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January 2023
A 27-day adventure by skip's retirement travel Read more
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  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 1

    Auckland

    January 5, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    The day I arrived in Auckland, there was an earthquake, and the summer storm that has been plaguing things was reclassified as a cyclone. An earthquake and a cyclone on the same day makes an interesting welcome to New Zealand. Most of these pictures were taken in the gloom and rain.
    The 1st picture is the Ferry Building. If it looks familiar, it is a copy of San Francisco's. It is said that this design was chosen as a way to welcome newcomers with a building that might be familiar.
    The 2nd picture is the old Customs House. The old foreshore was about where the street is. So everything this side of the street is reclaimed land. The Ferry building is actually behind me. So it is on reclaimed land.
    The 3rd picture is Britomart. It was originally the post office but has gone through many changes. It is currently being redone as a train station.
    The 4th picture looks down into the water from Queens Wharf. Those structures hanging in the water are supporting mussels. They are being used to naturally filter and clean the water of the harbor.
    The 5th picture is O'Connell Street. Those black blocks are inscribed with the history of the area, going back to before European settlement .
    At the bottom of O'Connell Street is the Chancery Chambers building shown in the 6th picture. This is the former headquarters of the ADLS, the Auckland Law Society.
    The 7th picture looks up to the Sky Tower, said to be the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.
    And finally, after 4 days of rain, the sun came out. The 8th picture is in Albert Park between downtown and Auckland University. The university is behind me.
    The last picture looks across the harbor from the end of Queens Wharf. There were 2 large cruise ships in port. So it was hard to find a place to see out. This picture looks away from the ocean towards Shoal Bay and Takapuna.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 1

    Some street art in Auckland

    January 5, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    Auckland has a lot of art. These pictures are a sampling of what's in the central business district.
    The 1st picture is of a statue commemorating the arrival of the people we know as Maori. You can see the bow of a boat at the bottom and a flock of birds above. It is said the Maori followed birds to the land.
    The 2nd picture shows a pair of stacked stone columns meant to depict the largest tree in New Zealand, the kauri tree. The largest exceeds 14 meters in circumference.
    The 3rd picture is of a painting capturing a couple of the local critters. The 4th picture is a small park with a statue of Lord Freyburg, a former governor.
    The 5th picture is a local symbol that collects many local features. The surround is silver fern there is a volcano, a kiwi and more.
    The 6th picture shows many Maori motifs painted on the wall looking like pottery, even though traditional Maori culture didn't have ceramics like this. I didn't catch the reasoning behind the artist's choice.
    The 7th picture is sidewalk art. This mosaic is a traditional Maori design that recalls their journey and arrival to these lands. This design is a copy of an example of how they preserved their history rather than in books like we're used to.
    The last picture is another memorial, this one to women's suffrage. New Zealand is the 1st country to give women the right to vote in 1893.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 6

    Hobbiton

    January 10, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Welcome to Middle Earth! Or kia ora, as they say here. This is the set used for the town in the Shire in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie trilogies and now in the Rings of Power. Being an avid fan of the novels and the movies, I'm thrilled to finally be here.
    If you've seen the movies, most of these pictures will look familiar.
    The 1st picture, of course, needs no explanation. The 2nd is the cart path where Gandalf is seen arriving at Hobbiton and the road where Bilbo yells "I'm going on an adventure!" in the 1st hobbit movie.
    The 3rd picture looks across a working vegetable garden to a hill. Near the top, is a hobbit hole with a green door with a tree above. That's Bag End. The 4th picture is a closer look at Bag End, Bilbo and Frodo's home. The 5th picture is down the hill at the end of Bagshot Row. This is Sam and Rosie's house at the end of Return of the King.
    The 6th and 7th pictures show one of the cinematography tricks. The one where I'm standing would be used for hobbits and dwarves to make them look smaller. The smaller one in the 7th picture would have been used for Gandalf and other non-small people to make them look taller.
    You may recall that Thoron Oakenshield and company made a contract to employ Bilbo as their burglar to retrieve the Arkenstone. The 8th picture is that contract.
    The 9th picture is the Party Tree where Bilbo hosted his birthday party and pulled off his disappearing act.
    The last picture looks across Hobbiton to the Mill Pond. On the back and to the right you can see the Green Dragon Pub (see another post), the stone bridge and the Mill, all familiar from the movies.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 6

