Tauranga, New Zealand - November 10, 2023

Our next stop was Tauranga, New Zealand. There are two very popular excursions at this stop. One is a visit to the Maori Whakarawarewa Village, built amongst an active geothermal valley. The other is the Hobbiton movie set.

I had booked these excursions months in advance through Princess, as the one place Kevin really wanted to visit was Hobbiton. About a month before our departure, Princess also cancelled this excursion. We were never notified. I found out through a Facebook page. I also noticed that there was a credit on my credit card from Princess. The excursions had also disappeared from our online Princess account for this trip.

I spent an hour on the phone with the useless, out of country, customer service person employed by Princess. All she said was that since I got a credit, the excursions must have been cancelled. Couldn't tell me why or any other information. 

I spent hours online trying to find a private company to take us to these two popular attractions. Most everything was already booked at this late date. I finally found a small group tour with Shore Trips and Tours and booked it. Since it was for only 10 people, it cost us a total of $160 more than our original tour with Princess. 

To add insult to injury, the credit we received for the two excursions that were cancelled by Princess was less than we actually paid. All payments on these cruises were in Australian dollars. It seems the exchange rate had changed, so we were refunded at a different rate than we paid, which was less money. I'm sure there were hundreds of Americans who had the same thing happen to them. In my mind, that is theft!

However, once we arrived in Tauranga and went on the excursion with Shore Trips and Tours, it was another wonderful experience in New Zealand. It was one of our favorite days on the trip, although there were many!

Our first stop was to the city of Rotorua to have a tour at an authentic Maori village, still inhabited today. It is built on a geothermal shelf, and is nicknamed Sulphur City. The Maori name for the village is Whakarewarewa. That's a mouthful!!

One of the residents took us on the tour and explained much of the history, as well as how they live today. Much of the cooking is actually done over the hot springs and bubbling mud pools. There are also communal bath basins with water from the hot springs.

This is their community center and meeting house. The carvings on the building were incredible.

After the tour, we were treated to a live performance of some of the songs and dances of the Maori people. The women did a dance with balls on a rope. 

The men did the Haka dance, which was a ceremonial dance performed in the past before going into battle. It has become quite popular throughout the world, as some of the rugby teams do this dance before a match to supposedly intimidate their opponents. 

There were some school groups there, and the boys were invited to join in on the Haka dance. It looks like they enjoyed it!

After the show, we were given a Hangi pie for lunch. It's kind of like a Hot Pocket, filled with meat and vegetables. I found it quite tasty and filling. It was similar to the Pasties we've had that the miners in Wisconsin and the Midwest used to eat for their lunch down in the mines.

Our next stop was the much awaited Hobbiton, and it was definitely worth waiting for!!

We arrived at the ticket center and gift shop where we had a little time to look around and buy a few souvenirs. 

Here's Kevin with Gandalf. The hat on the shelf behind his head was for sale for $400. 

Then we boarded a bus that took us to the actual Hobbiton village. On the way, we drove through some of the farm fields where we saw many sheep. We were also shown a video that showed scenes of the village from the movies, and explained some of how this place became a reality.

We arrived and were taken on a guided walking tour of the village, which includes 44 Hobbit holes on 12 acres of lush pasture land. The guides come from all over the world for the opportunity to work at Hobbiton. Our guide was an American woman from Arizona. 

She explained how Peter Jackson had sent out a scouting team in a helicopter to find land that would be perfect for Hobbiton. It needed to be green farmland with lots of hills, a large tree and a pond. They found the perfect location and drove up to the farmhouse and knocked on the door. The owner told them to come back the next day as he was watching rugby.

Terms were agreed upon, and a contract was signed. The original Hobbiton for the Lord of the Rings movies was mostly build with façade fronts and lots of temporary structures. Great attention was paid to the details, including gardens, an orchard, smoke coming out of the chimneys, and laundry hanging on the line. Once the filming was completed, the set was removed.

A few years later, the Hobbit movies were planned to be filmed. The farmer and his family agreed to once again have the Hobbiton set built on his property. However, this time they wanted it to be a permanent location for visitors to come and enjoy. The Hobbit houses are still just fronts with retaining walls just a foot or two behind the door. A few of the doors can be opened, and you can step through for a photo. 

The attention to detail is amazing. The gardens have all kinds of produce growing in them, the fruit trees are real, and smoke is coming out of some of the chimneys. It was a blast walking through the set which we had seen in the movies. Even people on the tour who had not seen the movies or read the books found it fascinating. 

Here's me in front of one of the houses. You can see how small Hobbits are supposed to be by how small the door is compared to me.

This is Bag End, the home of Bilbo and Frodo.

There was construction going on in one area. Three of the Hobbit houses were having an inside added to them. They were digging back into the hill, and outfitting the inside to match what the houses looked like in the movies. All those interior movie scenes were shot in a studio.

Here are the Mill and the Green Dragon Tavern. We were treated to a pint of cider or their home brewed beer.

As we were leaving the tavern, there was a tent set up outside with pottery mugs that said Green Dragon on them. I asked if I could purchase one. She said no, you will each be getting a free one. Since the construction has been going on, all visitors were given a free mug as compensation for being their during the construction time. How nice is that. The finished insides of the houses were due to be finished a few weeks after we were there. Too bad we didn't get to see that. However, the mugs were a very nice surprise.

So, that completes another awesome day in New Zealand. Today's adventures were truly magical!!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!