So today we left Auckland to head off on our adventure! Unfortunately I have picked up the unwanted addition of tonsillitis to help us along! Let's face it, 24 hours in a plane, the chances of avoiding some bug were unlikely!

We started off with a great breakfast of french toast at a restaurant attached to our hotel and then trekked up the street with our luggage to pick up the rental car. We quickly realised the compact car we'd ordered was going to be too small for our bags to all fit in the boot so we've had to upgrade. We've read previously that thefts from vehicles in NZ are quite common, particularly from bags left on back seats. The lady at the rental office confirmed this, with 9 thefts in the last week! So we now now are the proud keepers of a brand new Holden Cruze and Aled had acquainted himself with all the toys within 10 minutes...

So we set off, leaving Auckland to head for Rotorua, with a stop in Hobbiton on the way! The roads are generally pretty good quality and they're obviously investing lots of money in improving others. It took us about two hours to reach the farm where hobbiton is based. It's a sheep farm covering over 1200 acres with 12000 sheep. I'd seen Mum and Dad's photos of their trip here a few years ago and it was basically holes in the side of a hill and a reliance on your imagination to get the idea. This was before the Hobbit started filming and when they were approached to film here again they made an agreement to build permanent hobbit holes to allow visiting after. This has obviously now become a big business for the farm and they've put a lot of care and attention into keeping it looking how visitors remember from the films. This included washing hanging on lines and vegetable patches! The tour concluded with a trip to the Green Dragon Pub with a drink included. It was really rather good! The only slight dampener was the weather, which after two beautifully sunny days had turned into the standard drizzle I remember well from my last trip!

After an obligatory trip to the gift shop, we set off for Rotorua. Once again a very easy journey and we're all checked in at the Holiday Inn, with a view of the steam rising from the surrounding geothermal areas. Oh yes and the permanent stench of rotten eggs!!! Our room is once again very nice and we're making use of the free wifi! Tomorrow we're off to see some of the hot springs and maybe even a kiwi!