    Green Dragon Pub

    January 10, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    The Green Dragon is the pub in Hobbiton. This is the Hobbits' favorite watering hole, and it appears in the movies.
    The 1st picture is one of the bars on the pub: this one with the carved green dragon above. The other bar is in the 2nd picture. This is where the libations are poured. I can attest to the amber ale being quite good. They also have a stout, cider and ginger beer.
    The 3rd and 4th pictures are looks at different parts of the pub. I confess that the ambiance is such that I could be a regular, were this a public house near where I live. The 5th picture is a barrel of ale from one of the Shire's better brewers.
    The last picture isn't actually the Green Dragon. It is the old Hobbiton store. It no longer functions as all their business is now handled at the new visitors center.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 6

    Maori Cultural Show

    January 10, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    A delightful introduction to Maori culture held at Mitai Village at Rotorua. The evening begins with a war canoe arriving (the 1st picture) with men of the village chanting and flashing paddles in the traditional water approach to a village or even to conflict. The 2nd is a gateway to their sacred spring. It was on the river flowing from the spring that the canoe arrival was demonstrated.
    The 3rd picture is an update of their traditional method of cooking, especially for feasts. This is an excavated oven where a fire piled with river rock is burned to coals, and the food is place atop the rocks. It is then sealed until cooking is complete. You can see lamb, chicken, white and sweet potatoes, plus stuffing. That was the center of the feast they served. It was delicious.
    After dinner we moved to see their show. That's the next 6 pictures they began with the traditional welcoming ritual, followed by a number of demonstrations of games they play to develop hand eye coordination, arm strength, etc. all to improve their skills as warriors, men and women, both.
    The last picture is of a reconstructed traditional house. We were led on a tour after the show, but, in the dark, it was hard to see. We also saw glowworms, but the pictures I tried simply didn't come out. It is quite a sight.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 7

    Trollshaw Forest

    January 11, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    This is a site that you will see in the Hobbit movies and in Rings of Power. This is an off the beaten path site on private property where the owners host tour groups to see the places that figure in the films. What is especially interesting is everything here is natural. None of it was created by the creative gurus of the movie making team.
    The 1st picture is the route taken by Bilbo and the dwarves (the company) as they approached Mirkwood and the Staddle farm. The 2nd picture is the location of the Staddle farm where the trolls attacked and ate the farmer and family. The 3rd picture is where the farm stable was located and where the trolls captured a couple dwarves and stole a pony or 2. The 4th picture is a silhouette placed where Gandalf stood to split the rock and turn the trolls to stone, ending the battle between the company and the trolls, and rescuing the abducted trolls and ponies.
    The 5th picture is of the 90 meter high limestone cliffs on site that appear in the hobbit movies, but feature more in the Rings of Power.
    The rest of the pictures are at various places in the forest where scenes were shot. I'll leave you to recognize the specific scenes, whether it's the wargs attacking; or Radagast warning Gandalf and giving him the morgul sword; or the troll cave; or Radagast with his sleight pulled by Rhosgobel rabbits. There are more.
    The site is amazing, and the farmers who own the property and lead the tours are great people who also tell stories about their experience with the movie makers.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 7

