Long overdue has been this first (of many to come) “Lord of the Rings” encounter.  There was so much to take in, it’s almost hard to know where to start.

Hobbiton

I guess really the story begins in the Shire – otherwise known as Matamata.  It was a bit of a long drive to get to Matamata from Te Puke (kiwi fruit capital of the world!) and in the classic 1-lane horrendously windy “highway” that always leaves me feeling slightly ill.  The adventure began downtown Matamata as we awaited our tour guide (who I was hoping would be dressed up LOTR style).  Our tour guide was not exactly what you would expect.  A nice young man, he certainly was not born to entertain or be comfortable in social settings.  He repeated the Hobbit Hole tour monologue in a halting, unnatural cadence.  At first we thought a recording was playing in the tour bus…however the first awkward long pause after a poorly timed joke clued us in this might be a very long trip.

Hobbiton, or the Shire, was filmed on the Alexander farm.  In fact during the filming Peter Jackson rented one of the properties on the Alexander farm and lived there until the filming was completed.  The Alexander’s farm is still a working sheep/cattle farm today, as well as moonlighting as a LOTR destination station.

I can’t really recall much of the trip up to the farm…however I do remember the first moment departing the tour bus when we were told the tour was kicking off with a “sheep show”.   We were lucky enough to have one of the Alexander sons be the sheep-shearer for the show.  He explained to us how sheep-shearing works, and that great sheep-shearers will successfully shave the sheep in under a minute.  This was not our video – but gives you an idea of what it looked like.

And then….it began.  First off – the sheep was not willing.  From the very start, this guy was not having it.  After Mr. Alexander explained it takes less than a minute to shear a sheep, he went out to struggle with a very obstinate sheep for about 5 minutes.  This sheep was fat, spent a lot of time kicking and screaming, and Mr. Alexander needed to use a heavy hand (or heavy body).  There were two other parties on the tour – 2 lady friends from Aussie, and a family with two young children from Toronto.  One of the children may have left screaming in the middle of this moment when the sheep was kicking so hard its whole body was elevating off the ground.

Sheep Shearing at Hobbiton

No question this was the highlight of the trip.  You have to check out the photos…they are priceless.  The second child left the room crying about the time that Mr. Alexander used his body weight to restrain our sheep.  Once it was all over you just weren’t sure what to say.  But then they brought in the baby sheep and let us bottle feed them which somewhat erased the horror of realizing the sheep had shit all over itself during the shearing.

Back on the bus we drove through the farm to arrive at the Shire.  It is a lot smaller than you might have expected.  And what they don’t tell you is that most of the Shire has been dissembled.  However they do have lots of sign posts with photos of what it did look like during filming.  The structures that have been left behind have all been altered so that they do not exactly resemble the movie due to copyright agreements.  So Bag End…is painted white.

The Shire

And as you can see…construction work.  Apparently we can look forward to Hobbiton being resurrected to its full glory as filming of The Hobbit is set to commence next year.  Our tour guide entertained us with rehearsed and memorized stories from the filming of LOTR, and we spent considerable amounts of time looking and staring at empty fields/lakes.  At the end of the tour they bring you up close to the hobbit holes, which you can’t actually walk into.  Just an illusion I’m afraid.  Bag End you can walk into a very small enclosure in the hill, but it’s barely tall enough to stand up straight in.

The tour wasn’t entirely what I had dreamed it would be – but then our tour guide came through at the very end.  He asked if anyone wanted novelty photos.  We didn’t get what he meant, and was pretty sure it would be a disappointment as was par for the tour that afternoon (outside of the sheep shearing!).  We let the two Aussie ladies be the guinea pigs, and after hearing their giggles we took a look at the photo.  There were two gems…one picture where it looks like one of you is the size of a hobbit, and the other found the One Ring making you disappear…

One Ring to Rule Them

All in all – It Was Something.  Next Lord of the Rings encounter…we will definitely be dressing up and doing it right.

We started our “where the road takes us trip” with a stop at Mt Maunganui.  About 3 hours from Auckland (in the Vitz) we passed by a NZ must-do, the Karangahake Gorge walk (or tramp as they say here).  We drove by…not realizing what we were driving pass.  We were in a rush to get to Waimarino Adventure Park for some kayaking through glow worms, and of course hitting the BLOB.  However it seems that my neck/back gets ridiculously agitated from sitting in the car for 3 hours, and by the time we were getting close to the park there was no way that I was going to be able to kayak for a couple of hours and be human-catapulted in the water park.

We cruised on towards Mount Maunganui, or the Mount as it is more commonly called.  Turns out skipping the water park was not such a bad idea.  We hadn’t planned on walking the Mount but ended up not only walking around the base of the Mount, taking our time to stare at Shags (you heard me) and tide pools (no dead fish unfortunately).

