Hobbits...

We bade a fond farewell to our hosts in Hahei, Peter and Kay, who are quite lovely. They give their guests a gift of a small kiwi toy and ask that we take a photo of her at places that we visit and forward them back to them which of course we are happy to do. Photo below of Peter and Kay with kiwi.
We left Hahei to head south ultimately to Rotorua but via Hobbiton village. The weather was not so good this morning with heavy rain showers but still some great views. Roads in NZ are in very good condition due in no small part to the fact there is little traffic! Distances are though deceptive for there is a lot of climbing and descending hills with plenty of hairpin bends so a journey of say thirty miles can easily take an hour or more.
We drove through the morning down to Hobbiton village where the films Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were filmed. Now neither of us have read either the books or seen the films but Hobbiton village is the no 1 visitor attraction in NZ so off we went and what a wonderful place it is. When Peter Jackson, the films producer was looking for a suitable location he came across this 1250 acre farm in the middle of nowhere. The green and rolling landscape is amazing and we saw it on a lovely day for the rain had gone to be replaced by warm sunshine. You are taken round the site in groups with a guide and the tour lasts about two hours.
The film producers created a number of small hobbitons where the hobbits lived and these are maintained by a team of gardeners. The producers also created an artificial tree that remains and is not discernible from the other trees until you are close to it. There are over 2000 leaves on it which had to be repainted for The Hobbit movie as they had faded!
We left Hobbiton for the hour’s drive down to Rotorua where we are staying for two nights. We are in another B&B a bit of a way out of town in the hills overlooking the city, very comfortable with excellent views and some resident Alpacas.Read more