Monday 27 February 2012

The Road Goes Ever On...

I really can't think of anything suitable to write about our visit to The Shire today. I could tell you that it's easy to find (near a town near Matamata), it's well worth it (picturesque views), truly informative (guides know their stuff) and authentic (set dressing still there) but I'll just post the photos instead.


Having been reading the book for 32 years you can be sure that I was pretty chuffed to pay a visit to the home of Bilbo, Frodo and Sam. There's another 100 photos that may still get posted up - does that give you a clue how much I enjoyed the 5 acres of Hobbiton that Peter Jackson kindly left behind in a quiet corner of New Zealand?

It's our last full day today - currently holed up in Tirau (the corrugated steel capital of NZ) because of the rain. Tomorrow we will head to the caves in Waitomo before trundling back up to Auckland before flying back to Brisbane.

PS - Oscar totally believes that Hobbits are real, but very shy because they didn't come out to see us. Why else would his Mummy and Daddy take him to a field with a bunch of "houses" in it?

Friday 24 February 2012

Geronimo

Rae, Oscar and I have nipped over to New Zealand for a week to catch up with Dave, Ang and Paige - friends from Balikpapan - before they head back to Canada. I've been wanting to do a bungee for a number of years (even going so far as putting it on my bucket list) and promised myself that I'd save it for New Zealand.

So today, while we were in Taupo (which is in the centre of the North Island) I - and I apologise for the pun - took the plunge as my 40th birthday is fast approaching. Either I closed my eyes for the first drop or I have mentally blanked it out. I'm glad I did it though.