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"Can I see some I.D please?"
"I.D???!! I'm 31 today!!!"
Trying to purchase birthday beer reveals that travelling the world has obviously done wonders for Dan's complexion.
WELLINGTON - OUR ARRIVAL NORTH
The north island was always going to be more of a whistle stop tour for us, most of the things we'd wanted to see and do in New Zealand were on the south island. However, the north still deserved the 3 weeks we had to devote to it, it's got the biggest cities, the bigger population and of course, the few final unmissable Lord of the Rings film locations.
It was gone 11pm when our inter-islander ferry dispatched us in Wellington, and as we and the 'lovebug' trundled off, we realised that our ferry planning, vis-à-vis time, could have been thought through better - we were in the capital city, it was pitch dark, gone 11pm and we needed somewhere to sleep for the night - not the easiest of tasks one would assume. We headed into the suburbs looking for a park, a dog walking area, a lay by, anything! Sometime after midnight we stumbled across a large gravel lay by in a sleepy residential area, not the idyllic view and luxuries that we'd become accustomed to, but beggars can't be choosers, so we settled in for the night.
We'd put aside a leisurely 3-4 days to explore Wellington, which in reflection is less than it deserved. Despite being the capital city it has an unmistakeably relaxed feel and the compact & walkable size of the place readily invites you to immerse yourself in all it has to offer. In addition, it was Dan's birthday at the end of the week and his birthday request was to see the return of Rocky Balboa (Rocky 600!) at the Embassy Theatre in the city centre, venue of the world premiere of 'The Return of The King' in 2003. We just 'had' to stick around.
Before this extravaganza though we had 3 days of sightseeing, window shopping, people watching, book exchanging, coffee drinking, feet paddling and museum visiting to get our teeth into, and if possible, all for free.
We loved Wellington and really feel as if we got to know the place in the short time we were there. We stayed right on the harbour in our little van for 3 nights under the shadow of the city's rich and famous, whose houses climb up the hillsides. We probably would have stuck around regardless.
As it turned out, the aforementioned Embassy Theatre was only currently showing two films. One of which was predictably 'The Return of The King', the other was not 'Rocky Balboa', so we settled for the chain multiplex up the road instead, where a 1.45pm screening suited the 'birthday plan' perfectly. So, we grabbed our drinks and popcorn (which were obviously not for free), just managed to get a good seat before the other 3 patrons piled in and excitedly awaited our third cinema experience of the trip. Normally at this point you'd expect the lights to dim and the curtain to rise, in actual fact the opposite happened and we were greeted by the on duty manager who informed us of the "major projection fault" they were experiencing that day and instead of Sly Stallone strapping on the gloves for the umpteenth time, we received a full refund and 2 complimentary tickets to use whenever we chose. All was not lost as we said goodbye to Wellington and headed back into the wilderness armed with a $20 meat pack and 24 cans of cheap beer - 31 years old, but he still knows how to party!!!
EAST COAST - NAPIER
The next notable town we came across was Napier, famed for its 'Art-Deco' architectural style and the Gatsby-esque flair of its shops and residents. This time, our timing was perfect, as we rolled into town right in the middle of its annual 'Art-Deco' festival. Women dressed in 1920's garb, men donned up as gangsters, streets were lined with British & American vintage cars from the 'Art-Deco' era, 20's music rang out from all angles and even young children and teenagers got in on the act. This town really took its reputation seriously. Over the course of the 4 day festival it would be home to, the 'Deco Car Rally', the 'Art-Deco Dance', the 'Art-ist Deco Talent Contest', 'Drinks on the Deck-o' and the 'Air Deco' air show featuring vintage bi-planes loop to looping overhead. It seemed any activity legally required the use of the words 'Art' or 'Deco' as a title so we obliged by making use of our complimentary cinema tickets to check out some 'sm-art peco's' as Dan's birthday request was fulfilled and we finally got to see the new 'Rocky'…erm…flick-o.
CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND
The central region was home to 3 things on our agenda - the country's largest & most impressive geo-thermal site, Hobbiton, home of Frodo, Bilbo and Sam and the black land of Mordor. That’s right, we were heading directly for 'Mount Doom'.
The mountain (real name, Mt Ngauruhoe) is in the middle of the country's first ever National Park and is just amazing when you get up close. The entire surrounding area is covered in black, granite like rock, coloured by century old volcanic eruptions. True to its cinematic depiction, as we neared the base, a black cloud covered the summit, casting shadows all around and leaving the burnt orange gnarls of jagged rock shining ominously through. It really was quite eery. You really can imagine that ancient wars took place thousands of years ago on the surrounding slopes, or that the one ring really was destroyed in its caverns or that Gollum would pounce on you as you tuck into your ham & cheese sandwich, or does Dan just get carried away???! Well worth the trip out and another Lord of the Rings locations to tick off.
A short drive north from Mordor, takes you to the countries largest geothermal region and lets you explore bubbling mud pools, erupting geysers, steaming lakes and all manner of other 'under earth' activity. We got to get up close to all of the above at the 'Wai O Tapu Thermal Wonderland', an 18km squared park that let us walk through an incredible array of these natural wonders, but not without the almost visible sulphur induced smell of rotten eggs following us at every step. Some of the natural colours & shapes on show are hard to believe - a truly spectacular sight and a place that made us wish we'd paid more attention in Geography class. (Mr. Denton, this place was made for you!!)
Realism and real life (by our standards) had to once again take a back seat as we moved on back into the realms of fantasy and headed for what could potentially be one of the highlights of New Zealand - Hobbiton and our fully guided tour into The Shire. Us and tours don't usually go hand in hand especially if we can avoid paying someone to take us somewhere we could easily get to ourselves. Hobbiton was not one of these places, its hidden from the general public on private land and the only way to reach it is with 'Rings Scenic tours Ltd'. We both agreed it was worth the risk to stump up the cash.
At the end of filming, the LOTR production crew were legally contracted to remove all sets and props from around New Zealand at the command of the NZ government. Basically, because of bad weather at the time, the dismantling of Hobbiton was never completed and it's now the only place in the country where sets, as featured in the movies, still exist. It's all there, Hobbit holes, Bilbo's party tree, the great lake, Bagshot Row, and best of all, Bag End, Bilbo and Frodo's home, with its door permanently open to visitors. What had been removed took no longer than a second of thought to magically reappear in your mind. The photos will show the village in all its glory, it really was worth the money and as far as MiddleEarth goes, we'd saved the best till last. "Truly wonderful, the home of a hobbit."
Will be in touch again soon.
Love to you all,
Dan & LJ xxxx
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