Hobbiton

Me in front of Bag End! (Yes, I am a nerd)

After several days in Queenstown, we flew to Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand.  On the way from Roturua to Auckland, several of us opted to visit the Hobbiton set from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  It was seriously cool!

Peter Jackson wanted a location with rolling hills, a water source, and no power lines to obscure the view.  He found a farm near Rotorua that was perfect and contracted with the owners to use the land with the proviso that he remove all of the sets after filming.  When Jackson decided to film The Hobbit, he asked to use the farm again.  This time the owners asked Jackson to leave the set so they could offer tours to the public.  Here are some pictures from the tour I went on.

I loved all of the hobbit holes!  Some of them are full size and some of them were made 3/4 size to make characters like Gandalf look much bigger in comparison.  Most of the hobbit holes are just doors (the interiors were shot on a sound stage) but there was one that you could go inside (I'm peeking out from it).

For The Hobbit movies, Peter Jackson wanted some smaller hobbit holes in the distance to make the Shire more realistic.  They are only seen in the movies for a few seconds!

The sign posts are really cool!

I loved this water wheel!

After the tour we were able to visit the Green Dragon which is a fully functioning pub.  We ordered some ale and sat by the fire!

This was such a fun experience!  I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see this magical place!

Milford Sound

While we were in Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand for a few days, we took a day trip to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been: Milford Sound!  It is a fjord that runs fifteen kilometers inland from the Tasman Sea and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise up to 1,200 meters with many dazzling waterfalls.  We took a cruise through the fjord and it was absolutely amazing (even better than the fjords in Norway, in my opinion).

 

The pictures do not do this place justice!  It is incredible and it is no wonder that Milford Sound is one of the top tourist destinations in the world!  It does take some effort to get there, five hours from Queenstown, but it was worth it!

Note:  We almost didn't get to see Milford Sound because it snowed over night and created an avalanche hazard.  We had to wait over an hour at a roadblock before we were cleared to continue on our way!  I am certainly glad we were able see this amazing place!  The South Island of New Zealand is breathtaking!