    North Island miscellany

    January 11, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Here are several pictures of taken on the north island. These are in no particular order, though they are somewhat grouped into similar subjects. I also note that all pictures are south of Auckland.
    The 1st 2 pictures are in the more central part of the north island. You might think of this as typical of the Shire. The 3rd picture is farther south where the land begins to get more rugged. You might think of this as where the Company of Thorin (Bilbo and dwarves) are approaching the mountains. (See Trollshaw Forest post).
    The 4th picture is farther south yet. This is Lake Taupo. It is a crater lake in the caldera of Taupo Volcano, a supervolcano that is said to be active, though it hasn't erupted in over a millennium. This is also a major geothermal area with many hot springs and geothermal energy projects.
    The 5th picture is of the Huka Falls, a cataract on the Waikato River. This rushing water is created by the river narrowing sharply and creating the canyon.
    The 6th picture is taken in the Auckland Art Gallery. This is an example of traditional Maori weaving to create what is called bark fabric. The motifs are traditional.
    And finally the last picture is a look back at Wellington from out in the harbor. This was taken from the interisland ferry heading for the crossing of the Cook Strait to the South Island.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 8

    Mordor and more

    January 12, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Another LotR location. This area in Tongariro national park. There days it doesn't look like Mordor, but you might recognize Mount Doom in the 1st picture. It differed slightly in the movies. The Maori consider sacred Mount Ningāuruhoe, as it is known locally. So the director agreed to digitally reshape the upper part of the mountain.
    The 2nd picture is Mount Ruapehu which some call Mordor as some of the scenes in Mordor were filmed here. The 3rd and 4th pictures look at the landscape above the tree line in "Mordor".
    The 5th picture is the waterfall at Erebor also known as the Lonely Mountain beneath which the dwarves ancient kingdom was located. This was the destination for the company, Bilbo and dwarves, in the Hobbit.
    The next 2 pictures are of Gollum's fishing pool. This is where he was splashing around and catching and eating fish. The 6th picture is of the location, and the 7th picture has members of the group: 1 in a Gollum mask bashing and eating a fish; and 2 up on the rock where Frodo and Sam watched.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 9

    WETA and Wellington

    January 13, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Wingnut Entertainment Technical Allusions or WETA is the special effects and props company probably best known for its work on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. They work with production companies in television, public art, and more, all in addition to the film industry. The name also refers to the weta, New Zealand's largest insect that they use for their logo.
    The 1st 4 pictures are all in their lobby. The main museum space allows no photography as all the artifacts are owned by the production companies, not WETA. I'm sure you will recognize their creative genius from just these examples. The tour of their shop was amazing, seeing all these original, preserved special effects, masks, prostheses, etc. used in so many productions. BTW, Wingnut is the name used by Sir Peter Jackson, director of LotR and more, for his production company.
    The Roxy is a restored art deco theater owned by Sir Richard Taylor, founder of the company that became WETA Workshop. WETA is located in the Miramar section of Wellington.
    The 5th picture is a view over Wellington, taken from the observatory on top of Mount Victoria. It is a beautiful city. BTW, Miramar is out of this picture to the right.
    The next 2 pictures are 2 more LotR filming sites that are located on the side of Mount Victoria. The 7th picture is the site known informally as Shortcut to Mushrooms. It is here that the hobbits fall and roll down the hill to land among mushrooms. Frodo yells get off the road, and they hide under roots just before a black rider arrives and almost finds them.
    The 8th picture is where Frodo and Sam made camp one night. Frodo is sitting in the tree where one of our group is sitting. Sam is standing in front, and they hear elves passing by.
    The 9th picture is extra special. That is Daniel Reeve. He is the calligrapher, map maker, artist and more on both trilogies, Rings of Power and many more projects. We were blessed to be with him for a good part of a day where he walked us through his work on these JRR Tolkien related projects. Here he is demonstrating calligraphy on a painting of Hobbiton, writing a rather famous line. They asked that this not be splashed all over the web, but I simply could not leave it out. It is a big deal for me to meet him. So I included it here. I encourage you to visit
    https://www.danielreeve.co.nz. to better acquaint yourselves with this incredible, generous, kind and unbelievably talented artist.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelNew Zealand
    Day 11

    Dwarves in Barrels

    January 15, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    In the Hobbit, Bilbo and the dwarves escaped from captivity by hiding in barrels that were dumped into the Forest River where they eventually reached the Laketown called Dale. This stretch of river is where those scenes were filmed.
    In the last picture, that hill just visible in the upper right is where Bard was standing when the company saw a person from Dale for the 1st time.    Read more

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