Tag 20 & 21 - Taupo - Waiotapu - HOBBITON

Sunday things got really exciting. Driving was on the agenda... 🫣

But first things first. When we checked out of our hotel in Auckland, we walked to Hertz (car rental company) with our carry-on luggage to pick up the reserved (and already paid for) car. It could be reached on foot in just a few minutes. The handover worked well. We also got a kind of manual about driving in New Zealand and also a navigation device. Now it started and I was extremely nervous and tense - the reason? Left-hand traffic!

Since I knew the way to the hotel in Auckland by heart, we drove there with utmost concentration without using the sat nav. Phew, everything worked! Afterwards we loaded the suitcases and stowed everything away. Then we wanted to take the sat nav to Taupo… You think so! We immediately noticed that the mangy thing was broken. So we had to go back to the car rental company and exchange the thing. But of course we didn't go back the same way. Because of the many one-way streets, we had to drive somewhere else. But that also happened without an accident. Unfortunately it was the last device. But the employee showed us a trick that neither of us knew about how to use Google Maps offline. That was great. So we were able to set off. The tension rose again for both of us because we had to drive a bit through the city. But that also went relatively smoothly. About 3 hours later we arrived in Taupo reasonably well. Man, we were happy!

But we didn't like the hotel room at all. On one side we had a view of the pool, where some children were having a lot of fun and on the other side the suitcases of the arriving guests were rolling along. After detailed advice and a cup of coffee, I asked reception for another room. For a small fee we got a room update - with a lake view. We liked that much better. We took a short walk along the promenade, but turned back pretty soon because of the weather. We went to the hotel restaurant for dinner and then almost fell into bed. The next day was going to be exhausting 🤪

After breakfast on Monday we drove about 40 minutes to Wai-O-tapu Thermal Park. This is located just south of Rotorua and is very popular. It is an active geothermal area. In this respect, some caution is required. Every morning at 10:30 a.m. the Lady Knox (geyser) erupts. Unfortunately we didn't manage to do that. We were able to take many other impressions with us. Since there is sometimes a lot of steam there and it often smells like a septic tank - it wasn't me! - we didn't stay there that long either. I found the champagne pool very impressive. It is characterized by a wild yet artistic play of colors across the ink box. It is the oldest hot spring in New Zealand with a depth of 62 m and a diameter of 65 m. Inside the water is 74 degrees hot.

The second item on the agenda was also one of my personal absolute highlights of the trip: Hobbiton! We managed it in a really short time. We still had 3 minutes left from the ticket counter before our group's bus transfer to the Shire started. Lucky you! I think Elisa saw it more as a point on the record that you just check off when it's done. For me it was just magical! Will we see hobbits? Is Bilbo celebrating his birthday? Will Gandalf be there? Maybe even the one ring of power has returned?!😱

When the bus started, Sarah gave us introductory words about the upcoming excursion into a fantastic world. Then the Lord of the Rings theme music played and it was a very, very poignant moment. You watch the films up and down for 20 years - in good and bad moments. Then you're just at the scene - amazing! My eyes were wet (all while still on the bus), but shhh, Elisa doesn't even know that! 🤫😅. Afterwards, Peter Jackson addressed us with warming words. It was just an incredibly great time. Following in Frodo's footsteps along these very paths is hard to believe. When we got to Bag End, I didn't even take a selfie because I was so excited and forgot 😅🙈.

We paid almost 50 euros each for the ticket. We got a 120-minute tour of the set, including a bus transfer (about 10 minutes each). At the end there was a free drink at the Green Dragon and everyone's own hand-made beer mug from Hobbiton. We were very happy about it. I then bought a map of Middle-earth in the gift shop. Unfortunately there wasn't one ring right now 😁.

In the end, at least I drove back to Taupo very happy and was able to sleep very, very well. Elisa liked it too, but for me it's just something different 🤗

Greetings from the balcony with a view of Lake Taupo in fantastic weather! ☀️☺️