Monday, 17.02., Te Puia and Hobbiton

Don't we have a beautiful room?!

Today we visit Te Puia, a center of geothermal activity, for Maori culture with a kiwi breeding station, although it's supposed to be very touristy. But the city park in Rotorua yesterday was geothermally quite disappointing.

We're here relatively early and there aren't many buses around yet. First, we finally go and see a kiwi. There is a breeding station, a kiwi nursery, where you can observe the kiwis in special nightlight. Very nice!

The next attraction is the geyser. It steams and spits so that it's a real joy. Where the water runs down the mountain, silicate settles. We're excited and have our picture taken with it right away. Sulfur crystals in neon green are sticky and hot. There is a 'steamer' where real cooking takes place and a 'butt warmer'. Steam is again rising from the forest around it. And at a hot pool, we're shown how food can be cooked.

Afterwards, we continue to the Maori village.

We can watch how the New Zealand flax is processed very finely. We visit the meeting house and the pantry. After that, we can visit the 'carving'. The Maori Arts and Crafts Institute has taken on the task of preserving Maori art and craftsmanship, young people learn the craft and also experiment with new materials and restore old pieces. So they work with jade, wood, bronze, and plastics. There is also a weaving house where the women work. Here we saw women with a tattooed chin for the first time, a typical Maori decoration. One of the women is working on a cloak made of bird feathers.

The visit was really worth it and the tourists got lost. There was no rush!

Afterwards, we drive to Matamata. No one knows it, right?

But 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' are known!

So here in Matamata, Sir Peter Jackson found the right environment for his Hobbit village. The surroundings are really impressive! And there are really many tourists from all over the world. We bought tickets the day before, which was probably lucky to get some at such short notice. Then the buses run every 10 minutes and it takes about 15 minutes to get to the Hobbiton. There is a brochure in German and a film on the bus. In the village itself, a guide leads us and allows plenty of time for photography and provides information about the films, actors, and the director. Among other things, he tells us how the oak tree on Bilbo's house was made. We'll tell you about it later in case you don't already know. And the many photos speak for themselves! Currently, 7 gardeners are employed to make everything really beautiful and well-kept. At the end of the tour, there is an ale or cider in the 'Green Dragon' with suitable music. Then we walk back to the bus through the vegetable garden. This visit was also worth it and we will indulge our jetlag at home with 'The Lord of the Rings'!

Because our B&B host recommended the Redwoods to us, we'll stop by there too! And we're quite surprised. Here, there is a treetop walkway through the forest of really tall redwoods. Unfortunately, it's still too bright for the lanterns, but it's still great and there's a lot of information again.

To end this long eventful day, we go to an Irish pub to have fish and chips and seafood chowder while watching rugby (TV on the left) and cricket (TV on the right) - very interesting, even though we don't know or understand the rules!