Weather - Overcast & humid Temp 22C
We we up bright & early, showered, dressed & up to the buffet to grab a quick breakfast before heading off the ship around 8.15am. We met the other couple, Alan & Mary, who were on the same tour and found our minivan driver who was to drive us to Matamata for the start of our Hobbiton tour.
We had an uneventful drive through beautiful countryside despite a bit of drizzly rain. The trip took approx 50 minutes & we were vie our ticket and boarded another, larger bus for the 15 minute ride to the Hobbiton Movie Set. We then got out & started the official 1.5 hr guided tour. It was a little damp right at the start, but we were given umbrellas which we only needed for a short time. This tour was absolutely amazing and we took 100's of photos (see a sample below). It was just the most beautiful place, words just cannot do it justice. I was concerned that I would have trouble with all the walking, however the sights were worth the pain caused!
After the tour we we taken to the newly opened pub for free drink. The choices were English Ale, Cider or Ginger Beer. All brewed on site and not available elsewhere in NZ. We we had a cider of course and as we were almost the first there, when we had finished I asked Mike to try for a 2nd. It worked and I must say it was one of the best ciders I have tried. If we had more time I could have polished off another 2 or 3!
After that we walked back to the start where the restaurant & shop were located to have our included lunch. The place was packed & we were told it was the busiest day so far this year, however we were shown to our reserved table and they started bringing out a mountain of food. Bowls of homemade coleslaw, fresh salads, jacket potatoes, baked parsnips, carrots, sweet potato & pumpkin, bread rolls as well as a platter of BBQ sausages and steaks ...... All this for just 4 of us. Then out came the home made chocolate brownie & ice cream. We had an amazing feast and I felt so full I was ready for a nap on the return journey.
On the way back Leslie our driver stopped at the new information centre in The town of Matamata for us to take photos. It was amazing & just looked like a larger version of a Hobbit house. Then near the top of the mountain she stopped again at a lookout and once again we took amazing photos. We hopped back on the minivan and about 200 metres down the road it started to blow smoke & then stalled. We were on a steep slope climbing uphill and the road was very busy, large trucks flying past. We managed to roll back just off the road and Leslie phoned the company to send a vehicle to collect us. Not sure how long this will take as we are 30 minutes drive from the ship. The good news is that the ship doesn't leave until 6pm so I hope we will make it in time.
I am sitting in the little mini van on the side of the road typing this, good thing I thought to bring my IPad, not that we have found any Internet service since we left the ship, but hopefully I can manage to upload this blog post before we leave Tauranga. Failing that it will come from Auckland tomorrow.
We have just been rescued by none other than the owner of the farm in which The Hobbiton Movie Set is located in his nice car. He is a really nice man and runs the farming side of the business (he was mustering sheep when Leslie called to say we were stranded) and is married with 4 young children. He drove us back to the port and was interested in hearing what we thought of our tour. He said the business has expanded more rapidly than anticipated & they are much busier than they anticipated. They are beginning to take bookings for parties and weddings which I think will be very popular as it is such a special place.
Now back on board and madly trying to pack so I will attempt to add a few photos and try and upload.
No luck with free Internet so will await our arrival in Auckland.
Our final dinner on board was to the usual high standard, we were seated with a lovely couple who had just relocated from the Blue Mountains to Central Coast. For starters we had the trio of seafood (marinated squid, scallops & crawfish tails) then I had a salad & grilled sea bass with asparagus & grilled squash, Mike had a beef dish can't remember what it was called). No wine tonight as we still had half a bottle in our cabin and needed to finish our packing & have bags out by 9pm.
We called in to check out all the photos which the ships photographers had taken of us during the cruise (there were lots) & chose 2. One from the 2nd formal night & the other when we left the ship yesterday to go on the Hobbiton tour.
Back in our stateroom we put our bags out & sat down to finish off our wine stash. We are feeling a little sad that its our last night on board.
Off to bed!
More tomorrow from Auckland.
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