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 filmed some of The Hobbit. We decided to take our chances and not book ahead. Our plan was to arrive about 10 o’clock, do the tour and then have lunch at the cafe before heading on the road again. “The best laid plans…” We did arrive at 10:00 but the first available tour booking was at 11:30. How to kill an hour and a half? The cafe had the answer.
Second Breakfast!
It was meant to be!
And here it is!
And here we are after breakfast:–
David and I before Hobbiton
We saw 44 hobbit holes including Bag End where Frodo and Bilbo Baggins lived,
Bag End
and Samwise Ganges’ hole and the party tree. We also saw this artificial tree that had 250,000 leaves each individually applied.
At the end of our tour, we enjoyed an ale at the Green Dragon Inn.
“Frodo” Bray at the Green Dragon Inn
After our wonderful New Zealand journey, it was nice to get home again.
