“It’s so fluffy I’m going to die.”
— Despicable Me
The weekend started on Saturday with Julia and I picking up our car and driving down to Matamata. Our sole purpose of stopping in Matamata was to visit Hobbiton aka the real-life Shire 🙂 This is another of my most amazing experiences in New Zealand. I felt like I was in Hollywood except there weren’t any famous people there now, but famous people spent months on this on-location movie set! I was giddy with excitement walking through the Shire and passing Bag’s End. My excitement was nothing compared to the stories our tour guide told. She had a group all dressed as elves and dance beneath the party tree; another day a man spent the entire day sitting beneath the party tree reading the Hobbit; yet another day a man, dressed as a hobbit, recited Bilbo’s whole party speech from memory. These are all more spectacular than me bouncing around from too much excitement.
The land is owned by the Alexander family and is located on their working farm of 13,000 sheep and a bunch of cows. There are sign posts indicating East Farthing, West Farthing, the Green Dragon pub, and other significant places; these places are extremely condensed though as there are only 40 some hobbit holes populating the entire Shire. Sadly none of the hobbit holes had much, if anything, in them; the only hobbit hole with anything besides dirt is Bag’s End. One wall is decorated because one scene showed both the Shire and inside Bilbo’s house. While I couldn’t enter Bag’s End, I did stand inside the door of a hobbit hole!! Basically, totally awesome 🙂
That night we drove to Tauranga and stayed with Julia’s friend, Lea. We talked, went out for pizza, watched the All Blacks beat Ireland in another friendly, watched Love Actually, and I slept in a real bed. I had a great night, despite being ridiculously tired and ready for bed immediately after eating supper. My pizza was topped with roast beef and simply delicious. Even though I was half asleep and remember very little about the movie, I did enjoy it. I’d like to watch it again…and when I’m more awake.
Sunday morning, Julia and I drove to Rotorua to do the Skyline Luge and hike the Redwood Forest. Despite already luging here, I had just as much fun the second time. Hiking through the Redwood Forest was fantastic. We went a couple hours before dark, so the sun shined through the trees. Unfortunately this meant we didn’t have much time to hike. We chose a short 75 minute track, but followed the horseback signs and walked the track in 10-15 minutes. We were so confused, but after going through a second time found the trail we wanted to walk.
From the forest, we drove to Taupo and spent the night there, so we were close to our next activities: Taupo Cliffhanger Swing and unknown. The swing was amazing; Julia and I went tandem and I don’t know why I was nervous. The initial drop frightened me, but in my defence I had no idea we were about to drop. Also the first swing backwards freaked me out because we didn’t spin and I couldn’t see where we were swinging to. After this I was fine and had an excellent time 🙂 I really wanted to go a second time, but didn’t feel like paying, especially when it would cost me more. (I paid half price for a voucher, otherwise, we might not have done the swing at all.) Instead I spent my money on photos and a video. This was a much safer adrenaline rush than bungy jumping, but the rush didn’t last as long as my rush from skydiving.
We stopped by a café for brunch before leaving town. I only mention the café because I had a delicious, warm cheese scone that reminded me of cheesy biscuits in the States. I drove us to Otorohanga Kiwi House. Yes, I (mostly) successfully drove on the left side; the mostly is because my lead foot finally got me pulled over. Granted it took almost four years and a foreign country half the world away. I’m pleased to announce I didn’t get a ticket, despite exceeding the speed limit by 21 km/hr (~13mph). Oddly enough, seconds previous I was exceeding the speed limit by 30 km/hr (~18mph). Perhaps I didn’t get a ticket because I was ridiculously polite and apologetic or maybe the paperwork wasn’t worth it when I only had a week left in the country. Either way, I kept my NZ$170 (~US$140) and slowed down for most of the trip. I couldn’t help myself when I reached the motorway, but the verbal warning wasn’t the only pressure to slow down. It poured so hard the windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the rainfall.
The Kiwi House was a perfect end to our trip because Julia and I watched two kiwi birds running around doing whatever it was they were doing. The one did a lot of standing around; the other kept running back and forth between the wall and the other kiwi bird. Sometimes the running kiwi bird would touch the stationary kiwi bird with its beak and seemed to frighten him/her. I never wanted to leave them; they were so cute and fluffy. There were other birds outside too, but most of them weren’t as interesting. Paradise ducks are interesting creatures though as they mate for life and starve themselves to death if their mate dies 😦 It’s really quite sad, but I applaud their devotion. The other birds included moreporks, quails, wekas, teal ducks, keas, oystercatchers, mallards, and a few more.
Despite the chilly weather Saturday and Sunday plus the downpour of rain on Monday, the weekend was a complete success. I’m happy with the activities we did since we didn’t have those planned out before departing. I’m also satisfied with my left-sided driving skills, but prefer the right-side as shifting left-handed was quite awkward. Knowing which side to stay on is easier because the steering wheel is on the right side placing the driver in the road’s centre. Definitely still a learning experience though.
“I promise to come home to you…Don’t count the miles, count the I love yous” –“Miles” by Christina Perri
I love you!!! –> For more adrenaline
I love you!!! –> For driving on the left side (and not getting a ticket)
ILYs: 175
Bethany Blount 