glimpse into the magic of film making.

The tour concluded at the Green Dragon Inn shown above where everyone was treated to a mug of beer or cider.

Wally’s buying!

Step up to the bar!

It was a great morning & we had lots of fun.

After the tour we were back on the road again, this time headed to Auckland for an overnight stay at a hotel near the airport.

Tomorrow we fly “back” to Sydney.

Cheers!

Nov 20 – Arthouse B&B, Matamata
37°46′19″ S 175°43′16″ E

We left the Chateau Tongariro in much the same weather as when we had arrived a couple of days before – in the pouring rain with the clouds so low that there were no mountains to be seen anywhere.

We can’t believe our luck – we had one full day in the area to see the sights & we were fortunate enough to get the only day with sunshine & mostly clear skies.

Now we were headed off to the next part of our adventures. We had a 3 hour drive through the mountains & valleys to the town of Matamata, which is just a few minute’s drive from Hobbiton.

Matamata is a busy town in the midst of a very prosperous agricultural area. The arrival of the movie production people for elements of the Lord of the Rings movies cranked up the activity in the area by several notches.

We went to the tourist information center which is modeled after a Hobbit house & then strolled through the downtown commercial area.

Matamata & Hobbiton are now among the most popular tourist areas in New Zealand, even almost 20 years after the initial release of the movies.

We stayed at a very nice B&B just outside of the town. The place was in the middle of farm country with gentle rolling hills & great views in every direction. The owners have 3 alpacas in a small field adjacent to their backyard – Cleo, Madonna and Frida – very curious animals.

Tomorrow we go to Hobbiton!

Top of the Ski Mountain
39°12′59″ S 175°33′14″ E

Get a cup of coffee & a comfy chair – this is an extended length blog entry 🙂

Today was an exciting day for us but ironically, one of the things that got us so excited today is something we came to Australia & New Zealand to avoid – SNOW! However there was lots of snow where we went today & we were very happy to see it.

Yesterday we arrived at our hotel in Whakapapa Village in the fog & pouring rain & there were no mountains to be seen anywhere. Today, especially this morning, was a completely different story! The mountains were “back” to greet us & they did not disappoint!

Whakapapa Village sits at the bases of Mount Ngauruhoe, also famous for its inspiration as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings movies, & Mount Ruapehu – the highest mountain on New Zealand’s North Island.

We started the day by taking a short drive to the Whakapapa ski area. On the way there we got some fantastic views of Mount Ngauruhoe.

When we arrived at the base of the ski area we saw that someone had a bad experience parking their vehicle. It was a humorous sight to see but it could have just as easily been me – so I don’t want to be too smug about it.

The Whakapapa ski area is the largest downhill skiing place in New Zealand. Staff there told us that they host about 6,000 skiers per day during the peak season & that the season (June – October) has just recently come to an end.

The landscape on the mountain is interesting as it’s a volcano that is completely devoid of any trees & other plant life.

We took a gondola from the base of the ski area up to the top of the mountain – about 6,600 feet – the same elevation we were at in Ghandruk, Nepal last year but with way less effort!

There is a huge day lodge up there that offers amazing views.

We were very fortunate that there were no clouds on the mountain while we were there & we got lots of great photos.

There were also notices posted in the bathrooms for everyone to read telling you what to do if the volcano started to erupt!

Made me think of Jimmy Buffett’s song lyrics “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know where I’m a gonna go when the volcano blows!” Something to contemplate while you are sitting on the toilet….

We spent a couple of hours at the day lodge & then took the gondola back down to the parking lot.

Next on the agenda were a couple of short walks on nearby trails. One trail we took was to Tawhai Falls which we found out later was the location where in one the Lord of the Rings movies Gollum was shown fishing in the “pool” at the bottom of the falls. If I would have know that earlier I would have jumped in the pool myself!

After our short hikes we went to the Visitor Information Center to learn more about the area & see their displays. We watched a short movie about how New Zealand is trying to deal with invasive species predators such as rats & stoats (weasels) that are posing a serious threat to native wildlife – especially the Kiwi bird.

We have been in New Zealand for almost 2 weeks & we haven’t yet seen a live Kiwi. I was feeling a bit deprived until one of the presenters in the movie stated that he had been working with wildlife in this country for almost 20 years & has still not seen any live Kiwi in their natural settings.

We did see this stuffed kiwi bird at the visitor centre

and this very unique road sign!

