In the end, I settled on one old activity and one new one. The "old" one is also the thing I've most wanted to do all year: the evening dinner tour at Hobbiton. Even better, Federica and Daisy decided to join me! And from there, I'd heard to soak up some of my last New Zealand natural beauty (for a while) on the Coromandel Peninsula.
During my year in New Zealand, I saw pretty much the whole South Island. I was really hoping for a chance to do the same with the North Island- maybe not quite as comprehensively- but time just didn't allow for it. The decision had to be made about what activities (and how many) to do now and what to save for a further trip, and in the end I decided not to do too much. Money is pretty key at the moment, and also I'm feeling kind of stressed with the final push of planning for my Asia trip.
In the end, I settled on one old activity and one new one. The "old" one is also the thing I've most wanted to do all year: the evening dinner tour at Hobbiton. Even better, Federica and Daisy decided to join me! And from there, I'd heard to soak up some of my last New Zealand natural beauty (for a while) on the Coromandel Peninsula.
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After our gaseous tour of White Island, I was looking forward to smelling less of the Earth’s bowels. Alas, my wish was not to be granted because we headed back west to Rotorua, where all the thermal pools give a wonderful aroma of—you guessed it—sulfur.
I can’t complain too much though. We stayed at the Funky Green Voyager, and Kara and I would highly recommend it to anyone who goes through Rotorua. Room was nice, the kitchen was clean, and we found the company to be excellent. In particular, we met a German couple about our age who we had great conversations with over the next few nights. We got to play an excellent game of charades with them and some other hostel guests, and they taught us an excellent card game whose name is either Cambio or Dutch or something else entirely. Anyway, we were up to two things in the area around Rotorua: white water rafting and Hobbiton. We were set to white water raft first. Kara found out that the highest commercially rafted water fall is nearby and had trips on sale through BookMe, so we had to go. I was skeptical of it being much better than my other rafting experiences in the north woods and Georgia/Carolina, but I was proven very wrong. This trip was definitely worth taking. We showed up at the raft barn to get started with gear and tutorials, and to meet our raft team and guides. We were outfitted with full wetsuits, helmets, PFDs, and spray jackets, all of which made us surprisingly warm despite the cold water. We spent some time going over the usual safety guidelines for white water rafting, but also practicing how to brace for our especially long falls over two large waterfalls. We were in a raft with a klutzy couple, and Kara had some trouble with the boyfriend and got elbowed in the face during our practice. She toughed it out though, and we walked down to the river to test our mettle. Readers, today was the culmination of 13 years of dreaming. The first Lord of the Rings movie was really life-changing for me- it kicked off an obsession that lasted many years and will never really go away. I don't know if you remember, but the very first shots of The Fellowship of the Ring (after Galadriel's Introduction) are of Frodo and Gandalf in the shire. Concerning Hobbits starts to play, and the journey kicks off. Getting to actually go to Hobbiton isn't something I ever really imagined doing this soon, and so today is a huge moment in my life.
There was once a time when I could have recited to you (at endless length) the exact details of how they filmed the Hobbiton scenes, but most of that knowledge is long forgotten. Fortunately, some of it was reawakened today! The Shire sets was built as an actual village. There are no transitions between filming locations- it's all there and every inch is designed to be Hobbiton. Peter Jackson is known for his painstaking- and obsessive- adherence to detail, and so everything looks exactly as realistic as you'd ever hope. In fact, the New Zealand government lent Peter Jackson the Army to come in and built hill, bridges, and roads to make the location perfect. Tolkien described Hobbits sitting under plum trees, but Jackson didn't like the look of the trees. He had apple trees planted, the fruit ripened and picked off, and plums attached. He created the tree above Bag End and, when he didn't like the exact color of the leaves a few weeks before filming, he had his crew go in and individually spray paint every leaf. When you visit Hobbiton, you're really in it, and everything is perfect. They built The Dell even though it was never on camera. The party tree was there. Bag End was, of course, but so was Sam's bachelor Hobbit Hole and the one he shared with Rosie at the end of Return of the King. The party tree was amazing, and in the distance were rolling hills and grazing sheep. Even the walk between Hobbiton and the Green Dragon Inn was realistic. I could have spent a lifetime. We were lucky that the weather was perfect and, since it's still early in spring, we had a small tour group! We've got some great photos to share. I already want to go back! FOREVER. Today marks nearly one month until Kara and I leave for New Zealand, which means that it's about time to make this blog public!
Kara and I have been trying NOT to plan out our year in New Zealand too much- that way lies madness, doom, and lost opportunities- but we do know that we'll be leaving Chicago on November 4th and arriving in Auckland on November 6th (NZST). We'll be staying in Auckland for a least a week to see the city and get our affairs in order. Then, we're going to buy a car (!!!) and drive ourselves to Hobbiton, Rotorua, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Napier, and finally to the ferry to the South Island, where we'll look for jobs and decide where to settle. Those attractions didn't mean much to me a few months ago (other than getting to Hobbiton, which has been a major life goal since age 16), and so let me tell you a little bit about them. Rotorua: Rotorua is a city located on a volcanic plateau, sothink "geothermal phenomena". Geysers, bubbling mud pools, a buried city (!!!) and views like this one. Rotorua is also where zorbing happens, so I'm preparing myself for THAT. Tongariro Alpine Crossing: I'll just quote from newzealand.com: "New Zealand’s greatest day walk, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a 19.4km journey across a spectacular volcanic landscape. Experience bright turquoise crater lakes, alpine meadows, high volcanic peaks and stunning 360-degree views of the central plateau in this world-renowned hike. "This is also where Mount Ngauruhoe is (aka Mount Doom). Napier: Napier is a port town on the North Island. An earthquake in 1931 razed most of the city, and the rebuilding coincided directly with the Art Deco architecture heyday. Since nearly all of the center of the city was rebuilt at the same time, this is one of the only towns in the world to be built nearly entirely in Art Deco style. WHO CAN BELIEVE IT! But it's happening. One month! <3 Lizzy |
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October 2015
AuthorsLizzy, Kara, and Jordan are spending a year traveling and working in New Zealand. Share our adventures and keep in touch! Categories
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