Friday on our Trip

Friday was our other go-with-the-flow kind of day. Adam REALLY wanted to bungee jump off this bridge, but we couldn't find any info on it. So we didn't. I don't know that I would have done it. We found out later that some EJ people did. Wish we could have found out that info sooner. Oh well. We didn't realize that our flight left the next day at night. We thought it left at seven in the morning. So we would have spent Friday and Saturday different had we known and gone up north to the Bay of Islands. We chose to not go there and do our loop to Hamilton, Rotorua, and Tauranga instead. HAD WE KNOWN...we would have found a way to go up there too. We were bummed. BUT at the time we didn't know so we spent it in a fun way. We finished mission sight seeing in the Massey area where he served. He didn't remember a whole lot about this area, and it frustrated him a little. But was one of his last areas where he got sick so he was not out and about in it as much. When we were done we went hiking. We wanted to go see a waterfall. Adam couldn't remember where the one was that he saw on his mission, which we later learned was by Piha beach, so we went to this other area to hike instead. 

I have to say despite frustrations we had on this hike getting lost, and finding out later we could have done something different this day, I was SOOO grateful we did it. First, we like to hike. We try and do it on most trips, cause it's enjoyable and free. Second, we've hiked in the Costa Rica Rain Forrest, and in Hawaii, and neither were as beautiful as this was. It really was AMAZING. 

Love these statues they had. This one was supposed to mean a pregnant woman. Hence the creepy little baby face down below. 

These trees were SOOO big. 

We learned in New Zealand you really do hike uphill both ways. They won't have switchbacks at all. You hike UP and UP then when you think it's all downhill you randomly hike UP again. Phew. It was a good hike. Had we not been working out and running prior to our trip we probably would have struggled and hated it. BUT we loved it. 

Green on everything

We stopped to ask this guy if he wanted us to take his picture. We was alone and trying to take a selfie with a big tree. He saw that Adam's jacket said Edward Jones on it. Come to find out he was with the EJ group too and had been hiking all around the island by himself for the last four days. Sleeping outdoors and eating packed food. We offered him a ride back to the hotel if he met us down by our car in time. 

We got lost. We even got directions from a local. I'm telling you every time a local gave us directions we got lost. If we could complain about one thing, it'd be how poorly marked the trails were. You didn't know where you were or what trail you were on. Thus leading us to hike in the wrong direction for over an hour. We found out had we kept hiking the wrong way we were going we would have ended up at a beach. Ha! That would have been nice if that was our plan and if we didn't have to hike all the way back to our car. I'm glad Adam convinced me to turn back. We were a little frustrated we had to hike uphill back, and once we got back to the right trail, we had to hike uphill some more. This is the reason I have a sad face in the picture. More uphill. :( We were tired by then and had a long ways to go. Since we got lost, we never gave the EJ guy a ride. He waited a half an hour for us, then got another ride. Whoops. We tried. 

The roots on this part were tricky and cool. 

When we got down to the dam there was this trail you could hike down to the waterfall. We started it, but upon realized all we would have had to hike back up, we changed our minds, we were already beat. We had no energy, no food, and we didn't have that great of a breakfast. We had limited water too. Whoops. We didn't know it was going to be the strenuous adventure that it turned out being. 

Love me some fern trees.

When we finally reached the other side going down, it was all built in stairs. We didn't have many stairs the other way even though it was steep uphill. Kind glad we went up the other way, these stairs weren't even fun going down, let alone up. 

We were so glad to make it down to our car. We headed back to our hotel to change and get cleaned up for the EJ farewell dinner. We had missed the midweek one cause we went out with Alana and Sam instead. So we knew we needed to go to this one. 

The dinners are nice for about an hour to socialize. Then everyone drinks and it's not as fun for mormons. This meal was extra hard, cause the food took FOREVER! We were tired from our day and  still from the time change so as soon as dessert was done we went upstairs for baths in our amazing tub and bed. 

Thursday on our Trip

The "hotel" we stayed in Wednesday night was an actual flat. The top floors of the building house residents, and the bottom floors they rent out like a hotel. We thought it was interesting. We didn't take pictured of it, but Adam filmed it some. We headed out that morning planning on going to the beach, doing some shopping, possibly surfing again, heading out to Hobbiton to see the set of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie, then heading back to Auckland. THAT was the plan anyways. It kinda backfired on us with Adam waking up SUPER sick, and the weather not being ideal for a beach day. 

We took it easy finishing up some mission sight seeing at this park that he and his compainion used to come to study their scriptures. I can see why, it was so nice and peaceful. 

Adam has a picture of him and his companion lounging on this tree, reading. 

We did manage some shopping before Adam was running to bathrooms. We did most of our souvenir shopping here.  We figured that since he felt the best laying down, and we didn't have a hotel to go back to anymore because check out was early, that we would go lay down on the beach. The weather didn't make that fun for us at all. It was kinda a huge bummer cause this was one of the main touristy places Adam wanted to surf. BUT that didn't happen. We were glad that we had already tried it earlier in the week. He also wanted to hike up Mount Maunganui. (The mountain behind him in the picture under this text)

The wind kept whipping sand violently against us. It wasn't much fun, so after grabbing me some lunch we headed out kinda early to Hobbiton. On the way there Adam had to pull over cause he felt like vomiting. Well he wanted to keep driving, and after I informed him he couldn't puke and drive, that he needed let me drive. I had already told him I wanted a chance to drive on the other side of the road, just to say that I did. Having that experience on the narrow windy country roads while passing big trucks wouldn't have been my first choice at all. Oh well, luckily it didn't last long and I was on long stretches of normal country roads. When we finally reached Hobbiton Adam was puking while I found a parking spot. Poor guy. We walked around getting some fresh air then he needed to go lay back down hoping he'd feel better when we went on our tour in an hour and a half. So I wandered the Hobbiton shop, took a pic with Gandolf, got us checked in, and ate me some Hobbit Ice cream that was chocolate with bits of caramel, and cookie in it. IT WAS GOOD. I felt sad I couldn't share it with my puking husband. 

