Blue Lake Run, Blue Spring and Hobbiton

We started our day by driving to Blue Lake so we could go for individual runs. The setting was beautiful, as can be expected, but our gentle morning run was more of a challenge than the sign "walking path" would make anyone anticipate. We aren't used to trail running and it certainly shows we need to work on our fitness.
Following our very sweaty morning we made our way to Blue Spring about an hour away. Despite the hike being extremely hot, we enjoyed the views of the tranquil river with extremely clear water. However, this was merely a stop before the big adventure of the day - HOBBITON.
We arrived at Hobbiton an hour early for our tour, just before the heavens opened with the biggest downpour we have seen for weeks. Fortunately, it passed very quickly and we managed to get on an earlier tour.
Our guide was English and made Will feel at ease by referencing the beer we get at the end. But before tasting the Green Dragon's finest brew, we had 1,5 hours of pure Hobbiton joy ahead of us. The tickets are expensive and must be pre-booked but it's well worth it for the experience. The surrounding landscape with its rolling hills and the film set itself is simply stunning. We also got to learn a lot from behind the scenes that you probably wouldn't have known unless you are a massive Lord of the Rings or Hobbit geak.
My personal favourite - the director (Peter Jackson) insisted that all leaves and fruits of an apple tree had to be manually removed and replaced by plums / plum tree leaves just because somewhere in the book it mentions young Hobbit's eating plums. The scene where the tree features somewhere vaguely in the background made it into the film for a total of 6 seconds.
To finish off the day we treated ourselves to some New Zealand steak and some local craft beers to celebrate our 6 month wedding anniversary.Read more