Thursday, February 27, 2025

Down Under 2025 - Hobbiton

Hobbiton, 27-February-2025.

Table of Contents:

Wednesday 27: the drive from Taupo to Auckland was chosen to allow us to visit Hobbiton. We booked well in advance and glad we did as it was sold out that day. Despite that and the numbers of tourists it didn’t feel at all crowded. It was all very well organised with groups setting off every 10 minutes.

The first Hobbiton was built with the condition that all land was restored to its pre-filming condition leaving not a trace behind. Following the success of the LOTR trilogy fans came to visit the site even though there was nothing to see. The enterprising farmer charged visitors for a drive around the farm. When he was approached to for the Hobbit trilogy he imposed the reverse condition - that the Hobbit houses were sturdily constructed for permanent use and so the tourist attraction was born.

Our very first view of the outside of a Hobbit house.

It was a lovely sunny day which brought out these gorgeous Monarch butterflies to bask in the sun.

The hobbit houses were built with doors of different sizes depending on whether they wanted hobbits to look small or Gandalf to look tall.

A view across Hobbiton with so many Hobbit homes - a charming and bucolic landscape.

Our guide was excellent and pointed out who lived in each of the houses and where they appeared in the films.

Sam Gamgee’s house which appears in the final scene of the Hobbit trilogy.

Bag End, Frodo’s house at the top of the hill and having the most windows of all the hobbit houses - both signs of his status.

All the interior scenes were filmed in a studio so they built a couple of extra houses using concept drawings from the film plus employed the original artists and craftsmen to recreate authentic interiors.

To quote their website “All tours of Hobbiton Movie Set now include an interior Hobbit Hole™ experience, designed and crafted by the renowned creative teams behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. Located on Bagshot Row™, these Hobbit Holes offer an authentic glimpse into the charming dwellings of Hobbits going about their daily lives in the Shire™.” [https://www.hobbitontours.com/discover/bagshot/]

The tour included a free mug of beer at the Green Dragon Inn and very tasty it was too. It was delightful to sit in the sunshine supping proper brown beer.

Our souvenir, as Hobbits and parkrunners have something in common.

“Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it Pip.”

Next: Auckland, 27-February/03-March-2025.

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Down Under 2025 - Taupo

Taupo, 26/27-February-2025.

Work in progress.

Table of Contents:

  • All posts
    • Introduction, 05-February-2025
    • Sydney, 06/09-February-2025
    • Cromwell, 09/12-February-2025
    • Fox Glacier, 12/14-February-2025 
    • Christchurch, 14/16-February-2025 
    • Blenheim, 16/19-February-2025 
    • Wellington / Martinborough, 19/23-February-2025 
    • Napier, 23/26-February-2025 
    • Taupo, 26/27-February-2025 
    • Hobbiton, 27-February-2025.
    • Auckland, 27-February/03-March-2025
    • Sydney, 03/05-March-2025

Wednesday 26: After leaving Napier, we had an overnight stay in Taupo. We had been recommended Taupo for the lake so booked ourselves a cruise for the afternoon of our arrival.

The main purpose of the cruise was to visit some Māori rock carvings. I was expecting them to be an ancient but it turns out they were carved out in the 1970s but are traditional in design.

As well as the main carving there are some smaller side carvings on the left hand side.

On the way back into the harbour we saw a huge flotilla of small craft had appeared. Clearly all the locals out for a post-work sail.

Taupo is the venue for an annual Ironman event which was imminent. They were starting to set up the marquees around town, warning of road closures and we saw hordes of cyclists pedalling around town. Down near the harbour we spotted these very colourful statues representing the three disciplines.

Lake Taupo in the morning as we headed off for our next stop. We decided to skip the sulphurous springs and mud pools of Rotarua and head straight for Hobbiton.

Next: Hobbiton, 27-February-2025.

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Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Down Under 2025 - Napier

Napier, 23/26-February-2025.

Table of Contents:

Sunday 23: We had a three night stay using a home exchange in Taradale, a suburb of Napier. We arrived, met our hosts who handed over the keys, gave us some basic info and then left in their motorhome for a short break of their own.

The benefits of Home Exchange are that you get to stay in real home with all the facilities like a fully equipped kitchen and access to a washing machine which means you don’t have to eat out all the time, especially for breakfast, and only need to pack a week’s worth of clothes.