We finished the day by walking up to a backpackers lodge that was close to our hotel. We had beer & nachos in their scenic laid back lounge complete with comfy couches and fireplace.

While we were there a staff member showed us a photo of the most recent eruption of Mount Ngauruhoe in 1977. I copied the photo below of the 1977 eruption from the internet. Thankfully the mountain giant lay sleeping while we were here.

We were pretty tired by the time we got back to our hotel – but we were just in time to watch a free movie showing of James Bond’s Skyfall in the hotel’s cinema lounge. Hard to pass up an opportunity like that so we dipped into our energy reserve tanks & settled in for a few hours more entertainment.

Popcorn anyone?

Nov 19 – Tongariro
39°11′58″ S 175°32′23″ E

We were sad to say goodbye to our B&B hosts Wendy and Peter in Napier this morning. Not sure if we will ever make it back to Napier but if we do, we will certainly be staying here!

After another hearty breakfast we hit the road. Wendy recommended going east to Waiouru on a less traveled road and stopping there to see the National Army Museum.

We passed through some spectacular countryside, through agricultural areas famous for kumera – sweet potatoes and carrots as well as fruit orchards.

The highway had many twist and turns and changes in elevation through gorges and valleys then opening out into grazing lands of sheep, cattle and the occasional horse.

We were amazed at how wide & expansive these grazing lands were as we were up at a pretty substantial elevation.

We watched a storm coming in from the west and soon were in the middle of a downpour. We were glad for a stop at the New Zealand National Army Museum in Waiouru. The 3 photos below were copied from the Museum’s website.

The weather suited the sombre displays of New Zealand’s armed forces through the two World Wars and earlier times as well.

The museum was very well done.

Cath was especially taken with a special exhibit of women through both wars, with details of their lives and mannequins of clothing that they would have worn at different decades.

It was still raining heavily when we left Waiouru and made our way to Tongariro National Park about an hour away.

The clouds were low as we drove up to Chateau Tongariro where we were going to stay for the next two nights. We were very glad to be getting out of the car and into such a grand hotel.

It was still pretty unpleasant outside but we made the best of the situation & had a great “high tea” in the hotel’s classy lobby/relaxation area.

This treat brightened Cath’s (& my own) perspective.

Here’s hoping the clouds lift tomorrow!

Cheers!

Napier, Art Deco City
39.4892° S, 176.9186° E

This morning started off with “Pete’s Special” breakfast for me – poached eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and toast with homemade lime marmalade. Cath opted for fruit and yogurt! No need for lunch for me.

During breakfast we enjoyed chatting with two sisters from Germany who were also staying at the B&B.

Today we had a mixed agenda. Napier is well known as an important vineyard & wine production area with 74 local wineries & also as a city that has over 100 art deco style buildings.

The city was destroyed in 1931 by a major earthquake. At the time of rebuilding art deco architecture was very much in vogue so a significant part of the downtown commercial area was filled with buildings built in this style.

Years later, when other architectural styles became more popular, the local citizens & the government realized that Napier had something very unique & the majority of these buildings were preserved & are still here today.

We wandered around the downtown enjoying the building facades, stained glass and tiled entrance ways. We also walked along the beach front. Hawke’s Bay is huge but there is no sand, only smooth grey pebbles/stones. There were many beautiful flower gardens along the walkway.

From there we drove up to Bluff Hill for a view of the harbour.

Our B&B host Wendy had recommended the Mission Estates Winery for a tasting. Established in 1851, it is the oldest winery in New Zealand. The winery & the main buildings are part of a former French Catholic seminary that once trained as many as 600 priests.

They did not offer a tour but had many historic photos of the seminary & it’s beginnings as a winery. Our host Jacquie gave us a tasting of several different wines, starting with a bubbly and finishing with a dessert wine.

The outdoor restaurant area was very busy with large groups of well dressed locals mixed in with tourists like us. Happily they fit us in! I opted for a salad while Cath enjoyed green lipped mussels, a local specialty along with a glass of Pinot Gris. We drove out happily on the driveway lined with trees planted 100 years ago!

We went back to our B&B for a little rest and then I drove Cath back downtown for a swim at the City’s 25m outdoor pool beside the ocean. It wasn’t as spectacular as Bondi Icebergs but it was warmer!

Back at our B&B Wendy and Peter invited us to join them on their back deck for a glass of wine and some nibbles. They are such warm and welcoming hosts who really wanted us to have an excellent stay as their guests at the B&B and in the area. Easy to do!

Cheers!