Last night before we went to bed I emailed our travel agent to ask if we should be concerned about the cyclone heading our way. She called us this morning and suggested that even if the cyclone downgraded the heavy rain and winds might keep us from flying to Christchurch on Sunday. She suggested we leave Rotorua a day early. She said she would take care of all the changes and get back to us. We are feeling very smart that we used a Kiwi travel agent for just such possible circumstances.
We headed off in search of some coffee. The coffee we can make in our room is barely drinkable. We found a Starbucks in the City Centre and sat outside to enjoy what was turning out to be a glorious day.
We had a tour of Hobbiton scheduled for 11:40 a.m. It is about an hour drive from Rotorua. We had a golf cart tour arranged because the 90 minute tour by foot would not be possible for Gayle. She travels with a cane equipped to turn into a seat but the path through Hobbiton is long and steep. We arrived early and were directed to be seated on a designated bench to wait for our tour. I slipped into the gift shop to get my picture with Gandalf and to see if there was anything worth buying for the Lord of the Ring fan in my family. I succeeded at the first task but I was not impressed with their merch.
We were loaded onto a large bus with 39 other visitors and driven to the Shire. A golf cart and our own personal guide awaited us as the other 39 people headed off with the other guide. All the Shire locations in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Hobbit trilogy were shot at this location. Tours of the set began in 2002. Additional buildings and experiences have been added since then. With the kind care of our guide, Paul, we had a magnificent day.
The hillside is covered with Hobbit homes built into the hillside. The Shire is dotted with 120 year old Monterrey pines. The place is magical!
Each home has clues to help you identify the craft or interest of the occupant. This one is the home of the Shire’s local baker.
We got our picture taken at the home of the painter.
At the top of the hill is the home of Bilbo Baggins. The tree above his home is completely fake. There are only two fake trees on the set.
We got to enter into a home designed to reflect the daily lives and culture of the Hobbits. The living room…
The bedroom…
The dining room…
I spared you from the bathroom, office, pantry, etc., etc. It was a beautiful home. I should admit that I never had to duck inside the Hobbit home. We got back on the golf cart and headed to the Green Dragon Inn, next to the Millhouse.
We got our complimentary beverage (stout, ale or ginger beer) and sat by the fire. The view from this side of the lake was lovely. You can see the smoke curling up from some of the chimneys. It is someone’s job to stoke those fireplaces with wood chips every three hours to give the effect that Hobbits are actual at home.
Once we finished our drinks we were ushered into a large tent for an elaborate buffet (fish, chicken, roast beef, curry, roasted vegetables, etc. The people with whom we shared a table said it was the best meal they have had in New Zealand. It was decent but I am hoping it isn’t my best meal in New Zealand.
Our guide told us that Hobbiton can see as many as 2500 visitors in a single day. It is well organized and your guide makes sure you stick together and no one lags behind so they can spend the night there. It is a well-oiled machine.
Gayle drove us to Hobbiton and back today. She is an expert at roundabouts, remembering that the turn signal is on the right side of the steering wheel and tolerating my anxiety when I am the passenger and not the driver. About 2 km from our hotel there was a police checkpoint. All cars in both directions were stopped and every driver was required to take a breathalyzer test. Gayle, never haven been required to take one, had to get directions on what to do. She came back clear and we made our way back to our hotel room. We caught up on the emails from our travel agent. She has taken care of everything. We lose a day in Rotorua in which we had plans to drive over to Huka Falls and Lake Taupo. It makes me sad but after watching the local news tonight I am convinced that we need to get out of here.
For dinner tonight we went to the City Centre to attend the Night Market, which is only on Thursday nights. It wasn’t there. So we headed over to Eat Street and chose the first restaurant in which we could get something small, delicious and without meat. We were seated at Ambrosia, directly in front of a large screen TV playing old rugby highlights. We are planning to go to a rugby game later this month. We know absolutely nothing about rugby. So while we ate our poached pear salad and artisan bread we watched rugby with fascination. It looks dangerous and so confusing. I pulled up the basic rules on my phone which only made the game seem more dangerous and confusing. We did see a highlight from a past game in which the ball carrier was pantsed. I think going to a rugby game is going to be full of surprises for us.
Just as we were turning off the main road to drive the final two blocks back to our hotel we saw the sky light up with lasers pointed at the steam of the geysers. I turned around and found a parking lot where we could get a better view of the light show.
It has been a good day and I am eager to fall asleep so I can wake up to another day of new experiences.
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