Monday 24: We did a Hawke's Bay wine tasting tour with Hawke’s Bay Scenic Tours. Our first stop at Pask winery gave us a useful overview of the Hawke's Bay wine growing areas. We learnt about the gimlet gravels which resemble some of the Bordeaux terroir and produce the best wines in Hawkes Bay. We heard about the 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle and subsequent floods which wiped out a large part of the harvest. The flood waters were so high that some of the vines were completely underwater and they are still working to recover the vineyards.

The first tasting was at Church Road winery. We then went on to Trinity Hill for lunch. 

Our fourth and last stop was the Mission winery. This building was originally in the town centre but was disassembled and transported in 13 sections to its new location at the top of a hill.

Until fairly recently all the Mission cellar masters were Brothers and their photographs are displayed in the cellars.

Tuesday 25: We booked a guided walk of Napier town centre provided by the Art Deco Trust. In the Art Deco Centre they showed a short film which helped us understand the devastation caused by the 1931 earthquake and why the centre of Napier is so full of Art Deco buildings.

After the film, one of the volunteers from the trust gave us a guided tour of the town centre pointing out buildings of interest with a bit of history to go with. We both agreed The Daily Telegraph building was our favourite building, probably because it was standalone with no modern additions.

The front and back of the stylish Masonic hotel.

The manhole covers are Art Deco as well! Recurrent themes include ziggurats and sunbursts

Even the street signs in the town use art deco fonts!

Lots of different styles around the town centre:

And another!

Many shop windows were topped with Art Deco motifs.

More popular art deco motives: the zigzag and the fan

Our guide called this Spanish style with the curved roof and lintel.

There was an Art Deco amphitheatre right by the shore line.

Even the pedestrian crossing lights got in on the act with a lady dressed in flapper costume wearing a cloche hat echoing a nearby statue of the same.


In Taradale they have an Art Deco Town Hall and an Art Deco McDonalds. As they were clearing up the Town Hall after a function Mary was able to sneak a peek inside to snag a photo of the lovely stained glass window.

The Art Deco McDonalds!

Wednesday 25: We had a relatively short drive to Taupo for our next stop so we used the spare time to explore the area. First we took a trip down the coast.

Then we drove inland to the highpoint of Te Mata. I have to say, the road up was a little scary: very narrow with not much in the way of passing places if you met somebody coming the other way. However at the top we were rewarded with stunning 360° views.

Next stop: Taupo, 26/27-February-2025.

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Saturday, February 22, 2025

Down Under 2025 - Wellington / Martinborough

Wellington / Martinborough, 19/23-February-2025.

Table of Contents:

Wednesday 19: A bonus to spending night in Wellington was that we could plan to meet up with Zoë, the daughter of friends Tim & Sarah, who is here for two years on a working visa. She was busy that night but on her recommendation we dined in the excellent Charley Noble where her partner works (but he was off that night).

Thursday 20. After picking up the car next morning we met Zoë for brunch and catch up before heading off to Martinborough.

Ri

We stayed in the historic Martinborough Hotel. According to an advert placed in the local newspaper by the owner in 1882, it "has been built without regard to expense", "possesses every modern improvement, and is, without exception, one of the finest hostelries that has over been erected in any inland country town in New Zealand". It is indeed very fine! This photo is from the hotel website as we forgot to take one.

The first night we ate in the hotel restaurant, lovely food (lamb for Mary, salmon for me) with two different wine flights.

Friday 21. Years ago Mary was told that the best NZ Pinot Noirs come from Martinborough and it has been on her wish list ever since. We originally planned three nights in Wellington and only one night in Martinborough but we decided to reverse the durations and so glad we did, it did not disappoint! 

In Martinborough there are a large number of wineries within walking or cycling distance. We rented a couple of bikes for the day and cycled the wine trail, visiting five different places. We had two hugely informative tutored tastings: one pre-booked at Ata Rangi and the other at Poppies where we were incredibly lucky to have one of the owners, Shayne, as our host for a walk-in tasting. 

We learned so much about the area, vines and vintages from both which helped us appreciate the wines even more. The Pinot Noirs were wonderful and in a wide variety of styles. Pinot Gris was a real revelation - it works really well here giving a wine that is much richer and tastier than its Italian counterpart but much fresher than those from Alsace.

