We had rented a GPS with the car because we knew we couldn’t depend on our phones, which had at best 2G in most places outside of major cities. For whatever reason, the GPS insisted on taking us on the longest, most remote routes possible to get to our destinations. We barely made it to our prebooked 9am tour of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. I was so sad we couldn’t stop to chase down a herd of sheep we saw on the way. It was my dream to be stuck in a sheep traffic jam like the movies.
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
The tour started on foot but the main worm sections had to be seen on boats being pulled manually using chains drilled into the cave walls. We had to maintain silence during the boat ride because the worms were very sensitive to sound. Unfortunately, no camera or GoPro was allowed during the tour, but I’ve Googled it for you (Photos). The Waitomo Caves were similar to most limestone caves but the blue glow from the worms were eerily cool and pretty. I tried very hard to not focus on the fact that we were surrounded by millions of bugs…
After the glowworms, we continued on to one of the most anticipated stops on our itinerary — Hobbiton Movie Set. The drive to Hobbiton was what I expected New Zealand to be like. Rolling hills dotted with fluffy white sheep or black “kales”. It took us a couple of times to realize that meant “cows” in the Kiwi accent. This was our first sunny day in New Zealand, perfectly in time for these amazing views.
SOOOO wanted to hug a baby sheep!!!! But up close their eyes were freaky and the smell was a little offensive. I decided to just “awww” at them from afar.
Hobbiton Movie Set
Hobbiton was everything we hoped it would be and so much more! Honestly, if you don’t know what Hobbiton is, go watch the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbits movies. Go ahead, this post can wait. It was the movie set for the Shire and is leased from the local family who still owns the land. The original set for the LOTR was built using temporary materials and were torn down after filming was finished. The location attracted so many visitors after the success of the first trilogy, the set was rebuilt using permanent materials when they began filming for the Hobbits trilogy.
The tour started across the street at the movie-themed cafe. They sell everything imaginable related to the movies. They also had a post office on site where you can send postcards with special LOTR or the Hobbits stamps. We sent a few to family and friends and one to ourselves. You had to take their tour bus to get into the actual movie set. From far away, it looked just like all the other hills, but once we got close, we could start making out the Hobbit Holes, the gardens, the pond, and all the other mini-sized carts with honey jars, benches in the park and clothes drying in the wind. The tour guide memorized the material very well and was entertaining enough. We learned lots of behind the scene details and stories. Additionally, all the guides were well trained in taking photos.
I would live in this idyllic little village in a heartbeat… well, maybe once they have electricity, running water and modern plumbing.
The tour ended with a pint at the Green Dragon Inn. All in all, definitely worth the admission fee for movie fans and non-fans alike.
“I’m going on an adventure!”
Of course Sam planned to recreate the “I’m going on an adventure!” scene since we decided on the trip. We shot an angle that was not in the movies through…
Our stop for the night was Matamata. We had dinner at a local bar/restaurant on the only Main Street in town and sampled a NZ gin called “Rogue Society”. Food is expensive in NZ.
We went to bed that night not knowing we would wake up next day to some quite literally earth-shaking news…
(Singing “Another one bites the dust…”)
C.