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...

We took the bus out to the Weta Workshop, the folks that helped bring Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to life (among tons of other entertainment you've seen). The Weta Cave is the merch shop where you can own copies of the original props. Entrance to shop Lots of swords One Ring was a bit much for me Cool stuff - far...