Hobbiton - from Lord of the Rings

Well what a day!
Started going round a market and picked up some coffee and pastries. Our tour around Hobbiton wasnt until 3.20pm so we had plenty of time to do some activities. Decided on a giant redwood forest walk. Huge trees and a very tranquil walk. A few pools which were filled with vegetation but were still crystal clear. Must be the volcanic area making it super acidic so nothing can grow in it..?
Hannah worked out half way round that she had been there before. She found a photo of exactly the same clear pool 🙄. It hasn't changed in 7 years.
From there off to Hobbiton. We (mostly I) listened to the Fellowship - lord of the rings movie on the radio to get into the spirit of it.
Arrived and were taken on a tour around the movie set. Amazing area, 40 odd hobbit holes scattered around the valley. Saw one of the most expensive props ever made. A fake tree above Bilbo's house, with thousands of individually attached leaves.
We walked through hobbiton, to the Green Dragon pub, where we had a cider and an ale and got to sit overlooking a lake and the party tree. Glorious.
With the tour done and an ice cream had, we set off North. I'd planned in a stop to the highest waterfall in the north island. We stopped and walked 45mins to the lower viewpoint. A bit covered by bushes, but still a very impressive waterfall. Managed to sneak in a bit of drone time as well.
With it starting to get darker we headed towards our campsite. I turned the lights on.... nothing. Ugh ohh. With about 20mins to go, driving on the main highway, we were going along with only side lights. Managed to stay close to a van so could see where we were going. The last 100m we turned off and drove by the light of the hazard lights. See for a bit, stop, see for a bit stop. Safe and sound, time for a plate of spaghetti with sausages!Read more