Down Under, and Out of This World!: Hobbits and Haka

I was up early, and did a lot of reading about A/C units and sulphur. I also sought out a hotel in an area of the town outside the sulphur zone. Compounding the challenge of my search was the reality that we were in the height of tourist season, and most every form of accommodation was booked. I lucked out and stumbled upon a cancellation for a triple apartment at a Best Western on the outskirts of town. Before snagging the just-appeared vacancy, I called the hotel to confirm the A/C situation. I was told, "Oh yes, love, we've got the air conditioning something wonderful." That was all I needed to snag the room. We had already paid for our second night in the villa, but we decided a good night's sleep for us all was worth the added expense.

After breakfast in our unit, we backtracked a little of our journey from the previous day, and then headed back north toward the tiny, tiny town of Matamata, which is probably only on the map because it is where the farm on which the Hobbiton set for the Lord of the Rings (LotR) and Hobbit movies was built, and where it is maintained as a museum-like tourist attraction. We had pre-booked our tour months prior and I knew they were since booked solid, so I was surprised when we seemed to be the only car on the road during the hour or so drive to Matamata. We made one final turn down a true country lane, and as we crested a hill we saw a tour bus turning into a large parking lot, across the road from a pastoral farm with hundreds of sheep. The parking lot was full, including many buses and camper vans of all sizes. We were definitely in the right place. It appeared, however, as though everyone had driven down from Auckland or gone up from Rotorua on an excursion bus.

Our timing was near perfect, and we only had to wait a few minutes (enough time to visit the obligatory gift shop, with every conceivable piece of LotR and Hobbit-themed merchandise). Seeing that, and the full parking lot, had given me trepidation that we had walked into a huge tourist trip. We joined the queue for our set tour time, and then boarded a bus, which then drove us across the lane, through a fence and into the sheep farm. We learned this was the working sheep and dairy farm for the family which Peter Jackson (the native New Zealand film maker for LotR and Hobbit) paid to construct the village of Hobbiton, in the mythical Shire. While scouting for the film by helicopter, Jackson flew over the farm and said it appeared perfect. He approached the owners, asked them to sign a confidentiality agreement, and then asked to rent part of the farm to built the Hobbiton set. The owner and his wife had never read any of the Tolkien books and had no context, but their savvy son was there, was a fan, and urged his father to sign with no further questions. That was certainly the right thing to do, as the family enjoys a very healthy portion of the profits from the current attraction. They still run the sheep and dairy farm, but I am certain money is no longer a concern for anyone in that family.

Our tour guide was an American professor on sabbatical from the University of Indiana. He explained the history while we watched a short welcome video from Peter Jackson on the bus, which later deposited us at the entrance. After walking through a cut in the hillside, we emerged into the complete village, which has dozens of "Hobbit holes" constructed into the hillside. The vegetation and flora were amazing, and we learned there are seven full-time gardeners and nearly as many landscapers on staff, just to maintain everything. The holes, too, are built either to human scale or Hobbit scale, based on how large things needed to appear in the movie. The weather was perfect and everything was in bloom. It was almost like walking through a botanical garden. It was interesting to learn, too, that Hobbiton was built for the three LoftR films, and then dismantled. Several years later, when Jackson finally secured the rights to make the Hobbit -- with large credit due to Harvey Weinstein of all people -- he realized he needed to recreate it. Everything was rebuilt to exact specs, but this time the decision was made to maintain and preserve the set, as it currently remains. That was due to the already proven success of the LotR movies. I lost all thought of a tourist trap during the tour, and instead we all just loved our time there. We all listed it among the highlights of the trip overall.

Bag End. Home to Bilbo Baggins

Home of Samwise Gamgee, from last scene of the final movie.

Back on Rotorua, we had a traditional New Zealand lunch, with fish and chips, huge freshwater mussels, and roasted pork belly. We checked into our new hotel, and our room was just perfect, and not only because of the well-functioning air conditioning. We had a hot tub on the back porch, which itself looked out over a small trout stream. We did some shopping in town, gathered out stuff from the original hotel, and had just enough time to make it over for an "indigenous evening" activity we had booked. As I noted earlier, Lake Rotorua is the center of Maori culture in the country, and several main tribes still control large traditional land enclaves. We went to Te Puia, which encompasses a large thermal/geyser field (including the highest-spraying geyser in the southern hemisphere), and where the Te Awara tribe has built a school to teach and maintain tribal arts. They also built a traditional Marae, or gathering house. It was here, too, that we got to catch a glimpse of the nocturnal Kiwi bird. They are the symbol of New Zealand, but are nearly extinct in the wild. They evolved as a flightless bird -- as did countless other species in New Zealand -- as there were no natural predators. When English settlers arrived, they inadvertently introduced rats (from their ships), as well as dogs. They quickly decimated the defenseless birds (actually, they went after the eggs). The tribe had a Kiwi house erected, where they flip the day/night cycle, so tourists can go through the darkened exhibit during the day and hope to catch a glimpse of a bird in the dark. We were successful, but many people are not.

After a tour of the thermal park, we attended a tribal exhibit, including the famous Haka dance. This elaborate ceremony was designed to scare potential foes, and is now synonymous with the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, who perform it before every match. After the outside Haka, we all went inside, and watched a dance and singing show, all of which was followed by a large dinner banquet. It included traditional Hangi, which is a meal cooked inside clay-lined pits erected over thermal vents, which provide the heat for the meal, which included lamb, fish, and various vegetables. We were supposed to stay until after dark, and then return to the thermal field to watch the geysers under special night lights, but we were all too tired, and -- as now often mentioned -- the sun wouldn't go down until nearly 11:00pm. Plus, at least I was very much looking forward to a good-night's sleep in our new air-conditioned hotel.