Base of Mount Maunganui

Just as we were finishing our walk , Clayton found himself a hobbit-hole to climb into in the side of the Mount.  Classic.  This is why I pretend I am american while doing touristy things here   Scott had told us we must go for ice-cream at Copenhagen Cones.  Those waffle cones were certainly calling our names, as it was a classic hot day where we should have been lounging by the beach rather than hiking.  But looking up at the path that led to the top of the Mount it really didn’t look too impressive and figured we could get up and back in a 1/2 hour.  Rookies.  Definitely not a half hour hike, and much much hotter.  The view from the top was well worth it though.

View from the top - Mt Maunganui

There were a lot of people on the hike, and in particular lots of paragliders.  It was pretty cool – the paragliders seemed to be just hovering off the top of the Mount…gliding back and forth without wandering too far or in a different vertical stream from the take-off.  We trucked on back down the trail, and headed straight for those waffle cones   They were awesome.  It fit about 4 scoops of ice cream, and was almost ruined by loads of whip cream, chocolate sauce and candy on top.  I think I had gummy bears.  Clayton dropped his spoon on the sidewalk….didn’t hesitate for a second to pick it up and promptly continue eating.

My neck and back was screaming from the drive, and while we were standing down the block in line-up for the waffle cone we saw just across the street the Hot Springs.  Hot Springs are everywhere.  And cheap.  It was a pretty choice day.  My good friend, Red Bill, was everywhere we wanted to be.

Red Bill

We got a really good deal on a hotel through RatesToGo and stayed at a 5-star hotel on the waterfront in Tauranga.   The hotel may have been 5-star but they had us park in a carpeted “garage” – I say “garage” as it was more like parking in someones living room.  Not right.  We spent the next morning wandering around Tauranga which seems like a really cool place, definitely somewhere we will come back to.

Next stop – Kiwi360 in Te Puke – the Kiwi fruit capital of the world!

We continue to explore New Zealand’s rugged west coast, with its beautiful black sand beaches and vast sand dunes.  It turns out that Muriwai is about a 40 min drive from our place in Greenhithe – and a much pleasanter drive than that of Piha!

Shelore at Muriwai

The black sand is merciless on your feet on a warm sunny day….even with flip flops on the sand gets on your heels and over your toes….there is a lot of wincing and whimpering as you run from the parking lot (which is sand) over the dune and down towards the water.  The parking lot is sheltered by a sandy ridge, making it the warmest part of Muriwai.  Once you are over the ridge and settled on the beach there always seems to be a strong cool wind so it’s never very hot (except for that sand!).  The water is also not so hot…all in all not an awesome place to bask in the sun and lounge in the water – but beautiful all the same.

Muriwai has a bit of a bad rap for drowning…tourists…surfers….New Zealanders….I have to say that I was really sceptical about the “dangerousness” of the west coast waters.  But, after a couple of uncomfortable situations where I felt how fast and strong the waters are here – I am now a bit afraid of the water which I have had a hard time coming to grips with as someone who has spent half her life in the water.

To the left side of the beach is a rocky outcrop where the fishermen are (always where people drown).  Looks like a lot of fun – will definitely have to give that a try at some point.

There is a large Gannet colony at Muriwai.  It was baby season at the gannet colony which was super cute.  We might have taken a ridiculous amount of photos of the gannets – but got some pretty wicked ones of the gannets in flight.  Who would have thought that I would move to New Zealand and become a bird-lover?

Baby Gannet

From on top of the Gannet colony you can see for miles the black sand beaches and sand dunes that stretch up towards the tip of the north island.  The pictures really don’t do it justice.

Muriwai Gannet Colonies and Coastline

Following up on the very successful “Sheep and Dead Fish” outing I decided the next stop on the kiwi “tour” would be in the land of boiling mud and stenchy sulphur.  The land of Rotorua.

Google. Maps. Suck.  In New Zealand.  A less than direct route to be sure – but we certainly got an eyeful with the giant dog and giant sheep made out of corrugated cardboard along the way.  Never seen that before J

Clayton discovered the unique traffic safety ad campaign launched across the highways in NZ.  Of course we don’t have a picture of them – and can’t find any posted on the internet – but it is a “clever kiwi” campaign where kiwi birds make wise decisions about their driving, including: clever kiwis nvr txt n drv, clever kiwis take power naps, and Clayton thinks he saw one suggesting that kiwi birds should smoke dope and drive.  Clayton.

I had described to Clayton how Rotorua smells….like being trapped inside a massive vat of boiled eggs.  As usual he thought I was exaggerating -  however I was, if anything, under exaggerating.  Rotorua is situated in a geothermal belt powered by sulphur.  There are boiling mud holes and steaming water everywhere.

