We finally made it to Hobbiton! What a great place. Of course it rained pretty hard while we were there. But we had some breaks in the weather and it was totally worth it. You have to go by tour - no free range roaming. You meet up at the Shire Rest Cafe and take the tour bus to Hobbiton. The cafe has some LOTR/Hobbit...
We got to go inside a hobbit house! This is a new thing. Hobbiton was high on our must-do list, but the house interiors weren't scheduled for completion until December 2023 (and were already booking up). As this is summer break time for kids down under, we decided to wait until February to visit Hobbiton. As you can...
Last stop in our Hobbiton tour, the Green Dragon Inn. I'll bore you with a few scenic pics along the trail because New Zealand is just so beautiful. Soon enough we arrived at the Millhouse. Cross the bridge and arrive at our destination. The roof was being rethatched. Yes, Melissa managed to capture the one 4-legged...
We visited the WETA Workshop in Auckland on our return since we enjoyed the one in Wellington so much. The Auckland Workshop is much more "experience-oriented" with more hands-on interaction and a wider breadth than LOTR/Hobbit themes. We were a bit worried it would be geared towards children, but it's fun for all...
Auckland Zoo…We Met Kiwi & Taz! Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand October 25, 2023 Mission & Values: We share our love for wild places and wild life. Ka aroha nui ki ngā wāhi puihi, ki ngā kararehe puihi hoki. We are conservation optimists. Whakanuia te taiao. We are all kaitiaki (guardians) of the Zoo and the...
We took the bus out to Cornwall Park, mainly to walk up to One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie), a high point (yes, another old volcano) south of Auckland city center. It's a paved path, so the walk is fairly easy. A large obelisk sits atop the hill - a memorial to Maori. The walk up is kinda cool because the lower trail...
The International Antarctic Center 38 Orchard Road Christchurch, 8052 NZ October 9, 2023 'See it. Love it. Save it.' Quoting directly from the International Antarctic Centre website: Christchurch is one of five cities in the world known as a ‘gateway to Antarctica.’ This is far more than an empty title. The garden city...
Christchurch Botanic Gardens Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch Central City Christchurch 8013, New Zealand October 2, 2023 In the middle of the city is a beautiful park and gardens. Hagley Park encompasses 2.5 acres with 10 carefully cultivated gardens. Our other post, Cherry Blossoms in Christchurch, NZ, shows the park...
Christchurch Street Art Christchurch, New Zealand September-October 2023 “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls” ~Pablo Picasso The earthquakes of September 4, 2010 (7.1 magnitude) and February 22, 2011 (6.3 magnitude) left the city of Christchurch (ChCh) in near complete devastation. The...
We stopped in Timaru for the evening on our way back from Dunedin to Christchurch. After dinner, we walked through a small park to the harbor, where little blue penguins were rumored to nest. After having no luck in Omaru and Dunedin, our expectations were kinda low. It didn't help that the temperatures were in the...