Okay, remember how I went to New Zealand and Australia earlier this year and never finished blogging about my trip??  I figure “throwback Thursday” (an Instagram occurrence) is the perfect opportunity for me to jump back into sharing my unforgettable trip here on the blog.  If you are a fairly new reader, you can see Part 1 and Part 2 via those links.

iPhone snap from a moving car

Now that you’re caught up, we had just wrapped a packed day of driving (mostly in the rain) through Lake Taupo and Rotorua in New Zealand’s north island.  We spent a relaxing night at the B&B @ The Redwoods and I cannot say enough good things about this special little place.  It was a perfect stop for our one night in Rotorua and the hospitality we experience via the owner, Vivien, was so warm and gracious.  It was just like staying with a friend.  The B&B itself consists of only two bedrooms and a common living room/dining room.  Everything is sparkling clean and well-appointed, and we were well cared for here.  Before we departed in the morning, Vivien prepared the most scrumptious breakfast based on our individual preferences (yogurt, granola, cereal, oatmeal, omelettes, etc.).  She was a wealth of information and gave us some tips before we headed out for the day.  I wish we had been able to enjoy her company longer but we hope to return sometime soon!

With our bellies full of delicious breakfast, we got on the road to Hobbiton.  Yes, Hobbiton.  😉  When we first discovered that we’d be traveling to New Zealand, the first thing that crossed our minds was the Shire.  As huge Tolkien fans, we knew we had to visit the iconic rolling hills depicting the Hobbit Shire in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.  Tucked away in Matamata on the north island is the Alexander Farm, an idyllic working sheep and cattle farm.  Peter Jackson and the LOTR crew found this farm while flying over the area and knew it was the perfect site for The Shire.  It already had many of the landscape features they were seeking, including a lake and a perfect Party Tree.  When they originally filmed the LOTR trilogy, the sets were constructed with temporary materials and most of the hobbit holes were just facades.  They ripped them down after filming concluded.  But, due to eager fans wanting to tour The Shire, they rebuilt the entire set in 2011 while filming The Hobbit using permanent materials.  Peter Jackson also now owns a 51% share of the property allowing tours to continue indefinitely at this beautiful place.  My parents had never seen the LOTR movies (I know, I know) but they still really enjoyed the scenic beauty of Hobbiton.  The tour consists of a narrated shuttle ride out to the Shire, and then a guided walking tour that ends in the Green Dragon pub.  Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and I could NOT stop taking photos.  It helped that Olive was the perfect size for posing in front of the Hobbit holes.  😉  I learned that they do host weddings at Hobbiton (!!) so if any of my fellow Tolkienites want to plan a destination wedding around the famous Party Tree, I am IN.  Seriously though, let me know.  😉

beauty in every direction!  All the little white dots are sheep.  😉

the miniature farm is all real!!

my cute parents walking around The Shire

love this pic of our munchkin!

We had a quick but lovely lunch at Dalton’s Plantation.  The restaurant is inside a charming Victorian house surrounded by manicured gardens.  Everything was beautifully prepared and scrumptious!

Then, we were back on the road to Waitomo on the west side of the island.  We had gone back and forth about visiting the Glow Worm Caves in Waitomo, since it was quite a trek to get there (especially considering we were going to sleep in Auckland that night).  But, I am SO glad we ended up going.  It was absolutely worth the long drive and cost to tour these spectacular caves.  Because we had Olive with us, we opted for a basic tour that began by touring the caves on foot (admiring incredible rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites, and simply getting acclimated to the darkness in the caves) that concluded with a completely silent boat ride through the caves, illuminated only by thousands of glow worms above you.  We all sat completely awestruck, listening to the sound of the boat cutting through the water, gazing at the twinkling worms (I know, it sounds gross but it wasn’t!) above like a starry sky.  By some miracle, Olive was completely silent on the boat ride, too!  It was a magical experience I will never, ever forget.  When we return to NZ, I want to set aside time to try some of their more adventurous cave tours that involve blackwater rafting, abseiling and climbing.  Touring these caves completed an already awesome day.

emerging from the caves on the boat // the only picture we were allowed to take!

grateful for this man who drove all over NZ for 10 days on the wrong side of the road for us 🙂

That night we slept like rocks.  I meant it when I said we really don’t rest on vacation!  Our hotel was the very central Rendezvous Grand Hotel.  It was a great location and a well-priced mid-range hotel.  Because we arrived so late and left so early, we had dinner there (ok sushi) and a breakfast buffet in the morning (also ok; nothing special).  I would stay there again just based on the location and the overall value of the property, but I would hope that we could explore more of the Auckland dining scene next time.  😉  The next day we quickly toured the Davenport area and scoped out Mt. Eden (offering incredible views of Auckland and the surrounding areas) and the eerie 50-m deep crater of the now-dormant volcano of the same name.  Then it was off to the airport to venture to Australia for the next leg of our journey!!

Can you see the tiny people walking around the rim of the crater?  Crazy scale.

Reminiscing about this trip makes me yearn to return (which we hope to do in 2015!).  New Zealand’s north island was so beautiful but we left so much undiscovered.  We also did not even step foot on the south island which is widely considered the more picturesque of the two islands.  😉  I sincerely can’t wait until we can revisit this beautiful country and its warm and friendly people!  My next travel post will take us back to Sydney, where we wrapped up an unforgettable trip on the spectacular Sydney Harbour.  Thanks for reading and see you again soon!