In the land of the Hobbits

'All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you,' said Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings.
He's right, isn't he? We have so many possibilities today to do what we want. So why shouldn't we do what makes us happy? There's no second life waiting for us where we can do all the things we've been putting off for 'someday'.
Today we were in Hobbiton. The land of the Hobbits. The heart of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It's incredible how much effort and attention to detail went into building the film set and how it's still being maintained daily. Every flower, every apple tree, every zucchini, and every lettuce leaf in the vegetable garden is real and cared for by landscape gardeners every day. The Hobbit holes are just like in the movie. Everything is decorated down to the smallest detail. Even the Hobbits' clothes hang on the clotheslines. And everything is in miniature. It's so cute! The atmosphere is truly magical. We continue across the bridge to the Green Dragon Inn. The beer was delicious. Everything is there! Funny or perhaps a bit sad, the caves themselves are empty. The windows are still decorated, but there's nothing inside the cave. All the scenes filmed in the Hobbit holes were created in the film studio in Wellington. But it was definitely a unique experience to be standing in the middle of the Shire. Many people surely dream of that. These are moments when you only live in the present. No thoughts like 'what am I going to cook today?' or 'later I'll do this and that and that'. No, there's nothing in your mind except for the here and now. That's the beauty of traveling. It teaches you to live in the here and now. Because often we think too much about the future or the past. Instead of living in the present and enjoying it. Hobbiton brought me into the present moment, like so many places here in New Zealand. What our leaky car light is doing or what will happen if we can't sell the car or wait a minute, I'm actually unemployed! ... All of that is unimportant in that moment. Overall, I don't worry much about upcoming obstacles or what's to come. I enjoy the present much more. Because let's be honest. This is surely a time that I will talk about or think about for a long time. Maybe this is one of the best things I've done in my life. So cheers!
We had a few small difficulties with Hapi. Unfortunately, that's the present situation too. But we're very relaxed about it. The seals above the lights are leaking and water enters the lights while driving. Before we sell it, we should have that under control. So off to the hardware store (again 😄) and David tries to fix it. How do we deal with problems in general? Quite simple. It's best to worry only when it's really a problem, otherwise, we make sure to find a solution. And some things you just can't change 🙂
Oh, by the way, before Hobbiton we were in the beautiful town of Rotorua, where you have the opportunity to learn more about Maori culture. And everywhere, as David always says, it smells like fart. That's because sulfur is released everywhere in Rotorua and the surrounding area. There are also some places where you can bathe in natural warm water. There are also 'mud pools' where the mud boils at temperatures up to 100°. And all of this is powered by natural energy.

New Zealanders work a lot with Greenstone (Jade), which is found in a few places on the South Island. Or rather, Greenstone symbolizes New Zealanders. Pendants are made from the green stones as necklaces. All handmade, of course! Each pendant has a meaning and is a symbol of Maori culture.

The Koru, for example, stands for new beginnings, hope, and life. The outer circle represents growth and constant movement. Guess who's wearing it now. The Maoris like things loud, big, and flashy. The pendants are sometimes huge. It's also noticeable that some natives have striking tattoos, especially on their faces. The Maori are known for the Haka dance and food cooked in the Hangi (earth oven).
By the way, near Rotorua, we went for a nice evening walk in the Redwood Tree Walk. A scenic walkway with suspension bridges among the California Redwoods. Everything was lit up and decorated. Many Redwoods have been planted in New Zealand. In general, in New Zealand, a lot of deforestation happened (the country used to be covered in forests. Today, it's still about 38% of the land area), but later plants and trees were planted to conserve industrial wood.
Like everywhere else, climate change is also prevalent here. But I think New Zealand is dealing with it well. New Zealand aims to be carbon neutral by 2025. By 2050, the whole country should be climate neutral. This means that all the emissions produced by the country are offset by other measures, such as planting native trees.