7am and I'm up and ready to go get my first magic bus of many...
I met the driver, Amanda, who Tamra had told me was one of the best so that was really good. Then on the bus I met Alice, Tim, Lucy and Vanessa all from England who all seemed really nice, then I also met Ricardo from Brazil, a couple from Ireland and three people from Taiwan.
We were driving from Auckland down to Rotorua today and our first stop was Shire's Rest which is also known as Hobbiton :D :D yay!!!!!!
Myself, Tim, Vanessa and Ricardo had all booked to do the Lord of the Rings tour where you can visit the shire and see the set that was built.
It's based on Alexander farm and they chose the destination because there was a huge lake and tree which was needed for the film and lots of hills which they could build hobbit holes in.
It's an absolutely amazing site and I came just at the right time as they've only recently stopped filming here so everything has been left and all the hobbit holes have been left as they left them.
Our first stop on the tour was some of the hobbit holes where we were told how Peter Jackson used yoghurt, vinegar and sawdust to age the wood and make everything look old and how behind each door is just a small hole the actor could step into and that's it, as all the rest was shot indoors in a studio. The detail that has gone into each house is just phenomenal, with little things such as fishing poles being put outside certain houses as a fisherman should live there.
The next stop was the big lake which has the green dragon pub and stables next to it which is used in the first film, and they're currently extending the pub so it can be used as a real working pub which will be really cool!!! Next to the lake, is the party tree where they have bilbos birthday party so I had a quick dance under the party tree then I played with some see saws which are actually from the new hobbit film, exclusive spoiler there for you haha!!

After this, we walked round the rest of the shire and saw Sam's house, then we went up to Bilbo's house which is definitely the most impressive. Above Bilbo's house is an oak tree and it's been artificially built but looks real; the thought and skill that's gone into every detail here is just mind blowing!!!! You weren't allowed up to Bilbo's door... so when the tour guide had gone on to the next house we all ran up to the door for a cheeky pic!!!
After that, we got to see some new hobbit holes which have been built for the new film. And then it was time to leave the shire, boo hiss!!! It's such an amazing place and has the genuine feel of a real village; I actually really wanted to live there and I'm sure it won't be long before they have some sort of b&b or something there. My dad, charl and suz would love it here!!!

Anyway, we got a lift back to Rotorua with one of the guides who was really interesting and actually met most of the crew, and then told us how Liv Tyler was the only stuck up one haha!!

The first thing I noticed when I got into Rotorua was the stench of egg from all the sulphur in this area. The hostel is super cute, and there's only two of us in each room which is really nice and t smells like caravans... I love it!!

That night we had all booked to go to a Mauri culture night which included a buffet meal. Myself, Tim, Vanessa, Lucy and Alice all got picked up at 6 by a bus which had lots of other back packers on it aswell. On the way there the driver taught us that 'Kia ora' meant hello in Mauri and then she picked a guy called Ben to be our chief on the bus and explained that there would be a greeting ceremony when we got there.

Firstly, I should probably say that I thought we were going to an authentic village with a real Mauri tribe. Maybe that was naive of me... As other people said that of course Mauri people don't need to live like that in today's society but I thought somewhere there would be genuine Mauri people still living in tribes. And I was paying to see that!!!
So, we got there and it did seen pretty genuine, we were took through to a big open space where a woman began to sing in Mauri, then men came out with weapons and tattooed faces and began to 'strut their stuff' for the chiefs of the group, a bit like a taunt I guess.
When this was finished, they led us through to their village which was a really impressive forest with little huts and they told us about their weapons, their arts and crafts and their Hakka. The Hakka is the taunt/greeting/war dance that was made famous by the all blacks rugby team but was originally used by the Mauri people.
During the mini tour round the village, it had began to rain torrentially and so everyone was soaked through, this was when I started to notice the tattoos running down the side of their faces... Hmm!!
After this, we were taken to see the hangi, which is a big hole in the floor where they make a fire at the bottom then put the food in and then cover it in soil. They explained it to us and then two men lifted all our food out the hole which looked really good but then we were ushered inside a little hall where we were given their entertainment which included weapon demonstration, singing, dancing and more singing!!!
After they had finished, they showed a video telling us more about their culture and as we were leaving the room, one of the Mauri guys came out in a track suit with his face washed clean... Talk about killing an atmosphere and belief.
Then we ate our buffet which was really nice and afterwards they sang to us some more and then got us to hold hands while they sang; never felt so awkward!!!

On the way back the bus driver tried to get us all singing which was a bit weird and no one did so then it was just uncomfortable. And then the driver started singing "she'll be coming round the mountain" while she drove round and round a roundabout about 6 times... Haha crazy!!

Amazing first day on the magic bus!!!