Once on our tour bus, our driver Craig gave us loads of information about choosing the site location before dropping us outside of Gandalf's Close, the entrance to Hobbiton. We walked through the stone walls into a different world, where the grass was greener and the gardens full. It was beautiful. We entered looking out over the whole of Hobbiton, all the way up to Bag End, admiring the hills and the various hobbit holes which were individually decorated. Our tour guide, Alice, let us roam in various parts of The Shire, giving us bits and pieces of information along the way and allowing us to take pictures at every turn. Most interesting to me, she explained that the fruits and vegetables in Hobbiton are real! The gardeners and caretakers irrigate Hobbiton and maintain the hobbit gardens so that Hobbiton is always lush for visitors, and they actually use the vegetables and fruits grown there in their restaurants. We got to stand in a hobbit hole, explore the field for Bilbo's 111tieth birthday party, and take a quick pint in the Green Dragon. A local brewery actually makes beer and cider specifically for The Green Dragon, which can't be had anywhere else, so it was kind of fun to drink there. Afterwards Craig picked us up and took us back up the hill to The Shire's Rest. Katie and I snapped many photos, and really enjoyed the tour.
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| Kneeling on your shoes puts you at hobbit height! |
Katie and I headed straight to Rotorua and grabbed second breakfast at Third Place Café. After lunch, we headed to the Pig & Whistle to grab a couple pints and watch the New Zealand Black Caps play the West Indies in the cricket World Cup. We figured the pub would be busy and people would be excited, since it was one of the quarterfinal matches. However, the pub was nearly empty when we got there, and it remained that way even after the match had started and been going on for a bit. After a while, we decided to head out and visit the Government Gardens instead. We'd read about their hot springs and a geyser, sources of the eggy, sulfurous smell of the city. We found several hot pools, which were very pretty to view but smelled strongly. Fortunately, we visited the rose garden afterwards. After the rose garden, we went back to the B&B to regroup before dinner.
Yesterday when we arrived, our host booked us at a Maori dinner experience at the Mitai village, including a concert, a hangi (a traditional feast where the food is cooked underground), and a glowworm bushwalk. She arranged for a ride for us between 5:45 and 6:10, so we were ready at 5:30. At 5:45 on the dot, our van pulled up. We hopped in and set off to pick up a family of 6 before heading to Mitai. We were a bit early, and I took the head of the table per Katie's suggestion. We chatted with people as they joined our table, which filled with other couples from Germany, Australia, and the Cook islands. Of course, our host Jimmy came to our table, looked at me, and asked if I would honor the "tribe" as chief for the evening. Obviously, I said yes.
Jimmy explained our chain of events for the evening, which consisted of viewing a war boat, reviewing the hangi, greeting the chief of the Mitai village, a concert, and then the feast, finishing with the bushwalk. He then called me up to the front and introduced me as chief, and asked for people to call out their countries so I would know how many we represented. Following that, everywhere we went, he called my table (table #7) and me up first, letting us lead the way for our group. We first went to see the war boat, which was full of warriors chanting and rowing. After seeing the waka we went and checked the food at the hangi, which I got to sample first as chief. Then we went into the concert hall, where Chief Mason (from our neighboring "tribe") and I greeted Chief Richard in a ritualistic exchange. We accepted peace offerings (I received a fern palm, which I was allowed to keep!), gave speeches honoring our people and our hosts, and we offered them a song - You Are My Sunshine. We were then honored with a handshake and dual head-tap, a formal greeting of acceptance. Finally, Mason and I were allowed to return to our seats, front and center.
After the exchange, we were treated to a wonderful concert of several songs and dances along with information about Maori music, facial tattoos, and weaponry, among other things. My personal favorite part was the Haka, the pre-war dance, which is intense (and that's an understatement). After the explanation of the facial tattoos, we were dismissed to enjoy the hangi. The feast included rice, several salads, garlic bread, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, lamb, chicken, stuffing (thanks to the English) and multiple desserts. The cheesy potatoes and the stuffing were delicious, as was the chicken. Following dinner, I gave my final speech as chief, thanking my tribe for representing me so well, and thanking the people of Mitai for their hospitality. We then took a short bushwalk through the surrounding area, exploring the replica Maori village and looking at their cold spring as well as the glowworms lining the mud banks and walkways before going back to the buses. Chief Richard rejoined us as our bushwalk guide, and allowed us to ask questions about Maori culture and heritage, which was very informative. He and I exchanged one last head tap handshake on our way out, and our driver brought us back to the B&B door. I'm really glad we decided to book this dinner; it will definitely remain one of the highlights of our trip. I still have the fern palm, and hope I'll be able to bring it back to the US; if not, at least we have a few pictures of it.
Tomorrow, we're driving to Wellington, which is about 6 hours from here. I'm looking forward to hitting the open road for a bit, as I love driving on trips like this. However, I'll miss Rotorua.
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