A bit on the nose for some ?
Or “we’re not in the Shire anymore” !
Cambridge was a nice little town and the breakfast was very good – cooked to order ! Adrienne had the usual but I decided on an omelette with an asian twist which was very tasty. We left promptly and in order to arrive “precisely when we are meant to” – in the “other” Shire – for our Hobbiton Movie Set tour.
I had my music playlist right on queue to ensure the right intro music for “Lord of the Rings” for our 30 minute drive to the site. It is a sheep farm owned by the Alexander family which had been found by location scouts when the movie was looking for filming locations in 1998. After the original movie was made, all the basically “stage front” sites were removed and it was not until the filming for the followup movies began that the family agreed to the next round of filming as long as they setup and left the sets permanently. It has become a huge tourist success since.
The weather was just perfect for the tour and the guide – an Englishman, Sam – was very knowledgeable and engaging. We visited a number of “hobbit houses” and other familiar film locations and the site has continued to enhance the experience over the years and the tour inside of a hobbit house was excellent. And of course an Amber Ale at the Green Dragon Inn as the last stop of the tour was right up my alley !
Leaving the Shire again, we drove on and stopped in briefly at the little town of Tirau – claimed to be the Corrugated Iron Capital of the World. The information centre is housed in a building constructed of corrugated iron that looks like a huge sheepdog and sheep !
Further along, next stop was the Putaruru Blue Spring, located on the Te Waihou Walkway. The spring is said to be one of the purest water sources in the world and provides 70% of NZ’s bottled water. The water is incredibly clear and the turquoise colour of the water and vivid green water plants in the stream stand out under the clear skies.
We then headed to Rotorua which was our stop for the next two nights. Rotorua – or “Rotten-rua” as my sister in law Carol describes it – is the famous NZ geothermal area, quite distinctly smelling of sulpher – or “rotten egg gas”. On the way in we stopped at Ohinemutu Maori Village for our first sight of the boiling pools and smoking holes spread around the town.
We arrived at our hotel – The Millenium – and on arriving at our room almost boiled as we entered. We enquired about the problem and after being given various stories as to why it was so hot, finally managed to get someone to turn the heat off in the room. Even without any heating and the window wide open the room remained quite warm throughout our stay – maybe it was just coming up through the ground ?!
To cool down we went for a walk along the lakefront which has a nice boardwalk and many ducks, geese and swans feeding along the lake edge. For dinner we walked into town to the historic Pig & Whistle Hotel. Originally built in 1940 as the Police station which it occupied until 1969. We both had a very tasty Steak, Ale and Mushroom Pie and then headed back to our hotel.
Today we did more exploring of the town and nearby areas – encompassing both the Maori and geothermal history. First was the town of TeWhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaaWāhiao – or Whakarewarewa for short. A living Maori village of around 45 people surrounded by very active geothermal activity – so much so that the main access road is currently closed off due to a recent sink hole developing ! It has been an active village for around 200 years and served as a fortress against attacks from rival Maori villages envious of its location amongst the geothermal activity.
The tour was exceptional displaying how they have captured the environment to grow, cook, bathe and live generally. Our local guide, Daniel, was very passionate about his heritage and sharing it with others. We then walked around the area taking in the surrounding thermal activity and the views over the village and nearby lakes.
Leaving our tour, we drove to the Redwood Memorial Grove. This is a large forest of Californian Redwoods which was planted in 1901 with an undergrowth of native tree ferns and palms. We did a walk on one of the many walking trails through the forest and there is also a “Treewalk” of rope walkways slung in the tree canopy.
Driving further out of town we visited the site of the Buried Village of Te Wairoa. which was once the place from which people could be taken to see the Pink and White Terraces. This was the site of what was proclaimed as the “eighth wonder of the world” – the Pink and White Terraces – spectacular geological formations of silica and mineral deposits which had formed over centuries and cascaded down the landscape, creating tiered steps and pools. In the late 1800’s it attracted tourists from around the globe. Then, in 1886, it was completely destroyed when Mount Tarawera erupted and buried them under volcanic material. The volcanic eruption also buried the little village of Te Wairoa in a layer of mud, destroying it completely, and killing around 120 people. In the the 1930’s parts of the village were excavated by archeologists and there is now a museum which tells the story of the eruption and the later discoveries by archeologists. We had a bit of lunch here before walking around the area and taking in the nearby waterfall.
Heading back to the hotel, we drove around the main lake on the way before dealing with some laundry back at the hotel. For dinner we went back into the town to an area called “Eat Streat” – lots of food options. We decided on the Brew Craft Beer Pub. We both decided on the Bangers and Mash with peas and Yorkshire pudding – which turned out to be an excellent choice ! They also showcased the local Rotorua “Croucher Brewing “. On the walk back to the hotel we walked through the stalls of the Night Food Market, which takes over a couple of blocks in part of the main street every Thursday night. It looked very popular and a good variety of food trucks and other stalls were on hand to keep people interested.
Day two was certainly the pick of our stay in Rotorua but certainly worth a visit.