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We arrive in Sydney with no accomodation booked, but we've both been here before so we know our way around. We decide to book into the Central YHA as it's just next to the main train station and a good location from which to explore the city. The double decker metro, similar to the trains used in Holland and France, takes us from the airport to the city. It's getting late in the evening when we are settled, but one of the reception staff recommends a bar nearby that serves food, so we go there for a meal.
The next day we give ourselves a 'day off' and don't do any tourist stuff as we are tired from the two flights and approximately 4,000 miles to get from Karratha to Sydney. Sometimes on long trips you need to give yourself some time to recover, not just from the physical effort but also to let things sink in. We found going through Russia and China that things flew by so quickly that we hadn't had time to reflect on the experiences we'd had.
We find a cafe round the corner where Nic is able to order her standard meal from
China for breakfast - spicy tofu! We spend some time on the internet, doing some blogging and in the evening go down to Newtown for a curry. One of the reception staff at the hostel has told us of a good place which we eventually find after some searching. It's set up as a buffet and you can select several curries to go with with your rice and naan bread. Nic is tickled by the fact that when I ask one of the staff if there is a toilet, he responds with 'Ladies?' Naturally, we stuff ourselves on the buffet and afterwards drop into an off licence to buy a bottle of wine and a new corkscrew, as I managed to get our other one confiscated at the airport. It seems you're not allowed to have them in your hand luggage! To finish off our relaxing day, we go to the cinema to watch The Da Vinci Code, which is pretty entertaining.
One of the things we had hoped to do in Sydney was to see Fred and Joyce, who are relatives of Nic's. Unfortunately Joyce is not too well at the moment and we decide that it would
only add to the stress if we descend on them, so Nic has a long chat on the phone with them instead, bringing them up to date with all the news from the family.
In contrast, our next day is somewhat action packed as we are refreshed by our day of relaxing. Although we have both seen the Opera House before, neither of us has actually done the guided tour, so we head down to the Circular Quay area to do so. The Opera House has a kind of tardis effect, as it goes below sea level and contains several concert halls. Our tour is unable to visit all of them as some are being prepared for performances, but we are able to go into the main concert hall, even though the organ is being tuned. The interior of the Opera House is not as it was orignally designed by the architect Jorn Utzon, as he left the project due to funding problems before it was completed. However, he has recently returned and designed a new function room, which we see before we leave.
We have lunch in one of the cafes on the quayside, listening to an
aboriginal band who are promoting their latest album. The unmistakeable sound of the didgeridoo reverberates around as Nic tucks into a veggie burger and I demolish a cream tea. No trip to Sydney is complete without a stroll around The Rocks market area, which we do before taking some photos of the sunset lit Opera House.
A train and bus journey takes us to Bondi beach, which Nic is determined to see. Even though it is dark when we arrive, we stroll along the beach before returning to the city. Rather lazily, we opt for another curry at the same place we went to the night before, but not before we've stopped at a bar to watch the second half of the first State of Origin match. For those not famliar with this, the State of Origin is an annual tri-match rugby league series between New South Wales and Queensland. Most of the East coast stops to watch them, as they are always entertaining. I watched some of them the first time I was Australia, so it's nice to be able to do this again. Even though we are in New South Wales, I am supporting Queensland, as it
was the first place I visited in Australia. Queensland recover from a 14-0 halftime deficit to tie the match at 16-16, but NSW win it wth a last minute drop goal, much to the delight of the partisan Sydney patrons in the bar.
The next day I misjudge the time required to get to the airport and we only just make it before they close the flight. It actually takes a hour less to fly to Auckland than the flight from Perth to Sydney, which shows just how big Australia is. Although I have not been to New Zealand at all, Nic has previously spent three months there. That was on the South Island, so she is now looking forward to seeing some of the North, which looks lush and green as we fly in to Auckland.
On arrival, we get the tourist bus into the city centre. This is no normal bus, there is a video playing, tonnes of leaflets about attractions and the animated driver is intent on showing everyone what a fun place Auckland and New Zealand is. He comments on the good chioce of accomodation everyone has made as he drops them off outside.
