One of the nice things about travelling is that everyone has different places that they love and recommend. The more folk you speak to, the more you find general consensus around certain locations. Amongst them are wildlife in Africa, culture in Japan, and spectacular scenery in New Zealand. Given that Jenn is a huge lover of a good view and the great outdoors, New Zealand has been on our list for a long time.
Divided into the North and South islands New Zealand is circa 1,000 miles long and 280 miles across. The south is generally considered the more aesthetic of the two – but we’ve been told that the north is not to be missed either! Given that Sir Peter Jackson chose to shoot much of the Lord of the Rings movies in this part of the world, who are we to argue!
The typical way of traversing the islands is in a camper van. We decided against that for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are surprisingly expensive, particularly if you are travelling for five weeks. Secondly, the weather in New Zealand is famously unpredictable and attempting to dry our hiking stiff in a tiny van didn’t appeal. Thirdly, we didn’t know how much personal space we would want by this point in the trip. A year is a long time to travel with one other person, and if things had been a bit testy by this stage, we didn’t want to have to spend five weeks in a mobile broom closet. So we opted to hire a car, drive point to point, and avail ourselves of Airbnbs. Time will tell if that was a good call…
PS: We’ve actually been getting along very well! Jenn tells me that every day is a delight – what a lucky lady! 😉
Arriving into New Zealand is every bit as painful as our last ill-fated journey here when we were en route to Tahiti. Our Air New Zealand flight is delayed (obviously), and a two hour queue to get through bio security again does little to endear us to the country!
Nevertheless, arriving at our Airbnb in Auckland is pretty cool and we quickly forget the journey. Our studio flat is in the harbour and although it’s dark as we arrive, I can’t help but take a quick stroll round the corner, where some pretty impressive yachts are moored.
We spend our first day in Auckland strolling around the harbour and shops before going for a very good lunch sat at the chefs bar overlooking the kitchen. One of the things that we’ve found in this part of the world is that the price delta between an average meal and a really good meal is nothing like as large as it is in London. Well fed we visit the Auckland Museum. I know very little about the Maori culture, so keen to learn. They also have some impressive natural history exhibits – who doesn’t love a good dinosaur!
Following day we take a ferry to Waiheke Island. The weather has taken a distinct turn for the worst and despite being late spring/early summer it feels distinctly like being in the UK! After a 45 minute journey we land on what looks like a pretty rugged and unspoilt island. We have lunch booked at a vineyard but decide there is time for a quick walk… T
Turns out there isn’t time and we have to phone to move our booking back. Worth it though. Nice headland walk taking in some impressive views over the water back towards the skyscrapers in the city and some rather special houses that adorn the island. Bird life here is subtly different to Oz – so occupy myself trying to capture some of it (probably explains why we were late for lunch).
After lunch we start the walk back to the ferry just as the heavens open. We also acquire a fellow wine enthusiast leaving the vineyard and heading in our direction. Ironically, we know where we’re going and she doesn’t! So, the Brits fearlessly lead the Kiwi back to the dock! 😉
Interesting chat, she heralds from a remote part of New Zealand and gives us some insight into what life is like growing up outside the main suburbs. We look like three drowned rats by the time we arrive, but pleased with our day out nonetheless.
After a final day enjoying Auckland, it’s time to collect a car hire and head to Middle-Earth. 😉
As mentioned, New Zealand is the backdrop for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Typically, film sets are dismantled immediately after production. However, the enterprising Alexander family struck a deal to create a permanent attraction on their 1,250 acre sheep farm in Waikato. Makes sense given the amount of work that was involved in the original build. Incidentally the project called for the assistance of the New Zealand army , who also went on to play orcs in the film (the Guardian reported that they were paid £5.96 a day for their efforts). In any event, it’s an impressive feat of engineering and imagination and a major draw for fans of Tolkien.
Note to self. Really fancy being a location scout for Hollywood studios. Far as I can tell it involves floating around the world looking for beautiful places to potentially shoot in. Sounds like a job I could get on board with.
It’s a crazy popular place and is booked solid. Fortunately we had booked tickets in advance. Unfortunately… there’s an accident adding an hour to our journey. Much like Sam and Frodo our journey is fraught with peril! Jenn phones ahead to plead our case. We are told they will do their best…
All tours at Hobbiton are guided. Minibuses leave every twenty minutes and escort visitors around the village. We both like the films, and I’m a bit of a Tolkien fan, but even so, I think we were a little sceptical about visiting the set. Pans out our scepticism was misjudged. The Shire is pretty impressive!
There are a total of 44 hobbit holes, a mill and the Green Dragon. All set in a truly stunning location. Even if you are not keen on Tolkien it’s worth a visit. We are guided through the village by a guy who is clearly a super-fan and has various items of Tolkien lore tattooed on his arms.
Bag End sits proudly at the top of the set, crowned by the only manmade tree in the area, which is comprised of 200,000 manmade leaves! Seemingly the originally imported leaves were not to Jackson’s liking and so he ordered them to be repainted on location!
Our tour finishes in the Green Dragon where each visitor receives a complimentary mug of ale! It’s actually a very nice pub with a real fire. We would have been quite happy sitting there for the afternoon!
With that it’s a short hop (as the Nazgul flies) to our next stop in Waimangu.
Looks like you guys are having a great trip! Enjoy!
A good idea about the travelling arrangements. I have read “The Hobbit, so have not seen the film.