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Published: April 5th 2014
Like all good adventure stories, this one starts off like any other day. While going about our daily routine in the Shire of Balgowlah, I noticed that there was some new correspondence from a long lost Uncle, the great wizard James Snyder of Chatham Shire. He was boasting of his annual journey to the land of Hobbiton, known as New Zealand on the HobbitBook message board. After a quick discussion and a few Golummail’s back and forth to James, we decided to visit the lands of New Zealand and fit in a much overdue visit. We left armed with plane tickets, only our first two nights' accommodation, and a loose plan to meet James at noon hour of the 7
that the central crossing of Queen Street and Vulcan Lane.
Over the afternoon with James we loaded our knowledge banks with magical tips and tricks for navigating the North Isle of New Zealand.
Our hastily planned adventure soon began to show perilous cracks. As it turns out, a combination of Rugby (Sevens and Nines) and music festivals was to conspire against us like an unseen dark force in our quest to find affordable lodging. After our two nights lodging in
Elliott Stables for dinner one evening
A great concept where many proper restaurants inhabit a large space so everyone can order from where they like.Auckland we were forced to seek transportation out of town, we were offered a trusty pony at a reasonable rate and ventured off into Middle New Zealand, travelling south as it felt like going downhill.
Our adventure began in the first town that would have us. The pungent smell of dark forces was in the air all around us. Rotorua had been cursed and blessed by the internal fires of the earth. Sulphur filled the air, our eyes and our nostrils, however the fire turned the local waters into a beautifully relaxing place to soak. We wandered the ancient redwood forests and got some much need reprieve from the sulphur. We saw wonderful sights, including giant trees and an impressive geyser, with wonderful meadow smells of eucalyptus and flowers. We enjoyed our first redwood hike so much that we made a point of traversing the forest once more during our stay.
As always, we were guided through the town itself by our stomachs. We found delights from the lands of Mexico and Italy.
While there we visited a most curious village, which was made famous in several documentaries titled “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings.” Those
featured in the show were a simple farming folk but about the 3
rd of the size of one of us. Their village was tucked away in the country amidst several thousand sheep. We capped a leisurely wander through the Hobbiton town with a pint at the ‘Green Dragon Pub.’
Again, sadly, though there would be no room in town for us on the fourth night, and so our journey to find accommodation was renewed. We jumped in our trusty steed and headed onward for a single night’s stay in Napier.
We stayed in a beautiful lodging with free apples and port in the library (a nice little add-on that we took advantage of). With no forest about, we took to walking along the coast. We both experienced some jealous thoughts as we observed the magical playgrounds around the town for children. Of particular delight was a practice track for kids on wheels to practice their craft. It was complete with crosswalks, traffic lights and an array of signs.
Again our culinary journey was almost as much of an adventure as our actual travels. We had a fantastic meal from the land of Malayasia. With no more planned
at our time to depart the next day, the lodging hostess was kind enough to let us remain in their library so that we could explore various options for the rest of our journey. We exercised great discipline by spending the afternoon planning and not simply drinking port in the comfy surrounds. Our planning session was a great success. When we left Napier, the art deco town of magical and whimsical playgrounds, we had planned the rest of our journey, which we hoped would now be smooth sailing…
Our first stop was Tongariro National Park. We had two nights stay organized. Also being the intrepid adventurers that we are, we planned a hike over the dreaded Mount Doom, another sight made famous by the aforementioned Hobbit documentaries. It was slated as an all day hike, with fast changing weather conditions. So we decided to take a local guide with us for comfort, safety and the fact that we had not travelled with all of our usual adventure gear. We departed early in the morning on a day that called for mediocre weather early than clearing later in the afternoon.
The scenery was amazing, however mostly consisted of
rocks we could make out on the ground through the fog and rain. We were told that there were volcanoes to our left, volcanoes to the right and that we were in fact hiking up a very famous volcano. We tried our best to imagine great volcanoes all around us and under our feet as we trudged along. Our guide stayed positive, constantly hoping and looking for the break that was supposed to come in the weather. Eventually we reached the top of the volcano, where the dark forces, likely angered by our ability to find hotels in their land, decided fog and rain was not enough. They brought up an evil wind, so strong we were forced to link arms and anchor down so as not to be pushed off or into the volcano. Our spirits slightly dampened we hunkered down in a bit of shelter and had some lembas bread. With renewed vigor we hit the trail again and began to see some signs of clearing. Beyond the rocks on the ground we saw emerald lakes (their colour rivaling that of the eyes of the elf folk). As well there were signs that this mountain still had some
fight left in it, with smoldering vents and giant rocks that had been ejected in the last eruption a year and a half ago. Several such rocks smashed through the common house on the backside of the mountain.
Exhausted and soaked by the time we were making our descent, the sun finally began to breakthrough. Although tired we thoroughly enjoyed the day and rate it as a highlight of our travels thus far.
From Mount Doom to wine country. Craving simple delights, such as nice food, relaxation and wine, we ventured to Martinborough. Having lived to tell the tale of our perilous volcano crossing we were in good spirits, maybe too good. The previous day we had spent 8 hours being sure-footed and handed as we climbed the mountain safely and without injury. Yet two hours into our relaxing wine country villa, Kimmy was viciously attacked by beast they call “la mesa de café.” After a brief battle I was able to push la mesa back into place and tend to Kimmy’s wounds. The contusion was deep, ugly and painful and our supplies limited. I managed to fashion a cooling pack and provide her with some pain numbing
local ‘grape juice.’ There was a slight limp for the next day, but other than that she has healed nicely.
Off for a lively weekend and a bit of culture in Wellington. We arrived to find that the town was bustling with the young, who were in town to celebrate the final days of summer. Several concerts raged along the waterfront, with stumbling revelers crowding the streets. We managed to miss some of the crowds by attending the local museum and discovering more of the culture and history of the New Zealand lands.
We had been advised by the wizard James to avoid New Plymouth, for fear that “the boring monster” might overwhelm us. However, due to more sport and celebrations in Auckland, we were unable to return when we desired. So it was that we made the drive to New Plymouth. We had been to ‘old’ Plymouth and soon discovered that aside from name and proximity to water, there were few similarities. The drive there from Wellington took part under the watchful eye of a fantastic volcano that always seemed just over the horizon.
The single night's stay consisted of water walk and a stroll through
the central town. We believe word had reached ‘the boring monster’ prior to our arrival, because there was nary a soul in town and the shops were all shuttered and closed well before sunset.
Before arriving back in Auckland to return our steed, we stopped in Hamilton and visited the famous botanical gardens. It was a beautiful and pleasant place to spend a few hours on the second to last day of our journey.
Back in Auckland we managed to fit in one final visit with James and thank him again for all advice and tips that truly made our journey better.
One day soon we will again conquer the Tongariro (hopefully under better conditions) and visit the South Isle. So I guess this adventure truly is, to be continued…
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Anne Mantle
non-member comment
Beautifully written, Shane! Pictures were great, reminding me of ones your Grandpa used to take of rocks, landscapes and flowers. He would have loved your blogs and photos!