Petersontravels

We drove south from Hobbiton to the town of Rotorua, a rather small city on the edge of Lake Rotorua.  One thing you notice immediately is the smell of sulphur in the air.  There are thermal springs and features everywhere around Rotorua.  That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.!  Can’t be the beans we ate at Hobbiton!

We are staying at the Aura motel, and they even have their own hot mineral baths on the premises.  We have not partaken as we don’t care to smell like rotten eggs, but hey, it’s there if that’s your thing!  It’s apparently all about the “minerals”.  If you believe that, then you likely support Marianne Williamson for President.  Feel the “love”.

Upon arrival at our hotel I relaxed for a few minutes, thanking the Maori Gods that we made it here alive, and then we headed off to dinner.  They have a very cool area in Rotorua called Eat Street that is a closed off city block filled with restaurants.

Our hotel staff told us the restaurant with the best wine list was Atticus Finch, so of course that’s where we went. This is a tapas place, which we have come to love from our time in Spain.  I must say ALL of the food was excellent, particularly the lamb dish.  The service was also excellent, Jackie in particular!  If you go here make sure you ask for her!

The wine was ok….we are not big fans of young Pinot Noir with screwcaps.  Regardless, I would highly recommend Atticus Finch if you find yourself in Rotorua.

The place has a great open air feel, and the other restaurants also looked quite good.  Definitely worth checking out.  I love the architecture of the place.

The next morning we went to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal “Wonderland”.  That’s what the brochure calls it.  They kind of downplay it with the official sign on entrance.  Wonderland perhaps a bit much??

Ohh goodie, more sulphur smells!  It is pretty much like Yellowstone, only in a much more condensed area.  The view from this area is called the Artists Palette, due to the multiple colors seen from the trail, not from the fact they launched artists from this spot with an old fashioned catapult.  They’ll deny it if you ask them.  I know.

This area, which is at the top of the above Artists Palette photo, is called the Champagne Pool, due to all the bubbles rising up to the surface.  The steam is clear evidence that this water is nearly 100 degrees Celcius.

Very cool colors along the shoreline.  The orange is due to Arsenic and Old Lace.  Wait, what?  No, arsenic and antimony sulfides….yeah, that’s the ticket.

These caution signs are everywhere throughout the park.  We were happy to not hear any sirens.  This place is not really all that far from White Island, which erupted back on December 9th, so it was in the back of our minds.

This little thermal feature is called Oyster Pool.  So cute.

Here is Kim in front of Lake Ngakoro.  We thought this water color was unique….little did we know….

This pool is below Champagne Pool, and a lot of different sources collect here to make this amazing green color.  Talk about bait for Instagram tools!

On the way out of the park there is another stop called “Mud Pools”.  A photo doesn’t do it justice, so here is a video.

Upon returning from Wai-O-Tapu we took a walk along the Lake Rotorua Shoreline.  It was a bit disappointing, as there is a lot of ongoing construction, and the thermal features are everywhere.  We are getting a bit tired of the sulphur smells.  Oh well, here is a shot from the shoreline, at one of the nicer spots along the trail.

Coming up next, our Maori experience, and the Redwoods Treewalk.

 

 

We picked up a car in Auckland, and after a couple of “non-deadly” miscues, I think I’m doing ok driving on the left.  Stressful as hell….I bigtime need a massage right now…..but we are alive!  The hardest part is to remember to look right at intersections, both as a driver AND as a pedestrian.  BTW, important note, New Zealanders do NOT stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.  I was lucky to not get run over today!

No trip to New Zealand is complete (according to “geek code”) without a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set.  This is one of the main reasons we forced Kim to watch the 3 LOTR movies (although to be honest, Hobbiton is only at the beginning of the 1st movie and the end of the 3rd one). The set is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, 2 hours south of Auckland.  Fortunately it was on the way to Rotorua, our next destination.

You show up at a parking lot a couple of miles from the actual set, and board a bus which takes you the rest of the way.  They show informative videos on the bus to keep you entertained (and keep the kids quiet, thank god).

The first spot before embarking on the walking tour is the Green Dragon.

This is the view just outside The Green Dragon.

There are a total of 44 Hobbit Holes throughout Hobbiton.  None of them are fully excavated as shown in the films, but have enough room inside of them to make it appear somebody is stepping into the doorway.  They made two different sizes of Hobbit Holes, larger ones to make Hobbits look smaller, and smaller ones to make Gandalf look taller.

The set was originally created for the LOTR trilogy in 1999.  They spent 3 months filming that series  Much of the set was taken down after those movies, only to be reassembled with more permanence for The Hobbit movies in 2009.  They only spent 12 days filming The Hobbit.  That seems like a large expense for 12 days of filming, but I’m sure they realized the potential of geeks with cash and built the place to last.  A few thousand tourists a day at $82/person….who can argue with that!

This is the most famous Hobbit Hole of all, the home of Bilbo Baggins.  I must say there were a few people who shot at least 100 photos of the door.  Why?  I think I shot 3 to make sure 2 looked good.

The next most famous Hobbit Hole is that of Samwise Gamgee, with an iconic scene in front of this setting near the end of Return of the King.  The tour guide told us that the small child that runs out to greet Samwise in that scene is Sean Astin’s actual daughter, and he had no idea she would be there, so it was an authentic welcoming scene.  Will have to go back and watch that part again.

While we were touring the set there was an awesome thunderstorm towards the west.  I took a shot of this tree with the dark clouds behind it.  These trees were part of the reason Peter Jackson picked this location.

This sign let us know our tour was coming to an end, and it was time to head to the Green Dragon for a well deserved Hobbiton Ale (included with the tour).  I have to admit the amber ale they served is so far the best beer I’ve had in New Zealand.  There are so few amber ales these days.  What about those of us who don’t care for hops!

Next to the watermill there was a bulletin board with various items for sale.  Anybody need a wheel barrow?

One last final shot of the watermill before heading in for our beer.

This is a shot of the Green Dragon from the outside.  I just love the attention to detail.

I will say the management did a really good job of keeping the groups spread out so it never really felt too crowded.  The group sizes were larger than I would have liked, but that’s part of being here in the high season.  We did the lunch+tour, and while the food was ok, I would skip that part.  They do provide an evening meal and I understand that tour is excellent, not because of the food but because you get to see the place all lit up.  I would definitely do that if you are able!

Next up, Rotorua.