30.10.2016 Hobbiton

Since we didn't have any food for breakfast, our first activity in the morning was to drive into the town to do some shopping at Countdown. In our shopping cart, we got toast (but not the cheap white bread that we couldn't eat anymore), cereal bars, apples, pancakes, and a chocolate spread.

Right in the parking lot, we ate the pancakes with the chocolate spread because we were really hungry by then. Cold pancakes, but delicious pancakes.

Since we had booked a Hobbiton tour for one o'clock and still had plenty of time until then, we drove to the highest waterfall on the North Island, which was twenty minutes away. We had to walk for about 45 minutes to get to the first viewpoint of the Wairere Falls, which have a height of 153 m. Unfortunately, we didn't make it all the way to the top on time. We took photos and chatted with an older couple before heading back down.

Then we finally went to the film set of Hobbiton/Lord of the Rings movies: the village 'Hobbiton'. This tour was on my 'Things you must(!) do in New Zealand' list. I was so excited.

(Unfortunately, photos taken there can only be used for private use, so we are not allowed to publish any photos here on our blog.)

First, we drove through pastures in a bus, with lots of sheep to see. No sight of Hobbiton yet. Small films were shown on the bus: movie clips and a short interview with Peter Jackson.

After about 10 minutes of driving, we finally arrived. We were guided through the film set by a young woman. She told us important facts, amusing misunderstandings - there was someone who thought Hobbiton was a Harry Potter film set - and offered to be our photographer so that not everyone had to take selfies.

I took over 100 photos that day and my fangirl heart beat a little too fast (especially when we stood in front of Sam's house - okay, it was just a yellow door, behind which there was no Hobbiton residence)

Further down in the village, where the village's lake is located, we got a free drink. We could choose between beer (two types), wine, and ginger beer (non-alcoholic). I chose the ginger beer because I was the driver.

We sat in front of the carmine, shared a muffin, and I dressed up to take a souvenir photo.

After two hours, the tour was over and I realized during that time that I had lost my ticket and my sunglasses. I asked at the front desk if my sunglasses had been found and turned in, but the glasses remained unfound. I was told to send an email with a detailed description and they would let me know if they found the glasses.

In the parking lot, we used Campermate to find the nearest camping site, which should not be too far away from Taupo, as we would be working there in a bed & breakfast starting the next day.

We found a camping site near Tokoroa, where we previously went shopping for dinner.

We spent the night at The Beez Neez Lodge on the main road in Atiamuri. We finally cooked warm and tasty food in the kitchen: a vegetable rice dish. They even had free tea there. We really recommend this camping site. For ten dollars, you can use the kitchen, toilets, showers, and a common room with a TV. There are also affordable rooms and a bar where you can eat as well.

The night was cold. Very cold. I woke up every two hours because I was freezing. The next morning, we saw frost on the grass tips, which highlighted the cold of the night. Our camping neighbors, who had a huge motorhome, pointed at our car the next morning and said, 'You must have been freezing.'

Correctly identified, Sherlock.

For breakfast, we finally had toasted toast again, and we definitely stood under the warm showers for too long. At ten o'clock, we then made our way to Taupo, which was two hours away.

Jana