Homecoming at Hobbiton Every story is a journey filled with perils that ends with a homecoming. Our journey through New Zealand had its small perils: windy roads beside sheer-drop cliffs, camping outdoors, being bitten by sand flies, living without the Internet, and probably the worst as far as I’m concerned, the lack of a hairdryer after a shower on a cold, wet morning. But there were good times as well. One of the highlights was definitely Hobbiton near Matamata, where they

Many More Strange Birds First of all, the bird in front of the New Zealand fur seal in my second musing was an oyster catcher, not a pukeko. We finally saw a pukeko in our campsite in Rotorua on the North Island. I chased it to get this photo while it squawked and screamed and even reluctantly flew a few feet to get away from me. Later it was joined by many more of its strange, big-footed friends (its best feature, which I unfortunately did not get in this shot.) I never saw