Unfortunatly our chosen hostel, X-base that we selected based upon a recommendation in our guide book, turns out to be a disappointment.
As we've arrived in the evening, we go for a pizza and then drop into Borders. I need to buy a South American guide book and select the Footprint one, as it's been recommended by other travellers and also Michael Palin. Nic has been devouring business books over the last few weeks in preparation for our return home, so she buys another one. Whilst in the travel section, a couple ask me if I know whether Russia is bigger than China. I am able to smugly reply that as I've just been been through both countries I can assure them that Russia is indeed bigger.
On the plane we had read about the areas of New Zealand that Peter Jackson used to film the Lord of the Rings trilogy. With some excitement, we see that the farm used to create the Shire is only 120 miles from Auckland. We decide to visit it, so in the morning we get up early to book a tour, then hire a car and set off. It is amazing just
how similar to England New Zealand is, even down to the regular downpours of rain. The countryside is so green that you could easily think you were in Devon.
We very much enjoy the drive down to Matamata, where the sheep farm that contains 'Hobbiton' is found. We join other fans of the films for the tour, which starts with a minibus journey out to the farm. Our guide, Theresa, is great and full of enthusiasm, even though she must have guided the tour many times. On the way she tells us the story of how the farm was selected by Peter Jackson following a helicopter search for locations. He selected it not only for it's beautiful setting, but also because it has a lake with a distinctively shaped tree next to it. This has been become known as the 'party tree' as it's the one that you see during Bilbo's birthday party at the start of 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. Theresa tells us how the farm owners, the Alexanders, were watching the rugby one day when there was a knock at the door from New Line cinema asking if they might consider using their farm as a
movie set.
The surrounding area is untouched by modern scenery and you can easily see why it was selected as it is just how you would imagine Middle Earth to be. Most of the set has been removed (it had to be for contractual reasons), but the entrances to the hobbit houses remain. All but one of the interior scenes were filmed in a studio, the exception being the scene where Bilbo opens the door to find Gandalf outside. Of course we all want to have our picture taken at the front door of Bag End. There are numerous picture boards with photographs from the filming, which makes it easy to visualise what it looked like when it was being done. Theresa points out all the locations used for each scene, including Gandalf's arrival and his meeting with Frodo, their short journey up to Bag End and the party on the field (we can still see a section of ribbon attached to the party tree). We have pointed out to us the flight of the dragon firework which Merry and Pippin set off and also the spot where Sam realises he's about to be further away from home than
Us and the Opera House.
Nic took this using the timer function on the camera.ever before, which is actually only yards from the rest of the set.
The films have had a huge effect on New Zealand, not just because of the money that was spent making them, but also because of the hightened awareness of the country and the subsequent tourist trade it has generated. One of the other guides tells that there are over fifty tours operating in New Zealand and as he put it, "it got me out of milking cows twice a day". Peter Jackson is therefore a bit of a national hero and has also gone on to make King Kong in New Zealand as well.
Our tour is really enjoyable and we look forward to putting the film on when we get home and annoying everyone by saying things like 'I've sat on that' and 'here's our picture from there'. The drive back is tiring, but it's been a good day and made our time here seem longer than it actually was. We plan to come back to NZ for a longer period of time, as the natural scenery is superb. Like Sam in the film, we realise that we are now the furthest away from
home that we've been on our trip. However, although we still have a long way to go in South America, from this point we will be gradually getting closer to home.
Before we leave Auckland we recieve the very sad news that my Grandad John (my Mum's father) had passed away. He had been suffering from ill health for a number of years, but fortunately had passed peacefully in his sleep at home. Our thoughts over the next week will be very much with him and all the family, particularly my Mum.
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Alec
non-member comment
I felt rested myself reading and viewing this blog, even tho' that's been at a fair lick before class and over break! I'm glad you made time to relax. I'll go through it again later, but I can see how much Sian is going to love this Hobbit-blog! Strange to think that here was where you were furthest from us, when you felt most at home. Love and safe travelling, Alec