Can-O-Deana: From Aussies to Kiwis

The second leg of our R&R was a week in Auckland, New Zealand. After a LONG 6 hour flight with NO in-seat entertainment, we touched down in Kiwi country. It was already early evening so we grabbed our rental car and headed to the hotel. We got settled just as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. The kids had their own room and were happy (as were we) for the freedom.

Our main reason for stopping in Auckland was to live up to our Nerd-family status. We set out early the next day and headed south towards Matamata, home to Hobbiton. For those non-nerds reading this, Hobbiton is the home of the Hobbits from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. We prepared for this trip by watching all 3 LOTR movies and the Hobbit the week before going. Ellie also brought the Hobbit book with her to read (since she is never found without a book).

The drive was beautiful. It was exciting leaving the city and seeing the hills get bigger and bigger on the horizon. Tom Tom took us on a beautiful route. We arrived just in time for our 11:00 tour. It was amazing. The grounds are on a real, working sheep farm, although no sheep roam on the set anymore. I will spare you all of the millions of pictures I (we) took. You can find most of them on Facebook anyway.We learned LOTS of movie trivia. Ellie asked a lot of very insightful questions. Our tour guide was impressed on how much Tolkien knowledge our little hobbits had.


Bag End!!!! (Bilbo and Frodo's home)

All other days after this one just couldn't compare. We toured around Auckland and saw the sights.

We climbed a dormant volcano and got a great view of the city.

We visited MOTAT-the Museum of Transport and Technology.

We climbed (or rode the elevator) to the top of the highest tower in NZ. We actually did this twice. The first time was at night, then we went back while the sun was still out the next day. We got to see someone bungy jumping from the top while we were up there. The kids liked that.