The ominous clouds did turn to rain but only after we had finished tasting. We were completely sodden by the time we got back to the bike hire shop but anyway skin is waterproof! 

Saturday 22. Saturday is of course #parkrunday. We had to stop and take a picture of the mists over the plains on our way to Greytown Woodside Trail parkrun

It is a custom, if the Saturday falls on the 22nd of the month, to celebrate Tutu day (two-two). Mary had packed her tartan tutu but I had decided not to pack mine in the interests of space in the case.  Unfortunately for me they had a bag full of spare tutus so I ended up with a fetching green number!

On the drive to and from parkrun we saw some very colourful post boxes. Somewhat like I am used to seeing in American films but much jollier.

A feature of New Zealand wineries is netting the vines to protect the grapes from the birds. As soon as the grapes start to ripen the birds swoop in and decimate the crop. The growers monitor the sugar levels and net the vines as soon as the fruits becomes attractive to the birds.

Both on the train journeys and here in Martinborough we saw massive windbreak hedges intended to protect the land from being dried out by the winds. They are enormous and an impressive sight as they march across the landscape, mile after mile.

We enjoyed the wine tasting at Poppies so much that on Saturday we walked back there for a late lunch of their wonderful seasonal platter (with wine of course).

Early evening we went for a gin tasting (well me actually as Mary doesn’t like gin). As in the UK, there has been an explosion of boutique distilleries in New Zealand. The Tōhi Gin Room had an extensive list and I was able to try three local Martinborough gins.

As previously this trip, occasionally supper was a picnic in our room as eating out every single night for a whole month can get too much.

Sunday 23. A four hour drive to Napier through some stunning scenery to us to our next destination. 

Next: Napier, 23/26-February-2025.

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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Down Under 2025 - Blenheim

Blenheim, New Zealand. 16/19-February-2025.

Table of Contents:

Starting with a scenic train journey, The Coastal Pacific Train, on Sunday, we spent a few days in Blenheim and the Marlborough wine region.

Sunday 16. We had an early start at 07:00 to catch the Coastal Pacific Train up the West coast with views of the Pacific Ocean.

We saw dolphins and seals but did not manage to capture any decent photos from the train. We passed Lake Grasmere where an extensive area of salt pans have been created to produce large amounts of salt mainly for industrial use. The salt is naturally pink due to algae.

We stayed in a lovely house on the outskirts of Blenheim, courtesy of Home Exchange. As we too early to check in we had lunch and a wine flight each in Fidelio, the wine bar in the railway station.


Blenheim as the sun is setting, low rise and spacious. The streets are wide and houses almost all single story bungalows. Mostly looking Victorian / Edwardian in style with corrugated iron roofs. 

Monday 17. A full day wine tasting with Doug of Hop’n’Grape Tours was fascinating - both in learning why Sauvignon Blanc is so widely grown here and tasting the widely different styles that are made. 

The first stop on our wine tasting tour, Clos Henri. Winemakers from Sancerre who also established themselves in Marlborough about 16 years ago.

Real flying winemakers - they look after two vintages each year, one in each hemisphere. 


We also visited Allan Scott, Gibson Bridge…

… and Rimapere.


Wines here are planted in the valley and often on clay. Obviously different from the northern hemisphere where they plant on slopes and definitely not on clay.

Tuesday 18. Tuesday was a healthier day starting in the morning with a run for me and a walk to the supermarket for Mary (25 mins each way). In the afternoon we went for a climb up the local Mount Vernon (422m) for stupendous views over Blenheim and the vineyards all the way to the Cook Strait.. Mount Vernon.

View of Blenheim as we started to climb up.

A panoramic view from Mount Vernon of Blenheim and the Cook Strait.

After an exhausting day we had quiet supper at home in our accommodation.

Wednesday 19. Transfer day taking the ferry to Wellington on the North Island. 

The original plan was to stay in a home exchange property outside Wellington but timing of the bus from Blenheim to Picton meant that we could only catch the 14:30 ferry. That got in to Wellington after the car hire office closed so we could not pick up the car until the next morning! 

Plan B was one night in Wellington, cancel the home exchange, extend our one night booking in Martinborough to three nights and head straight off there the following morning. And that is what we did.

The crossing was smooth and uneventful.

Next: Wellington / Martinborough, 19/23-February-2025.

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