North Island - Land of "The Shire"
Arrive in Auckland, 16 hours of airport time, another couple of hours to collect our bags, secure the rental car, and we're off! The fine fellow at the rental car agency gave us sage advice - "don't worry about scratches, but do try not to dent the car, they would have to charge us for that".
We did notice a heavy accent, and we were driving from the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road! What could go wrong...
If there were any possible way, we would have stayed in a hobbit home. This is looking back; of course, we had a lovely ARBNB about 20 miles from Hobbiton, but... These were, of course, movie sets; I will get to that.
Our Living quarters for our time on the North Island. An Air BNB Lucia had arranged on a farm, Farview Farm. Nicely located in the north-center of the North Island near the Hobbiton movie set.
Before we go any further, let me provide a list of commonly used words or phrases used in NZ. It could help you understand conversation and perhaps keep you from insulting a local by accident.
Here are some words and phrases that are good to know when visiting NZ.
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Arse: a person's rear end
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Baldwin Street: When we visited NZ this was known as the steepest street in the world. Located in Dunedin on the South Island. After we returned a street in Wales now proclaims to be the steepest. Wondering how the Kiwis feel about that.
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Biscuit: Cookie
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Bloke: Man or a guy. Not necessarily peculiar to NZ
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Bob’s your uncle: The final word, or that’s all there is to it. Again not necessarily peculiar to NZ.
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Bonnet: Car hood
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Boot: Car trunk
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Bum: a persons rear end
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Bumper: fender
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Chilly Bin: portable ice chest
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Chook: Chicken
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Corker: Great. My grandfather used to use this to describe unusual things.
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Crisps: Potato chips
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Dodgy: unreliable
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Fanny: Female genitalia. You need to be careful with this one! Example—> What's in your Fanny Pack, etc.
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Fizzy: Soda
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Flat White: coffee with milk***
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Flog: Steal
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Get off the Grass: disbelief, “Get out of here”, “no way"
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“Give Your Ferret a Run”: have sex. Be careful not to mention this with the word fanny!
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Half Pie: half-heartedly, half-assed, etc.
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Handle: a pint of beer ( very important one!!)
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Have a tickle in me throat: thirsty
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Holiday Park: An RV park, unlike parks in the US or Canada. They have sites for tents, RV’s with water and power (no rv sites ever have sewer) bathrooms and showers, laundry, etc. What makes them different is the stunning community kitchen facilities. Multiple cooktops, sinks, refrigeration, bins where you can store food, and great dining areas. They are large, modern, and clean (mostly) including clean towels and washcloths/detergent/etc. Most (not all) people police their cooking and leave the space nice for the next guest.
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Hooray: goodbye Kiwi style
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Hottie: hot water bottle. Don’t give your ferret a run with a “hottie” if you want to be treated normally.
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Jack up: to arrange something
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Jandals: Flip flops
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Kick in the gut: start an adventure
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Loo: bathroom
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Lift: elevator
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Long Black: coffee w/o cream (note short black)
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Long Drop: outhouse
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Loopy: tourist
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Lorry: truck
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Marmite: A dark and salty spread made from yeast extract, a by product of beer brewing
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Motorway: freeway. Only saw a couple of roads that would qualify.
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Nick: steal
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Pavement: sidewalk
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Petrol: Gasoline
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Prang: vehicle accident
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Push Bike: bicycle
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Shark and Taties: Fish & Chips
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Short Black: espresso without diluting with water
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Togs: swimsuit
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Track: hiking trail
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Windscreen: windshield
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Wobbly: tantrum
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Zed: Z
Hobbiton
This was a "must-do" on our list for NZ. Totally because of me, I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy at least twice. I suffered through some pretty crappy attempts to bring the story to film in the late '70s. Much later, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies were very good. Movies, in my experience, are never as good as reading books, but his versions of LOTR films are very much worth watching. Here's why...
Hobbiton is a fictional village created by J.R.R. Tolkien in his famous fantasy novels, "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." It is located in the Shire, a region inhabited by hobbits, a small, human-like race with hairy toes, in a place called Middle-earth.
Hobbiton is the home of Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist of "The Hobbit," and later his nephew Frodo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings." The village is described as a picturesque and idyllic place, with its round, burrow-like houses built into the hillsides. Hobbits are known for their love of comfort, good food, and a peaceful, rural lifestyle. Which I can say is a very nice way to live...
If I have the story right, Hobbiton is spread out over 100 acres of a 1000-acre sheep farm owned by the Alexander Family. After the movies were completed, there were plans to abandon and return the "Shire" to the sheep. However, recognizing the immense tourism potential, the Alexander family, in collaboration with Peter Jackson and the New Zealand government, decided to preserve and open Hobbiton to the public. In 2002, the doors to this fantastic imaginary place opened, welcoming fans and tourists from all corners of the globe, including us!
The story is a no-holds-bared struggle between good and evil. The classic story where a quiet individual keeping to themselves type, becomes involved in the "Hero's Journey". One day, he was working in his garden; the next day on a mission to save the world.
As mentioned, the movie set is available to tour, and at the end, The Green Dragon Inn (like in the movie is open to serve you, is a great way to toast Middle Earth and maybe motivate your next adventure!
Yellowstone like...
Steam, bubbling mud, and geysers in the middle of the North Island. Maybe not what you would expect, we didn't. A little ways south of Hobbiton, around Rotorua, Tokoroa, and Taupo there are many examples of geothermal activity. Much like Yellowstone but with much more plant diversity! Almost rainforest/jungle-like, you can walk amongst steaming lakes, streams, and spouts of boiling hot water, and disappear quickly into the plants!
This is Waimangu Volcanic Park. What I really liked was the fact that you can walk deep into the park and catch a shuttle bus to bring you back! So explore away, knowing you will ride back!!
Back to the farm, pack up, and drive to Auckland. We need to catch our flight to Queensland in the morning. If we ruled the universe, we would have had enough time to drive to Queensland, exploring along the way, however, we do fall short of ruling the universe, so we fly instead...
The farm was quiet except for the cows exchanging views on the news and their stock positions. Auckland, on the other hand, was full of city sounds, more noticeable after several days of rural solitude.
Now we're off to Auckland to catch our flight to Queensland on the South Island. Beginning a 2-week trip in a rental RV.
Before we go, have you ever wondered what race car drivers do after they retire? This could be an answer, hehe!