We thought we would visit the Agrodome and catch a Sheep Show as it seemed like a funny/fun thing to do (nothin but mutton), however upon arriving at the Agrodome we discovered it cost $100 to watch some dogs chase sheep and watch a sheep shearing.  Maybe not a $100 funny.

We mulled over the option to Zorb, or to visit the safari nearby, but ended up deciding on a more cultural experience at Te Puia which was pretty wicked. The singing/dancing reminded me of the luau in Hawaii which brought back awesome memories of romantic photos in front of a setting sun with my cousin Laura   Te Puia is also the home of the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute which was awesome as well.

I took this - and it rocks

We wandered through Te Puia after the cultural show – in the rain because after a full day of sunshine driving in the car it rained the few moments we had to wander outside – and got rained on by a sulphur geyser.  It was not wicked.  Clayton hadn’t quite believed me about boiling mud – but I believe this settled that debate.

A boiling mud pool

One day in Rotorua was definitely NOT enough.  Apparently we missed out on the luge, and probably a better place for looking at pools of steaming coloured water/mud (Wai-O-Tapu) not to mention the Lord of the Rings tour at nearby Lake Taupo, so I guess we will just have to go back to Rotorua.

I woke up in the middle of the night…in quite the panic.  It felt like there were tiny claws pinching into my forearm…the thought occurred to me perhaps it was a huge spider.  After hitting my arm and swiping the sheets I woke up Clayton so he could make sure the coast was clear.  Clayton turned on the lights and looked on my side of the bed for any misshapen spiders.  Telling me the coast was clear I relaxed and looked over to where I thought the creature would be.

It was still there.

Ace Ventura had missed the very large and long stick insect that was clinging onto the side of the mattress.  To be fair I didn’t know at the time it was a stick insect, as they are docile and harmless.  I just saw a huge weird looking insect.  I may have flipped my lid a bit…and shrieked at Clayton to get rid of the insect.  I thought it was understood that “get rid of it” means irreversibly destroy.  Suggestions include flushing down the toilet, crushing until all that remains is a smear…you know.  Destroy.

I was left very unsettled wondering where the mysterious creature came from, how it ended up crawling on my arm while sleeping, and whether there would more.

In the morning after much contemplation, I decided that the creature from the night before must have been a  weta which I had seen once on a screen door.  Disgusting creature.

Turns out it was a stick insect.  How did I find out?  Well, apparently when I asked Clayton to get rid of the insect, he took that to mean don’t kill the insect and throw it into the garbage can….alive.  So as I was making lunch the next day, and I went to throw something in the garbage….the stick insect popped out of the top of the garbage can as soon as I opened the lid.

Stick Insect

Long story short…..we freed a somewhat maimed (1 broken leg) stick insect back to its environment on the tree outside the front door.

Stick Insect in Tree

The second official road-trip I took Clayton on proved to be informative…for both of us.  One of us learnt that a cow is not a sheep, and that sheep are smallish wooly quadrupeds.   And perhaps that same one of us also learnt that chitons are not fossils.  If you’re thinking “Wow…Sheila you should know better…you have a Biology degree for god’s sake” then you are right.  I do know better   The first week for Clayton in was educational, and he no longer points at cows and says sheep.

We did a bit of a tour north of Auckland, hitting Goat Island, Leigh, and Tawharanui.  We travelled first to Goat Island which is a really cool spot where there is great scuba diving/snorkeling.  We did neither.  But we did check out the tide pools and will definitely head back in warmer weather for some snorkeling.

Myna Bag at Goat Island

On the way down to Tawharanui from Goat Island we stopped in the town of Leigh first, checking out the seaside and the wharf.  There were quite a few people fishing off rocks (very common here in NZ) so we took our time trotting across the rocky shore, poking around in tide pools.   It was my first Lord of the Rings (or LOTR as it noted on maps) re-enactments…first of many I’m sure.  I found myself crouched beside a tide pool eagerly poking a dead fish…in a similar fashion as my good friend Gollum…although I didn’t whack my fishes head on a rock

Next stop was Tawharanui which is a well-known regional park on the North Island known for its beautiful beach and safe surfing.  The drive started innocently enough.  Green rolling hills, no cars on the road, sheeps on the hillside.  It turned into another one of those “excellent” NZ drives…down narrow windy gravel roads which at some cases barely fit two cars (and I really mean barely) which goes on for what seems like eternity.  But when you finally get there it is definitely worth it.  We wandered down the beach, through some small caves and onto a sheltered bay.  NZ can be a bit deceptive…the bright sunshine and harsh UV rays do not make up for the strong cold wind that always seems to be wherever you are.

Clayton Chasing Sheep

It was a great day of adventuring.  Goat Island and Tawharanui are definitely places I will return to.  Perhaps though not too soon in the future…some of the beach bathers may remember Clayton for his uncivilized behavior…chasing the sheep just off the beach.