At about half an hour before our tour time Adam and I were still debating if we should go, if I should go on the tour by myself, if he should attempt it. We decided since we were there I might as well just go. So I went and got his ticket refunded. They only gave me half the amount back which was their policy. Lame. THEN as I was getting ready to line up Adam went and bought back his ticket and decided to try and come with me. So we ended up paying more than necessary for his ticket, but it was worth it. I LOVE him for going through it feeling like crap. He had waves of nausea come and go, and you can tell in some of the pictures, but he felt ok for most of it he said. 

We had a bus drive us out to it on this farm. I guess when Peter Jackson was looking for the location of the shire, he was traveling by helicopter and came open this farm that had a pond like in the book and a large oak tree by it. They stopped and knocked on the door of the farmer and asked if they could look at it. The farmer told them to go ahead, he was gonna finish his rugby game that was on tv, not to let any sheep out, and that he'd talk to them afterwards. They then came back telling the farmer they wanted to film there and worked out all the details. Now the farmer's two sons run the farm and run Hobbiton. Since Hobbiton is now a big tourist spot, they have gardeners there that keep it going and it is beautiful. Even in the winter when we went and most things are more yellow than green. 

They told us one in three people that come there have no idea what the Hobbit movies or the Lord of the Ring Movies are. That amazed us. They get the most guests from Australia, Germany next, UK and US next, then China. We had a huge group of Chinese people with us. They kept making our poor young tour guide frustrated cause they didn't stay with the group and climbed on everything. 

There were 44 hobbit holes in the whole place. Each one was different and a lot were designed with a hobbit job in mind. You could see where the baker lived, or the wood cutter, or ones that sold fresh crops from their porch. It was adorable really. 

This is the main garden that were they grow real crops and where Frodo runs in one of the films.

They had every detail down. They even had pretend windows in some of the hills that had flowers pots and curtains inside. 

This is Bilbo's famous house. They don't let you in it, even though there is one room that's furnished in it. The tree that is on top is fake and cost $500,000 to make look so real for the Hobbit movie. There used to be an old real one there for the Lord of the Ring movies, but since the Hobbit takes place at an earlier time, they had to make one that looked younger. The leaves were all wired on individually, and are all weather proof. It was impressive. 

They let us into this one, though there wasn't much in there to see. All the inside scenes where filmed at a studio, cause their cameras were too big to fit inside the doors. So most of the doors didn't even open. The doors were all different sizes at different scales depending on how big they needed the actor to look in a scene. I think we look like the perfect Hobbit size. They told us to be considered a Hobbit you have to be five foot two and under. I'm barely too tall. Ha!

Finally up to the famous Bilbo Baggins house. 

No mail for Bilbo.

This is the field where they filmed Bilbo's birthday scene in the Lord of the Rings movie. 

The famous pond and the tree (in the pic under this text) that caught Peter Jackson's attention.

Once you get down viewing the hobbit homes, you go down the hill to the Green Dragon Inn that the Hobbits go to in the Hobbit movie.  You walk over a pond that had this cute bridge and a water mill. 

The Green Dragon Inn was super cool. The tour gives you a complementary beer or ginger ale (non alcoholic). We had Ginger Ales and they tasted like we were drinking Ginger. Bleh. There was a place you could order food, and if Adam felt better we might have, but we didn't. There are some tours that are more money and you stay at a farm bed and breakfast nearby overnight, then have a "hobbit dinner" here at the Green Dragon. That would have been fun. 

This book was there in a case that had some signatures of famous people who had visited. 

Drinking our Ale

I took pictures by the sheep, cause despite what people think, you don't see them that often. Cows you see everywhere, and even logging tucks, cause the timber industry is huge there. Sheep not so much. These were the ones on the farm which they actually didn't use in the movies cause they didn't look old fashion enough. So they brought in some English Sheep for the movies I guess. They had cows on the farm too I guess but we never saw any. They raise all their beef and it goes to all the local McDonalds. So maybe we should have had a burger there to try it out.

Overall the tour was incredible. Totally worth it, we never imagined a movie set to be so detailed. Plus it was for movies we love, so it was a lot of fun, even feeling lousy for some of it. 

The farm was so beautiful and huge. 

The store back at main stop had a guest book you could sign. Not sure what they do with these when they are full, or how many have been filled with tourist names, but we had to sign saying we were there. 

The drive back to Auckland was one of my favorite. The farm lands that were in that area were so pretty. I would love a house there. Not a farm, but a house. :)

For dinner I ate, Adam didn't a burger from one of their popular burger joints. It was just ok, nothing like an all American beed patty. Ha! By it was this interesting piece of art. 

These are some of the pictures we did take of our hotel in Auckland.